Vanessa Kade’s WSOP plans have been upended after the Canadian pro tested positive for Covid. She shared the bad news on Twitter and igniting a debate on whether she will be able to play the Main Event…
Reposting because I realized I played the shootout AND the 6 max (symptoms at home Weds/Thurs).
Just don’t want anyone else to get sick so if you were around me at all either of those days and don’t feel well please get checked!
Thanks for the kindness & see you for the ME ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NhOCTkd9WI
— Vanessa Kade (@VanessaKade) October 29, 2021
Will Vanessa Kade be able to play the Main Event?
The ACR team pro and streamer hit the headlines earlier this year when Dan Bilzerian called her a “hoe”, Kade hitting back by scooping the 15th-anniversary edition of the Sunday Million for more than $1.5million.
News of her positive Covid test went viral, with Kade explaining what she had to do to get tested…
Also, I had such a bad fever yesterday I was struggling to figure out how I was going to drive to get tested.
My friend showed me you can order a test directly from Walgreens website and it gets delivered by DoorDash in about an hour for $30.
— Vanessa Kade (@VanessaKade) October 29, 2021
…which could prove very useful should others come down with symptoms of the virus.
Naturally, many replies on Twitter were messages from well-wishers. However, her situation raised some very important questions, with Max Silver first up.
Silver asked: “Does the WSOP have anything in place to notify them so they can contact close seating contacts?”, and the reply from Vannesa Kade was less than re-assuring.
“I talked with them this morning to go through which tables I’d played at because they have a procedure for dealers, but not players afaik since we’re all required to be vaccinated. (Though apparently almost all the dealers are, too.)”
That brought Todd Witteles into the discussion. The Poker Fraud Alert founder raising the thorny issue of whether the rules allow someone just recovered with Covid to play, whereas prior Covid positive cases were barred unless vaccinated.
Though I will give Vanessa credit for coming out with this publicly. Some scumbag players would've just hid in their room and covered it up until the Main rolled around, and then quietly sat down. Nothing against her here, but I do want to know when WSOP thinks she can return.
— Todd Witteles (@ToddWitteles) October 29, 2021
Polarizing Covid Rules
For Kade, this issue is of huge importance as the Main Event is due to kick off soon, and the rule seems somewhat unclear as to when she will be considered fully Covid-free and able to play.
There are ways to make your point, however, and one Twitter poker “fan” was a bot too strident in his complaints…
I would be medically cleared in time to play.
It’s unclear by this if it means prior to ANY participation in WSOP events but I will of course talk with them and follow any WSOP rules / decisions.
Relax.
— Vanessa Kade (@VanessaKade) October 29, 2021
The big issue is whether or not Vanessa Kade will be eligible to play the Main Event, due to kick off on Thursday, November 4th with the final full starting flights on November 8th and 9th, and the morning of November 10th the final chance to enter.
Somewhat ironically, these last two day 1s were added to allow players from countries previously on the no-entry list to the US, due to COVID-19 restrictions, to compete, with Canada among them.
Of course, almost everything Covid-related has seen the world polarised in their views. The poker community has been no different.
Poker pros against the WSOP vaccination rule
We revealed back in August how Kade’s fellow Canadian poker star, Kristen Bicknell, was taking a stance against the WSOP’s mandatory vaccination rule.
That was followed by the rather absurd tale of how Bicknell and fiancé, Alex Foxen, were promoting their new poker app through a WSOP giveaway, despite their claimed “boycott”.
https://t.co/vfbpVkYzsv pic.twitter.com/SwBxI2fYyJ
— Max Silver (@max_silver) October 1, 2021
We will of course keep you updated as to Vanessa Kade’s condition and ability to play, as well as everything else related to the WSOP and the Covid/poker situation in Las Vegas and indeed around the globe.
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