Casino Malta and Olympic Casino today announced that the forthcoming Siege of Malta poker tournament is being cancelled in response to growing concerns about Coronavirus.
The tournament was scheduled to take place at the InterContinental Conference Centre in St Julian’s in April with a €500,000 GTD Main Event plus several other side events.
Today the event organisers said they were deeply disappointed that the tournament wasn’t going ahead but stated that the need to safeguard the health of players and staff was a priority.
A spokesperson said: “Due to grave concerns about the outbreak of Coronavirus, and following health guidance from organisations such as the Maltese Health Authorities and the World Health Organisation, we have reluctantly decided to cancel the new Siege of Malta tournament in April.
“In addition to wanting to protect all our players and staff, we also wish to take a responsible stance in helping to contain the virus. In common with many, many other organisers of public events, we are erring on the side of caution and common sense in taking the decision to cancel.”
Casino Malta’s flagship event, the Battle of Malta, will take place in October. The spokesperson added: “October is a long way ahead and we anticipate that there will be many positive developments regarding Coronavirus before Battle of Malta. We apologise for any disruption caused to players who were keen to compete at Siege of Malta, and we encourage everyone to come along to Battle of Malta in October instead.”
Battle of Malta takes place October 15-22 with a €500 + €55 Main Event and a €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, plus numerous side events. The 2019 Battle of Malta smashed records for the eighth year running with 4,657 entries creating a prize pool of over €2.2 million.
