WSOP Breaking Records Despite Legionnaires’ Disease at the Rio

June 12th, 2017 | by Kaycee James

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still pulling in big numbers despite two reports of Legionnaires’ disease stemming from stays at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Rio at night Las Vegas Legionnaires disease

Two reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease stemming from Rio stays have not impacted player turnout at WSOP 2017. (Image: PokerSites.com exclusive)

Players at the WSOP are used to dealing with outbreaks of tilt, bad luck and unwanted earache, but a bout of atypical pneumonia isn’t usually on the cards. According to the Southern Nevada Health District, two guests contract Legionnaires’ disease while staying at the Rio.

After analyzing the two separate incidents, officials confirmed that traces of the bacteria linked to the lung infection were found in a hot-water system inside one of the hotel’s towards.

The first reported case was traced back to a stay in March, while the second incident (reported in May) was linked to an April visit to the Rio.

Rio Takes Action as Players Ante-Up

Since being notified of the outbreaks, the Vegas hotel has blocked off all rooms connected to the infected water system and begun the process of flushing the system with bleach.

Despite the news, the WSOP has continued as normal and it doesn’t appear to have affected the number of runners anteing up.

A look back at the last three events from recent days shows some impressive numbers. On top of the Event #18 ($565 Pot Limit Omaha) and Event #19 ($365 The Giant No Limit Hold’em) attracting 3,186 and 1,629 players respectively, the $1,500 Millionaire Maker has set a new record.

During the 2016 WSOP, the Millionaire Maker attracted a then record 7,190 entrants. On that occasion, Jason Dewitt went home with the title and $1,065,403 in prize money. This year, that figure was beaten by more than 500 buy-ins.

WSOP Still Breaking Records

According to the WSOP’s official report, 7,761 entries were collected over the course of two starting days. As well as breaking the Millionaire Maker record, this year’s tournament will also go down as one of the largest live events in history.

At the close of Day 1B, just 1,178 entries remained and leading the way was Bulgaria’s Boris Kolev. Also making it through the first session and among the top 200 fighting for the $1,221,407 winner’s prize were the familiar faces of Keven Stammen, Ravi Raghavan and Kevin Saul.

With records already being broken, it not only looks as though Legionnaires’ disease isn’t keeping players away from the Rio, but that this year’s WSOP will be another success.