Oh. It’s worse than we thought — and we knew it was going to be worse. Hurricane Irma hit the West Indies this week and there has been devastating damage to our favorite Caribbean islands. All the resorts in Punta Cana, and St Maarten that we have been going to for poker games have been severely damaged.
St Maarten was so affected that the organizers of the WSOPC tournament we were scheduled to attend in November had no choice but to cancel the event. No one knows when the airport will reopen and the hotel rental is canceling all bookings for the rest of 2017.
HURRICANE IRMA: Devastation in St Martin #Caribbean #HurricaneIrma pic.twitter.com/1sd89vurgZ
– WIC News (@WIC_News) September 6, 2017
“Due to the circumstances the WSOPC Caribbean Poker Festival, November 1-15, 2017, is officially canceled. All pre-paid reservations will be refunded,” read a statement from the organizers, TK Poker.
Official Review of Sonesta Maho Resort & Casino where the WSOPC will be held:
“All guests and staff at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Royal Casino are safe and unharmed.
The damage to the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Royal Casino is horrific, as is the damage and destruction to our beloved island of Sint Maarten. The Princess Juliana International Airport has also been severely damaged, and we have no word on when the airport will reopen.
The main group of Sonesta St. Maarten and management are working hard to help guests at the resort to be as safe, secure, and comfortable as possible until they can leave Sint Maarten – this is our main concern. Visitors are currently in sheltered areas and resorts.
Due to the damage the resort has suffered, all other bookings from now until the end of 2017 have been cancelled. “
Our thoughts are with the wonderful people of St Maarten and the Dominican Republic. We will let you know when we hear of ways we can help them with this.
We’ll also be thinking about our friends in Florida where Irma is headed this week.