The U Series of Poker has abruptly cancelled its upcoming USOP Hanoi tournament series, which was scheduled to begin a 13-day run on May 29. The Malaysia-incorporated tour announced the cancellation on Tuesday on its Facebook page, declaring that it had taken the action on the advice of its partner and hosting venue, Hanoi's Crown Poker Club.
The USOP update reads as follows:
"Due to sudden unforeseen regulatory changes, and because protecting players' safety has always been our top priority, we deeply regret to inform you that the USOP Hanoi series has been cancelled as advised by our partner, Crown Poker Club.
We made our very best efforts to push the series through. We deeply regret the unfortunate circumstances that led to this decision, and we understand the disappointment this brings to everyone. We will work closely with Crown Poker Club to help address the concerns of affected players."
Second roadbump for USOP this year
As of this report's creation, the USOP home page still displays overview information for the now-cancelled Hanoi series. It's the fourth Vietnamese poker tournament series to be cancelled during the past six months, either just before or during its run.
The USOP Hanoi cancellation comes just after the WPT's Hanoi 'Passport' series was shut down in similar manner. That series was also to be hosted at the Crown Poker Club Hanoi and was cancelled, via Vietnamese news reports, as Crown hadn't got all the relevant licenses in place.
The exact nature of the regulatory changes has yet to be detailed by any of the tours or venues recently affected. Overall, however, the forced cancellation or closure of four separate poker festivals in a six-month span must call into question the viability of live poker events in Vietnam at the present time.
In March, USOP offered a festival in Danang, also in partnership with Crown Poker Club. That series faced large-scale protests from players over extra 'winner's fees' being deducted from tournament payouts, an ongoing practice at USOP events. The players discovered that the deductions were illegal, and USOP soon declared that the practice would stop for all future series.
