Andy Bloch: More Could Die from Super Bowl Parties in Vegas than 2017 Mass Shooting

3 min read

Former Full Tilt pro Andy Bloch made a concerned prediction about the danger of Super Bowl gatherings during a health pandemic. He went so far as to say there’s a good chance the NFL’s championship game watch parties in Las Vegas could cause more deaths than the October 1, 2017 mass shooting.

Andy Bloch COVID poker
Andy Bloch is concerned with the dangers of hosting Super Bowl parties during a pandemic. (Image: realtor.com)

Stephen Paddock, a video poker player from Mesquite, Nevada, committed one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history more than four years ago. He shot dead more than 60 country music concertgoers, injuring hundreds more, across from the Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip.

Bloch, however, is concerned that even more will die this weekend due to large gatherings. The Super Bowl attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Many come to wager on the game and attend parties or hangout at the various sportsbooks around town.

“The Superbowl could kill more people in Las Vegas than the October 1 shooter,” Andy Bloch wrote on Facebook.

Backing it up with Evidence

This isn’t the first time this year Bloch had made such a bold prediction about his city. Back in June when the casinos reopened, he warned a “COVID wave” would strike Southern Nevada. As it turned out, he was right.

Nevada’s coronavirus cases as of early June averaged between 200-300 per day. Shortly after the casinos reopened, they spiked to 1,000, then over 1,000, before reaching more than 3,000 per day. In recent days, the daily cases have dropped to 1,000 or less, which is a good sign for the Silver State.

But Bloch fears Nevada may see some difficult times ahead due to many football fans ignoring COVID-19 guidelines during Super Bowl weekend.

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs behind all-world quarterback Patrick Mahomes look to repeat as champions as they face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what should be an exciting contest. The game kicks off at 3:30 pm PT.

Although this year’s Super Bowl is hosted in Tampa, Florida, making it a pseudo-home game for the Bucs, thousands are already in Las Vegas to wager on the game. Fans will pack the sportsbooks and bars in Sin City on Sunday, potentially causing some health problems.

“If COVID-19 spreads just twice as much because of social events tomorrow, we’ll have over 700 extra people infected tomorrow just in Clark County, Nevada. That will be barely detectable if you look just at the weekly average of reported infections,” Andy Bloch wrote. “In two months, even if we continue on the same downward trajectory, these extra 700 or so reported cases will increase to over 5000 reported cases, which will cause around 100 deaths.”

He claims this “one day of partying sets us back a full week of recovery.” Bloch is former MIT blackjack team member who made millions counting cards in Las Vegas. He then went on to a successful poker career, which included a sponsorship with Full Tilt Poker during the poker boom era, and also graduated from Harvard Law School.

 



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