The Bicycle Club in Los Angeles, which boasts one of the largest poker rooms in the world, will switch gears a bit next week when it serves as a vaccination site. On May 27, those who haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine are encouraged to visit the Southern California card room to get a shot.
Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly encouraged to ensure you don’t have to wait in line too long. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be offered, so be prepared. Some prefer the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines because they have a higher efficacy rate compared to the J&J shot. With that said, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting whichever shot is available to you.
One benefit to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine compared to the others is it only requires one dose. As of May 20, 21.4 million (54.1%) of Californians had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 15.7 million (39.3%) are fully vaccinated.
The state of California still has some strict pandemic guidelines in place, including business capacity limits and face masks required in public. That includes at the poker tables where plexiglass dividers remain in place and players and dealers must wear face masks at all times during play.
Return to normalcy
The Bicycle Casino and other Los Angeles-area poker rooms recently moved back indoors after months of being required to spread poker games outdoors in covered, climate-controlled patios. “The Bike” also recently brought back its popular live-stream cash game show, Live at the Bike.
California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, will soon permit life to return to normal. On June 15, the state plans to eliminate most COVID-19 restrictions, which means the poker rooms can return to full occupancy on that date, and all social distancing guidelines will be eliminated. Until then, however, Newsom continues to encourage residents to get vaccinated, and they can do that for free at the Bike May 27.
