Asian Poker Tour Macau Preview
by Bodog Poker | Aug 6 2009
The
Asian Poker Tour has been around for two years now and the action continues to grow, and the biggest event on the yearly schedule is always the event in Macau. In previous years the Macau event was groundbreaking for the region, and the 2007 APPT Macau was the first ever
poker tournament in the city. That year there were 352 entrants, breaking a record for entrants in the region set by a November 2006 event in Singapore. Last year's Macau event attracted 538 entrants, including many big name poker stars that play most of their action in Vegas and Los Angeles.
This year’s APPT Macau will be played on August 12-23 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino. The No Limit Holdem Championship will have a $4,000+$300 buy-in and should break last year’s record with ease. Many Asian poker stars are taking advantage of this time of year to vacation in the region with family while they take in the tournament at the same time. Two-time
WSOP Main Event Champion Johnny Chan has confirmed that he'll return to the event again this year. He's not only in town to
play poker and act as a poker representative, he'll also take part in the filming of a new Asian poker movie called "Poker King" that's being shot the same week.
Johnny will join the self-proclaimed "Poker Pack" of players that have been selected to represent the APPT during the events. That group of big name Asian poker stars includes JC Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do, David "Chino" Rheem, Steve Sung, and Kwang Soo Lee. As a group the six have over $24 million in live tournament winnings.
This year's APPT Macau will include a 12-day Poker Festival starting on August 12. Last year the event ran for five days but organizers have been given permission to more than double that this year. Many big side games are expected to be offered, including a $130K cash game, but that number may rise now that Macau is seeing stakes like that in their
poker rooms with regularity. A press release distributed on Monday claimed, "With the APT-sponsored poker room at the Starworld now witnessing six-figure pots in games on a daily basis, the stakes will be significantly raised."
APT CEO Chris Parker made these comments on the upcoming Macau poker tournaments; "The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will feature a side event schedule never seen in Asia before, including several new formats that will stir the curiosity of poker enthusiasts at all levels. We believe Asia's first festival of poker will establish Macau as an essential stop on the international poker circuit."
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