Asian Poker Tour Macau tournament schedule

MANILA, Philippines -- The Asian Poker Tour, Asia's original poker tour, is delighted to publish the full schedule for The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival which will run from August 12–23,
  2009 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau.

Last year's six day event has doubled in size and will be transformed into a record breaking 12 day extravaganza, creating Asia's first festival of poker. The success of the Asian Poker Tour sponsored poker room at the Starworld has led organizers to lay out these ambitious plans that represent another huge leap forward for poker in the region. The Asian Poker Tour Macau will also be the backdrop to the filming of the first Chinese language poker film, 'Poker King,' starring A-list Chinese actors, actresses and pop stars. With such a high profile film being made, many believe it could have the same impact on the Asian region as 1998 Hollywood movie Rounders did on aspiring poker players in the western world.

The Asian Poker Tour Macau hosts over 20 events with 14 official side events - the first four taking place between the 12th – 16th August featuring guaranteed prize pools. These are the HK$2,500 welcome event that guarantees HK$100,000, an Asian Poker Tour Open re-buy and add-on event with a $1,150 entry fee that guarantees HK$50,000 - a Greed event that costs HK$2,500 to enter but offers the chance for one player to scoop all the HK$100,000 guaranteed prize pool if they choose, and a super HK$1,150 re-buy and add-on tournament that guarantees HK$150,000. This and much more is all ahead of Day 1A of the Main Event which kicks off on the 20th August.

There is also other headhunter, six-handed, eight-handed, invitational, and celebrity tournaments. There will also be a ladies' tournament and heads-up event, both believed to be firsts for the region and an example of just how far the game has moved on in Asia in the last 12 months. Taking part in the headhunter tournaments will be 'The Poker Pack' the top professionals who are ambassadors of The Asian Poker Tour on the world circuit, as well as other famous names such as Johnny Chan. The Pack, who will also have prominent roles in the 'Poker King' movie, are made up of the awesome poker abilities of JC Tran, Nam Le, Steve Sung, David 'Chino' Rheem, Quinn Do and Kwang Soo Lee.

The comprehensive side event schedule also includes a HK$164,000 buy-in high rollers event with other side events having a buy-in as little as HK$1,000. Another highlight includes the 'Battle of the Nations' team event. This is a team No Limit Hold'em tournament. Teams are composed of three members from the same country. There will be two teams facing each other at each table, so the tables will be six-handed. The goal is to eliminate all the members of the other team. This will play down until there is one team left! Sponsors of the side events and collaterals include the Hong Kong Game Club, DafaPoker, Dafa888, The Poker King Movie, JBet, PartyPoker, BWin, 777babycasino and PKR.

The cards are in the air for the first of two day one's of the Main Event on the 20th August, with the final table recorded in front of cameras on the 23rd August.

Matt Savage, the world's leading Tournament Director overseeing the action said: "This is an ambitious tournament schedule and there is something for everybody within it, there's no doubt it is player friendly. Macau's poker scene is booming and some of the formats will certainly be firsts for the region. The guarantees are great and it is exciting to see the heads-up and ladies event on the schedule. What shouldn't be forgotten as well though is that The Asian Poker Tour hosts the most legendary parties – the one in Macau even won awards last year!"

Tom Hall, CEO of AsianLogic, owners of the Asian Poker Tour said: "We're delighted with this schedule - it really shows just how far the game has come in this part of the world. Our objective was to put player's interests first in all scheduling as Macau will be a poker heaven in August!"

Amongst the online networks already committed to sending players are The Ongame Network, the iPoker Network and PartyPoker. In addition, online rooms Bwin, PKR, Dafa Poker, JBET Poker, Betfriends, 888, Titan Poker and 32Red are in on the action guaranteeing a significant online qualifier contingent. Last year, the event attracted some of the most famous names in the game including Doyle Brunson, Jack Binion, Johnny Chan, John Juanda, Huck Seed, Liz Lieu, Todd Brunson, Kenny Tran and 'The Poker Pack.' The 2008 Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event was won by then 20-year-old US hotshot Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who scooped US$500,000 after emerging triumphant from the star-studded field that featured players from over 40 countries. Timoshenko has since gone on to win the WPT Championship and is currently one of the hottest prospects in the game.

The buy-in for the Main Event is set at HK$34,400, while high-limit games and sit-n-go tables will run throughout the duration of the festival. As well as the action on the felt, the play off the felt promises to be extremely lively too with The Asian Poker Tour looking to top the legendary and award winning party held in Macau last year.

The last Asian Poker Tour event was held in the Philippines in January 2009 and was won by Manila rounder Neil Arce, who scooped US$185,000 for first prize after overcoming a field of 262 players from over 40 countries. The runner-up was the Republic of Korea's Steve Yea, who repeated his second place in the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2008. Full details can be found at www.asianpt.com/