Now that the European Poker Tour season is over, and SCOOP is entering its death throes, there has never been a better reason to head over to Asia--specifically Macau and the PokerStars LIVE card-room at the City of Dreams.
The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) is now in its tenth season and Macau is the only destination on the tour that has hosted at least one event every year. Buy-ins have changed, as has the location, but after trips through the Grand Lisboa, the Grand Waldo and downstairs in the City of Dreams, the card-room now has a superb perch on the casino's second level, overlooking the casino floor but agreeably separate from it.
There's a food court around the corner, and even a place to watch the action from a bar. You'd need to go a long way to find a better poker room than this one, and the action is appropriately enticing.
This festival comprises 14 events, with buy-ins beginning at HKD$1,000 (a little less than USD $200) and rising to HKD$100,000 (around USD$13,000).
Our principal focus will be the HKD$25,000 main event, which begins at 2pm on Wednesday, and has two opening flights. Day 1B is on Thursday and the field will combine on Day 2 on Friday. We'll then play down to a final on Saturday before crowning a champion sometime on Sunday night.
With something like 500 players a distinct possibility, it's going to be a marathon.
See table below for stats from previous renewals of this tournament.
This evening, all eyes will be on the start of a HKD$50,000 two-day event, a kind of high-ish roller to give something for the early-arriving sharks to sink their teeth into.
Registration is under way right now, ahead of a 6pm start. Players can buy-in up to the end of the ninth 40-minute level, at 12:30am.
Keep your eyes on PokerStars Blog for all the action from Macau.
We'll go blow-by-blow for the main event from tomorrow, and drop in on the high-ish roller from time to time tonight.
APPT Macau season-by-season
| Season | Players | Buy in | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 352 | $2,500* | Dinh Le | $222,640* |
| 2 | 538 | $3,200* | Eddie Sabat | $453,851* |
| 3 | 429 | $5,160* | Dermot Blain | $541,072* |
| 4 | 342 | $40,000 | Victorino Torres | $3,246,200 |
| 5 | 575 | $30,000 | Randy Lew | $3,772,000 |
| 6 | 358 | $25,000 | Jeff Rossiter | $1,777,000 |
| 6 | 184 | $100,000 | Xing Zhou | $3,547,500 |
| 7 | 388 | $25,000 | Alexandre Chieng | $2,165,000 |
| 8 | 494 | $25,000 | Jiajun Liu | $2,776,000 |
| 9 | 493 | $25,000 | Yat Wai Cheng | $2,525,000 |
| 10 | ? | $25,000 | ? | ? |
*Buy-in in USD.
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