Shinichi Cho Wins Tokyo Poker Tour's Third Ever Event

With several celebrity professional wrestlers in attendance, the Tokyo Poker Tour (TPT) had another successful run with Shinichi Cho coming out as the winner.

A total of 118 players from all over Japan participated in the event, which was held at the Tokyo Womens Plaza in Omotesando.

A lot of the attention, though, was on three particular players. Choshu Koriki, Ryuichi Takaiwa, and Tobita Survival, well-known professional wrestlers in the wrestling-crazed nation, joined the tournament and were easily spotted by the other players.

None of the three would make it to heads-up play, though, as the distinction for the final two went to Cho and runner-up Jin Yamada.
Choshu Koriki
Choshu Koriki

The two would battle back and forth until they both got it all-in on flop of {8-Spades}{6-Spades}{6-Clubs}. Cho had {4-Spades}{7-Spades} for the straight and flush draws but was still technically behind Yamada's {10-Hearts}{8-Clubs}. The turn {a-Diamonds} did not bring any help but thirteen-year-old dealer Tokio produced the {9-Spades} on the river to give Cho the flush.

That hand left Yamada's stack severely short and he got it all-in on the very next hand with {k-Hearts}{7-Hearts} against Cho's {j-Diamonds}{8-Spades}. A jack immediately came on the flop of {j-Hearts}{9-Spades}{3-Clubs} and no help came thereafter, giving the rest of the chips on the table to Cho and making him the champion of the event.

For the win, Cho won a Seven Luck Casino Package Tour for two. Meanwhile, Yamada received a pair of high-end Masunaga sunglasses for his runner-up finish.

The next TPT tournament will be held on October 9 at the Tokyo Womens Plaza in Omotosenado.

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Inaugural Eagle Cup Now Underway in Davao

Many of the top poker players in the Philippines wil be in Davao City for the next few days as the Metro Card Club Davao's first-ever Eagle Cup is underway.

The tournament was held to commemorate the celebration of an annual local festival. It will take place from August 19 to 22 with a guaranteed prize pool of Php 2,000,000. Buy-in is set at Php 10,000 + Php 1,000.

“This tournament will become the benchmark for all succeeding major tournaments to be held in the City and through this we hope that Davao finally finds its place in the poker map,” said a spokesperson for the Metro Card Club Davao.

The Eagle Cup was held in line with the celebration of Davao City’s Kadayawan festival. Kadayawan is an annual festival of thanksgiving that traces its roots back to Davao’s ethnic tribes from the past.

It hopes to showcase Davao City, which is best known for the beautiful Waling-Waling orchid, the durian, and of course, the mighty Philippine Eagle, hence the name “Eagle Cup”.

Day 1A is on August 19, Day 1B on August 20, Day 2 on August 21, and Day 3 will be on Sunday, August 22.

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More Than a Million Pesos Guaranteed During This Weekend's RWM Satellite Series Finale

With less than a few days away from one of the most anticipated international poker events on local shores, Resorts World Manila (RWM) will still be offering players plenty of chances to gain seats to APT Philippines 2010.

After five satellite tournaments where five different players earned APT Seats, the RWM Satellite Series continues at the RWM poker room but this time offering the largest guaranteed stake and multiple seats to the big event.

Players who haven't won seats yet will get one last crack at it this weekend as the RWM Satellite Series Finale takes place. It is scheduled to start at 2pm on August 21 and will have a buy-in of Php 10,000 + Php 1,000. Guaranteed are eight APT main event seats as well as a Php 100,000 cash prize pool.

Details of the RWM satellite tournament can be found on the Asian Poker Tour's web site by clicking here.

APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines. Buy-in is set at approximately US $2,500 + US $200.

RESORTS WORLD MANILA SATELLITE SERIES WINNERS:

June 13th, Satellite Series #1 – Ray Serion, APT Seat + Php 40,000
July 11th, Satellite Series #2 – Win Carlos, APT Seat + Php 86,000
July 25th, Satellite Series #3 – Michael Cua, APT Seat + Php 69,600
August 8, Satellite Series #4 – Francis Villamor, APT Seat + Php 54,800
August 15, Satellite Series #5 – Andy Asihwardji, APT Seat + Php 40,000

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Discussing Mixed Games Strategy and Tips with Ville Wahlbeck

No Limit Texas Hold 'em may be the most popular variation of poker in Asia, but it always makes for a better poker player if one learns how to play the game's different forms.

Meet New Team PokerStars pro Ville Wahlbeck from Finland, who is a mixed-games assassin. He has been killing cash games for years and in 2009 shocked the poker world with his mixed-game tournament skills at the World Series of Poker. That year he cashed six times in non-hold’em events, including winning his first bracelet in the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event, placing sixth in the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. event, third in the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship, and second in the $10,000 World Championship 2-7 Lowball. Clearly, when it comes to mixed games, Walhbeck has a wealth of knowledge. PokerNews talked to the pro about learning mixed games and found his top tips for beginners for each game in H.O.R.S.E.

When players sit down for the first time at a mixed-game table, what should they keep in mind?

When you’re playing on a mixed-games table like H.O.R.S.E., know which ones are your weak games and which are your strong games. You should definitely play much tighter in the games you don’t play that well. You can open up in the games that are you strong suit. Examine your opponents. Don’t give them any unnecessary action in their strong games.

What’s the biggest mistake you see players making when diving into mixed games?

You should start at a level low enough. Once you beat that level, then obviously you can move up, but there’s no sense in starting so high where the other players are more or less crushing you, or you’re making so many mistakes that you’re giving away a lot of value. After you learn, than you can you move up.

Let’s talk about each of the H.O.R.S.E. games.

Hold’em

It used to be that players started playing limit hold’em and transitioned to no-limit. Nowadays, players learn no-limit hold’em and then learn limit hold’em so that they can compete in mixed games. What advice do you have for them?

For players who are transitioning from no-limit hold’em to limit hold’em, I think they’ll be surprised by the amount of action there is and how many hands are going to showdown. In limit, more often than not, the hand is played all the way through. The difference in value of the hands in fixed limit hold’em compared to no-limit is quite big. Usually in fixed limit, if you flop middle pair, you’re going to call down or get to showdown.

Of course playing tight in early position is important in no-limit hold’em, but it seems even more important in limit because of the lack of flexibility to be creative in order to bluff.

That’s right. In early position, you should obviously play tight. Also, the same as in no-limit, you can open quite liberally from the cutoff and button, but of course players are going to adjust and three-bet you.

Are there any other important strategic differences players should keep in mind?

I’d say in limit hold’em, there is a lot of jamming or betting, and you just have to call down. In no-limit, you have to be much more careful because you can lose all the money in just one hand. Decisions are bigger in no-limit whereas in limit they should be automatic.

Omaha eight-or-better

What are common missteps beginners make in this game?

I’d say the biggest mistake would be people chasing bad lows in multi-way pots or staying in with less than great high hands. In a three or four-way pot, if you don’t have much of a low hand and you’re getting in a raising war between two people, you just have to let it go. Too often players are staying in without a nut-low draw and getting free-rolled on.

Omaha can be a tough game, because even with the nut-low it’s possible to get quartered. If you’re in a three-way pot and you have the nut-low and there’s a lot of action, you have to be aware there’s a possibility of being quartered. I wouldn’t be jamming the flop unless you have a high redraw or made high hand. If you just have the nut-low, you have to just be careful and call down.

Razz

In terms of starting hands, what should you be raising?

The first obvious thing is that if you have the only low card up, you should be raising no matter what your whole cards are.

Even if you have a pair?

It depends sometimes, but if you have a six up and everyone else has a face card, yes, you have to raise. There are really no other tactics. Preflop, you’re looking for two wheel cards like ace-deuce, ace-three, with an eight or something are perfectly playable. It really depends on your position that round and what your opponents’ up cards are.

Razz is just a very pure form of poker in the sense that there’s very rarely anything to think about as what your opponents are thinking. You just go with the hand as it develops. If you’re going to let the hand go, you should let it go on fifth street. If you get passed fifth street, you should usually just call it down the rest of the way unless you are still drawing and don’t hit anything.

Seven-card stud

In seven-card stud, as far as starting hands go, you’re looking for three high cards, high pairs, and three cards of the same suit with a couple of high cards preferably. Small pairs with a high kicker are obviously much stronger than small pairs with a small kicker, and hidden pairs are much stronger that up pairs because hitting a set would be so hidden. Again, it comes down a lot to your position that round and those of your opponents. If you are up against an opponent who is jamming all the time, you’re forced to call him down with very marginal holdings sometimes.

The difficulty is learning when you can value-bet just one pair in the end, or when you should check it behind. So once you have an understanding of starting hands and positions, then you’ll start to learn how hands usually play out. When you start with a high card up and you raise and keep jamming and your opponent’s board doesn’t develop, you can keep betting. If you see his board develop, you have to slow down and see how he reacts. If he starts betting into you, you have to reevaluate your hand strength and decide whether you should call down or fold on fifth street.

Seven-card stud eight-or-better

Obviously, in this game, you’re always looking for hands that can go both ways. Rubbish low hands like two-three-four are only playable in certain kinds of situations, but should stay out of the action usually in multi-way pots. Any kind of ace with a low card is usually playable. High hands are dangerous in seven-card stud eight-or-better because anytime someone makes a low against you, they often have a gutshot or a pair that can be improved, so they’re either freerolling or close to freerolling. Those are the hands you should be really careful with. There’s not a lot of stealing and re-stealing in stud games.

Did you have any trouble learning any of the mixed games?

No, no. Poker is a pretty simple game. It’s like chess or something. You can learn the rules in one day or one hour. It’s about executing proper strategy, learning starting hands, and how the game flows. Those are the things that you learn with playing the game.

Earlier this week, PokerNews hostess Gloria Balding also caught up with Ville Wahlbeck at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Tallinn and sat down with him to talk about learning mixed games.

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Sherwin Alda Tops Metro Rush to the APT

One player got in for the cheap investment, another joined for sheer thrill. At the end of the day, both found themselves on top of the A Million Rush to the APT event at the Metro Card Club in Pasig City.

Chasing cash and seats, it was the chip leader from Day 1A, Sherwin Alda, who got the first-place finish. Alda, a casual cash game player who decided to join the tournament because of the low buy-in amount, earned himself a seat to the APT Philippines 2010 main event as well as Php 300,000 in cash.

With the final table consisting mainly of relatively unknown players, it was apt that another unheralded player finished behind the champion. Jason Ong, who initially did not intend to play in the tournament, ended up at second place to bring home Php 160,000.

Aside from the cash, Ong and two other players, Emmanuel Segismundo (3rd place) and Luis Bernardo (4th place) also joined Alda in securing seats.

Each APT Philippines 2010 main event seat is worth approximately US $2,700. APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines.

The defending APT Philippines champion is none other than the Metro Card Club's Neil Arce, who won US $185,000 for finishing first in last year's event.

Final Table Results:

1st - Sherwin Alda (Php 300,000 + APT Seat)
2nd - Jason Ong (Php 160,000 + APT Seat)
3rd - Eman Segismundo (Php 90,000 + APT Seat)
4th - Luis Bernardo (Php 48,000 + APT Seat)
5th - Oliver Cristobal (Php 39,000)
6th - Harvey Ty (Php 30,000)
7th - Onofre De Guzman (Php 24,000)
8th - Francis Adornado (Php 18,000)
9th - Kartman Paul Tolenada (Php 15,000)

The Metro Card Club is located at the Metrowalk complex in Pasig City, Philippines. For more information, visit their website by clicking here.

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Medina Shows Touch, Rules Leg 3 of TPC Motherboard

Jerick Medina took on the challenge and rose to the occasion by besting 101 other players to emerge as the top player in the third leg of The Poker Circuit’s Motherboard series last night at The Midas Touch in Pasig City.

Medina finished with 443,000 in chips, good for second best in all of the TPC Motherboard legs so far. Joining him in the next round is the first lady to make the finals of the Motherboard series, Cyril “Ayee” Ramos, who doubled and tripled her way up to be among the nine qualifiers for the finals at APT Philippines 2010.

It was Richard Marquez who commanded a ceasefire to the action. With pocket nines, Marquez raised the shortest-stacked player, who responded by going all-in. Marquez immediately called as the player showed {q-}{10-} off-suit. The board blanked out and the cast was set.

Showing how cutthroat the competition was in this leg was the fact that the final nine was created at Round 18. That means that the Midas qualifiers are given a four round rollback in the finals as Poker Royale, which was the second leg, stopped at Round 14 (blinds: 4,000-8,000; ante: 1,000).

A total of 46 players registered in Day 1A of the event before 56 more signed up in the final two starting days.

Midas Touch part-owner Atty. Mans Tumanda was more than ecstatic and excited about the turnout, saying, “I am very pleased with the outcome of the TPC Motherboard here at Midas Touch. I can't wait to have my next event, which will involve the TPC, coming very soon.”

The fourth and final leg of the TPC Motherboard series is at King's Poker Sports Club in Pampanga on August 19 to 22. The survivors of all four legs will come together to play in the TPC Motherboard finals on the first day of APT Philippines 2010.

Buy-in for each TPC Motherboard event is set at Php 5,000 + Php 400. With the prize pool at Php 3,000,000, it looks like at least twelve seats to the APT Philippines 2010 main event will be given away in the finals.

APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines. Buy-in is set at approximately US $2,500 + US $200.

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The Week in Tournament Poker: August 8-14, 2010

Asia PokerNews takes you around the world of poker tournaments as the Macau Millions, PokerStars Russian Poker Series – Riga, Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Gold Coast, and the Florida State Poker Championship, took place over the past week or so.

(Main photo: Macau Millions winner Justin Chan addresses the crowd as PokerStars Macau's Fred Leung looks on.)

First, we stay in Asia, where PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Casino recently held the Macau Millions. Hong Kong's Justin Chan took home the top honors from the main event, besting many of Asia's top players to win the HK $275,000 first prize.

Missed the Macau Millions? No worries, as Asia PokerNews was there at the event covering all the action. Click here to visit the Asia PokerNews live reporting pages and find out how Justin Chan bagged the victory.

Next, we head to Florida, where Mike “The Mouth” Matusow won a cash prize of US $103,000 after winning the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the Florida State Poker Championships. The event took place at the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach with 140 entries showing up to play. Among those participating were Adam “Roothlus” Levy and November Niner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

At the €1,850 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event of the PokerStars Russian Poker Series, Alexander Kuperman walked away with the title after the final five players chopped up the remaining money. 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up Ivan Demidov won the second biggest buy-in event on the schedule.

Meanwhile, Nauv Kashya took home AUD$ 182,965 for topping the field at the ANZPT Main Event. He bested a tough final table that included Ricky Kroesen, Aaron Benton and Joel Dodds.

Here’s a look at the results from the latest tournaments:

Macau Millions
Buy-in: HK$ 2,000 + $200
Guarantee: HK$ 1,000,000
Prize Pool: HK$ 1,467,180
Entrants: 741

1st - Justin Chan (HK $275,000)
2nd - Tom Chou (HK $200,000)
3rd - Lei "Alex" Long (HK $130,000)
4th - Jimmy King (HK $100,000)
5th - Jonathan Azoulay (HK $75,000)
6th - David Pan (HK $57,680)
7th - Richard Hu (HK $45,000)
8th - Li Jin Hua (HK $37,500)
9th - Victor Chen (HK $30,000)
10th - Jun Chen (HK $25,000)

Notable Finishes: Raymond Wu (23rd - $13,000), Bryan Huang (33rd - $9,000)

PokerStars RPS Main Event
Buy-in: €1,850 + €150
Guarantee: None
Prize Pool: €328,393
Entrants: 183

*1. Alexander Kuperman - €45,000
*2. Ganeev Murat - €45,000
*3. Mikhail Rudenok - €45,000
*4. Martin Meciar- €61,744
*5. Arturs Jegorovs - €45,000
6. Igor Yaroshevsky - €13,125
7. Joao Candeias - €10,175
8. Evgeniy Zaycev - €8,200
9. Ernesto Estevez - €6,550

PokerStars RPS €1,000 NLHE
Buy-in: €1,000 + €100
Guarantee: None
Prize Pool: €34,920
Entrants: 37

*1. Ivan Demidov - €10,270
*2. Kaspars Renga - €9,000
*3. Dmitry Vitkind - €7,000
4. Viktors Caikins- €3,825
5. Aleksandrov Mikhail - €2,775
6. Sergey Ponasyuk - €2,025

ANZPT Gold Coast
Buy-in: A$ 2,500
Guarantee: None
Prize Pool: A$ 717,500
Entrants: 287

1. Nauv Kashyap - A$ 182,965
2. Ricky Kroesen - $116,235
3. Liam O’Rourke - $64,575
4. Aaron Benton - $50,225
5. Joel Dodds - $41,975
6. Brad Wilson - $34,440
7. Le Vuong Van - $27,265
8. Michael Spilkin - $21,525
9. Dominic Coombe - $16,145

Notable Finishes: Maurie Pears (16th - $7,890), David Steicke (22nd - $6,100)

In other tournament news, the Detox Poker Series kicked off this past week. Matt Savage has been called in as the tournament director and the series looks to be drawing a great crowd out in Las Vegas. There are a handful of events on the schedule, but here are the results from the big $350 kickoff event with a $100,000 guarantee.

Detox Poker Series
Buy-in: $350
Guarantee: $100,000
Prize Pool: $121,150
Entrants: 399

1. Joe Tehan - $31,943
2. Rickard Ziscino - $16,432
3. Richard Watwood - $15,065
4. Nicholas Gorman - $8,360
5. Kevin Kramer - $6,270
6. Steve Wilson - $5,230
7. Amin Dobine - $4,180
8. Jess Welman - $3,140
9. Michael Regan - $2,090

* - Denotes a chop

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Nothing But Postives for the Gaming Industry in Macau

It looks like Macau may be inching even closer to Las Vegas' status as the world's top gambling location after strong results over the last year. Here's the latest business news from Asia's gaming capital.

Macau Gaming Industry on the Upswing

Gaming revenue in Macau jumped 70 percent in July 2010 compared to the same month last year, and July's take was also 20 percent higher than in June. After a slump while international gamblers were distracted by the World Cup, they hit the tables and slots in earnest after the final matches ended.

Industry analysts David Katz and Stephen Shulstein said the results were better than expected. They also said they thought that Macau gaming revenue will probably be strong throughout 2010 even though the Chinese economy has been cooling slightly.

Bloomberg gave a rundown of the stock performances of companies with major investments in the Macau gaming industry at the beginning of August and reported growth all around.

Although U.S.-based casino operators are thrilled by the booming Macanese (Macau) market, the State Department is less excited. In its Country Reports on Terrorism 2009, published last week, the State Department wrote, "Macau's position as a major international gambling center makes it a potential site for money laundering and terrorist financing activities. The report added that, "Macau authorities have taken steps to improve compliance with suspicious transactions reporting requirements ... but the threshold reporting limits remain well above international norms,” and the territory "does not have reporting requirements for cross-border currency movements."

Wynn Doubles Properties in Macau, Also Doubles 2Q Profits

Wynn Resorts Ltd. reported that its second-quarter profits doubled from last year's thanks to the opening of a second casino in Macau. Wynn's net income increased from $25.5 million to $52.4 million. The company points to Encore Macau's opening in April as a major source of the additional funds. Steve Wynn, the company's namesake and CEO, said that Encore's "high-end pits" attracted more than their "fair share" of profitable whales.

"Prior to the opening of Encore, we had 8.5 percent of the equipment and 13 of the revenues from the market," he explained. "Now, we have 10 percent of the equipment and 16 to 17 percent of the revenue. We are on our way to the best year in this company's history." Wynn also told shareholders that the company plans to build a third resort on the Cotai Strip. Although he may have been motivated as much by his very public disagreement with the democratic presidential administration as by the success of his properties in Macau, Wynn announced earlier in the year that he was considering moving company headquarters from Las Vegas to Macau.

Read about the Wynn's second-quarter numbers for yourself here and here.

Sands a Success in Macau

The Las Vegas Sands Corp. reported a second-quarter loss of $4.7 million, but that was a huge gain considering the company lost $222.2 million during the same period last year. Total revenue climbed from $1.06 billion in 2009 to $1.59 billion. The 51 percent jump in revenue was largely attributed to the raging success of the Sands' properties in Macau and its new casino complex in Singapore.

Although subsidiary Sands China had a good year, including a successful $2.5 billion debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson fired Sands China CEO Steven Jacobsen at the end of his yearlong term in July. Jacobsen was replaced by former Disney executive Wing Chao.

Click to learn more about the Sands finances and CEO drama.

MGM Looking to Expand Macau Operations

MGM Resorts International has been suffering under the weight of its $8.5 billion CityCenter project, which opened in Las Vegas in December 2009. The development's operating losses are taking a toll on the company's finances and is the primary cause of MGM's $883 million net loss in the second quarter of 2010. That was a drop of about $2 per share.

The only positive thing that MGM could announce in its quarterly report was a jump in the profitability of its half stake in the MGM Grand Macau. In the second quarter of 2009, the hotel-casino lost $8 million, but it brought in $40 million in income during the same period in 2010.

The president of MGM Macau, Grant Bowie, said on Friday that the company is looking to expand its presence in the area and is on the hunt for a parcel of land in the booming Cotai Strip. "We have made it clear we want to grow in Macau," Bowie said. "We are working with the goverment," to make that happen. There are rumors that an offering of MGM stock on the Hong Kong stock exchange may be tied to receiving a land concession on the Strip, something MGM requested in 2007.

Harrah's Missed the Boat

In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., said that his biggest mistake as CEO was his 2006 decision not to bid on a $900 million gambling license in Macau. A year later, Harrah's bought a golf course there to try to get the brand name somewhere on the island, but it was too late to secure one of only six gambling licenses. "Big mistake," Loveman said. "I was wrong, I was really wrong."

(Article source: PokerNews.com)

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Shinich Koisi Wins Second Tokyo Poker Tour Event

The Tokyo Poker Tour (TPT) held its second consecutive successful tournament last weekend, with Japanese player Shinich Koisi going home as the champion.

(Main photo: Winner Shinich Koisio, left, poses with Tokyo Poker Tour's Itaru Kaneko)

A total of 113 players from all over Japan, including major cities such as Osaka and Tokyo, participated in the event, which was held at the Tokyo Womens Plaza in Omotesando.

It was a long heads-up duel between Koiso and the runner-up, fellow Japanese player Zool. In the end, Koiso and Zool both got their stacks in with Koiso holding {j-Spades}{10-Clubs} against Zool’s {a-Hearts}{q-Clubs}.

The flop came out {j-Hearts}{9-Spades}{3-Clubs}, immediately giving Koiso top pair. The turn blanked with the {4-Diamonds} and the river {10-Diamonds} only made his hand even better as he improved to top two-pair.

For the win, Koiso won a US $2,500 Spanish Poker Tour (SPT) Package Tour and Everest Poker merchandise. Meanwhile, Zool received a pair of high-end Masunaga sunglasses for his runner-up finish.

Just like the first TPT tournament, the event was filled with plenty of highlights. Japanese singer Antonio Koinoki sang his famous theme song to kick off the event and he invited all the players to join him in shouting “shuffle up and deal!” Also in attendance was Japanese comedian and wrestling personality Koriki Choshu, who participated in the tournament.



In addition, Tokio, the thirteen-year-old son of TPT tournament director and promoter Itaru Kaneko, made another appearance as a dealer, much to the delight of the crowd.

The next TPT tournament will be held tomorrow, August 14, at the same venue. The winner of that tournament will receive a 7 Luck Casino package for two.

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Police Raid Hong Kong Poker House's Farewell Party

Local police gave the Hong Kong Poker House (HKPH) an unceremonious send-off last night after conducting a raid on the poker room's very last night at its location in Central.

According to the South China Morning Post, more than a hundred people were arrested at the HKPH in a raid that was conducted on suspicions of illegal gambling. As of 1 am last night, though, no charges had been filed.

The poker room had been holding its farewell party because it was the room's last night of operation. The landlord had refused to renew the lease, and it is unclear what the HKPH had planned for the future.

Entrance to the party was HK $300, which covered drinks, food, and a starting stack of 2,000 chips. According to the poster advertising the party, a re-buy of 3,000 in chips could be had for another HK $300. Winners would receive non-cash prizes, including overnight trips to Macau.

Witnesses said that no cash games had been taking place and that the chips had "no cash value" written on them.

This was the first time a raid has taken place at the HKPH, which advertises itself as a safe poker room because it had never been raided before.

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Two Legs to Go for The Poker Circuit's Motherboard

The Poker Circuit's Php 3 million guaranteed TPC Motherboard series is down to its last two events after its recently-concluded Poker Royale leg.

A total of 130 entries registered for the four-day leg, which saw a total of eighteen players advance to the TPC Motherboard finals at APT Philippines 2010.

Leading the way from that batch is Michael De Leon, who currently holds a stack of 342,000 in chips. He and the seventeen other players from the TPC's second leg will merge with the finalists from the other three legs to form the field for the TPC Motherboard finals, which will be held on August 23 at 1:00 pm at Resorts World Manila.

Two more TPC Motherboard qualifying legs are scheduled to take place before the finals: The Midas Touch in Pasig City (August 13 to 16), and Kings Poker Sports Club in Pampanga (August 19 to 22).

Buy-in for each TPC Motherboard event is set at Php 5,000 + Php 400. With the prize pool at Php 3,000,000, it looks like at least twelve seats to the APT Philippines 2010 main event will be given away in the finals.

APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines. Buy-in is set at approximately US $2,500 + US $200.

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Simon Chan Wins Third Asian Poker King Tournament

Simon Chan with Cedric Raffi and Isaac Lo

At least five more players are headed to APT Philippines 2010 after this weekend, which saw Simon Chan win the Poker King Club's third-ever Asian Poker King Tournament in Macau.

A total of 151 players showed up to play in the HKD $880,000 guaranteed three-day event, which was held at the StarWorld Hotel. Five APT main event seats were given away, with two included in the prize pool and three more seats as a bonus for the players.

On the very last hand of heads-up play, Cedric Raffi shoved with his short stack of about 200,000 holding {8-Hearts}{6-Hearts} and Chan, with almost 1.7 million chips in his stack, made the quick call with {q-}{10-}. The flop came {q-}{8-}{4-Hearts}, giving both players a pair but keeping Chan ahead. Another heart came on the turn to give Raffi new outs, but the river blanked out to give all the chips on the table to Chan.

For the win, Chan took home the trophy as well as a seat to APT Philippines 2010 main event worth HK $21,000 and HK $266,800 in cash. Raffi, meanwhile, received an APT main event seat as well as HK $145,600 for his second-place finish.

Three other players received APT Philippines seats as well: third-placer Yik Hei "Isaac" Lo, fourth-placer Jerome Outhenin-Chalandre, and fifth-placer Charles "Mr. Macau" Chua.

Aside from the the five seats won through the Asian Poker King Tournament, the Poker King Club's Director of Operations, Winfred Yu, said that an additional six players would be heading for Manila this August as part of Team Poker King.

APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines. Buy-in is set at approximately US $2,500 + US $200.

Last year’s main event in Manila was won by local poker pro Neil Arce, who was awarded US $185,000 for finishing first.

FINAL TABLE RESULTS:

1st - Simon Chan (HK $266,800 + APT Philippines 2010 seat)
2nd - Cedric Raffi (HK $145,600 + APT Philippines 2010 seat)
3rd - Yik Hei "Isaac" Lo (HK $72,700 + APT Philippines 2010 seat)
4rd - Jerome Outhenin-Chalandre (HK $56,600)
5th - Charles "Mr. Macau" Chua (HK $48,500)
6th - Nikita Boyko (HK $40,400)
7th - Soojo Kim (HK $32,300)
8th - Chanhee Yu (HK $24,200)
9th - Henrik Gwinner (HK $16,200)
10th - Chun Liang Pan (HK $14,500)

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Justin Chan Wins Inaugural Macau Millions at PokerStars Macau

After five days of poker and a record-setting player entry field, Justin Chan emerged to become the champion of the inaugural Macau Millions at PokerStars Macau!

The Hong Kong player, who was playing in just his first-ever live tournament in Asia, outlasted many of Asia's top players in a rarely-seen tournament format to take home the championship and HK $275,000 in prize money.

Chan entered the final day, which saw the remaining 54 players from the five Day 1 heats come together, with 110,000 in chips -- just a little below average. However, he stayed aggressive throughout the day, making sure to raise often to steal the blinds and pick chips off players looking to survive.

It worked, as he built up momentum during the second half of the day, eliminating a handful of players before heading into the final table as the chip leader. Eventually, after surviving a long, two-and-a-half hour stretch of three-handed play between Tom Chou, Lei "Alex" Long, and himself, he found himself heads-up with Chou.

Considering how long it took for a player to bust out of the final three, everybody thought that the final two players would take a while to decide the champion. The exact opposite happened, as the two got all-in on the very first hand of their one-on-one match-up.

With a chip stack of 5.8 million compared to Chou's 1.5 million, Chan decided to test his opponent and declared all-in. Chou made the call and the cards were tabled, with Chan showing {8-Hearts}{9-Clubs} against Chou's {k-Clubs}{7-Spades}. Just like most of the all-in moments during the last few levels of play, this one would be a virtual coin-flip with Chou slightly ahead with king-high.

However, it was Chan's time to shine as the flop came {3-Clubs}{2-Spades}{8-Diamonds} to give him top pair and leaving Chou with just two more chances to hit a king and survive. It did not happen as the turn and river blanked out, pushing all the chips Chan's way and making him the first-ever Macau Millions winner. Chou, who is a floor manager for the World Series of Poker, won HK $200,000 for his runner-up finish.

A total of 741 entries registered for the Macau Millions, which broke the record for most ever for a tournament in the region and surpassing the guaranteed prize pool of HK $1,000,000. Unlike most of the tournaments held at PokerStars Macau as well as poker rooms in Asia, this one was unique because eliminated players were able to re-enter at any time during the five starting days.

Each starting day played on until the top seven percent for the day was reached. The remaining players then advanced to Day 2, where they were guaranteed to be in the money.

The Macau Millions main event was held from August 4 to 8 at the Grand Lisboa Casino's PokerStars Macau poker room. It featured a HK $2,200 buy-in and featured top Asian players such as PokerStars Team Asia Pro members Celina Lin, Bryan Huang, and Raymond Wu.

Asia PokerNews was at the Macau Millions doing live updates, chip counts, interviews, and more. To read about what happened during the tournament, visit the live reporting section by clicking here.

FINAL TABLE RESULTS:

1st - Justin Chan (HK $275,000)
2nd - Tom Chou (HK $200,000)
3rd - Lei "Alex" Long (HK $130,000)
4th - Jimmy King (HK $100,000)
5th - Jonathan Azoulay (HK $75,000)
6th - David Pan (HK $57,680)
7th - Richard Hu (HK $45,000)
8th - Li Jin Hua (HK $37,500)
9th - Victor Chen (HK $30,000)
10th - Jun Chen (HK $25,000)

PokerStars Macau is located at the Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau. For more information, read the Asia PokerNews feature on the poker room by clicking here.

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Flight 1 of Asian Poker King Tournament Complete

Flight 1 of the Asian Poker King Tournament took place today with 44 players playing 10 rounds in six hours, leaving 13 players remaining to enter Sunday’s final. This HK$6,000+HK$500 freezeout tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of HK$880K, has two more flights open for entry, both taking place tomorrow (Saturday 7th August) one starting at 1pm the other at 7pm at the StarWorld Hotel and Casino .

“We are very happy with this entry number for a weekday event. With so much going on this weekend in Macau in terms of poker action , we wanted to ensure our schedule was as flexible as possible and we will be very happy, as will the players, if we can get an average of 50 players for each of our three flights” said Winfred Yu, Director of Operations , Poker King Club.

In addition to the prizepool guarantee which will include 3 seats to APT Philippines, the Poker King Club has added two additional seats to the prestigious APT event that starts in Manila on 23rd of this month. The top five players will receive an APT seat each valued at US$2,700 and it is expected that the final 18 players will all receive cash. The winner of this tournament will walk away with not only an APT seat but also some spending money to the tune of HK$266,800!

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Star Studded Opening for Macau Millions

The much awaited Macau Millions at the Grand Lisboa’s PokerStars Macau kicked off with a bang today as the poker room officially marked the start of the tournament with a glamorous opening ceremony.

PokerStars Macau officials, including operations head Danny McDonagh and marketing manager Fred Leung, were joined by PokerStars Team Asia Pros and some of Hong Kong’s top celebrities and models in opening the Macau Millions.

A large throng of onlookers and media personnel crowded the stage to try to catch a glimpse of the celebrities, giving the event a red-carpet feeling.

The media was well represented.

Of course, the main focus was the ground-breaking Macau Millions main event, which is looking to break the region’s record for entries in a tournament.

Want to follow the action live? Get live blogs, chip counts, photos, and more straight from the Macau Millions by clicking here!

PokerStars Team Asia Pros Bryan Huang, Celina Lin, and Raymond Wu were on hand to mark the opening of the event, and each will be looking to win the event to help their bids to win the Asian Player of the Year at PokerStars Macau.

PokerStars Team Asia Pro Bryan Huang shows the ladies how to go all-in.

"The Asia Player of the Year race will be prominent as both the Macau Millions and $5,000 NLH 350K Guarantee event (August 7-8) will count towards the APOY Leaderboard," said Mr. Leung.

A big HK $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool will be up for grabs with a buy-in of only HK $2,200. Unlike most of the tournaments held at PokerStars Macau, this one will be unique because eliminated players will be able to re-enter at any time during the five starting days.

The schedule is made up of Days 1A to 1E. The starting days will then be followed by Day 2, where the winner will ultimately be decided.

Each starting day will play on until the top 7 percent for the day is reached. The remaining players will then advance to Day 2, where they are guaranteed to be in the money.

PokerStars Macau is located at the Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau. For more information, read the Asia PokerNews feature on the poker room by clicking here.

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Get Live Updates Straight from the Macau Millions!

Want to find out what's going on live from the ground-breaking Macau Millions main event? Then log on to Asia PokerNews, which will be providing live reporting and other updates straight from the tournament venue!

The Asia PokerNews crew will be there to give regular updates as well as post chip counts, news stories, photos, and more. To follow all of our posts, visit the Asia PokerNews live reporting page!

The Macau Millions will take place at PokerStars Macau from August 4 to 8. A total of HK $1,000,000 will be guaranteed for the multiple re-entry tournament, with buy-ins set at HK $2,200.

It will be a whole different ballgame for the participants as the format to be used for the Macau Millions will probably be unlike anything they've seen in the past. Each Day 1 will play down until only seven percent of the starting field is left. These remaining players will then advance to the final day.

That rule will surely make for some huge pots towards the end of each day as players scramble to make it into the upper echelon of the chip counts.

Top players from all over Asia, including PokerStars Team Asia Pros Bryan Huang, Celina Lin, Raymond Wu, and Tae Jun Noh, will be looking to win big in this event, which will require a lot more aggressiveness than your usual poker tournament.

For Chinese language live reporting, visit China PokerNews and the traditional Chinese language version of Asia PokerNews!

Aside from the Asia PokerNews live reporting pages, updates will be posted directly on the Asia PokerNews pages on Facebook and Twitter!

PokerStars Macau is located at the Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau. For more information, read the Asia PokerNews feature on the poker room by clicking here.

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Macau Millions Kicks Off This Week

The tournament tables at the Grand Lisboa Casino's PokerStars Macau poker room are sure to be filled with plenty of action this week as the unique Macau Millions event kicks off on Wednesday.

Top players from all over Asia, including PokerStars Team Asia Pros Bryan Huang, Celina Lin, Raymond Wu, and Tae Jun Noh, will be looking to win big in this event, which will require a lot more aggressiveness than your usual poker tournament.

It will be a whole different ballgame for the participants as the format to be used for the Macau Millions will probably be unlike anything they've seen in the past. Only the top seven percent of each Day 1 field will advance to the final day.

That rule will surely make for some huge pots towards the end of each day as players scramble to make it into the upper echelon of the chip counts.

Asia PokerNews will be covering all the poker action from PokerStars Macau as the live reporting team will be there to provide live blogging, chip counts, photos, video interviews, and more.

The schedule is made up of Days 1A to 1E. The starting days will then be followed by Day 2, where the winner will ultimately be decided.

Here is the full schedule of the Macau Millions main event:

Wednesday, August 4 - Day 1A (8:10 pm)
Thursday, August 5 - Day 1B (8:10 pm)
Friday, August 6 - Day 1C (2:10 pm), Day 1D (7:10 pm)
Saturday, August 7 - Day 1E (2:10 pm)
Sunday, August 8 - Final Day (12:10 pm)

Players who make their way to PokerStars Macau for the event will have a big chance of making a big impact on the poker room's Asia Player of the Year leaderboard. Aside from the Macau Millions main event, the scheduled HK $5,000 No Limit Hold 'em 300K Guaranteed tournament will also have a bearing on player points.

The Macau Millions comes less than a month after the last Macau Poker Cup (MPC), which was won by Kenichi Takarabe for a cash prize of HK $620,100.

PokerStars Macau is located at the Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau. For more information, read the Asia PokerNews feature on the poker room by clicking here.

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TPC Motherboard's First Leg Finishes Strong Despite Storm

Despite torrential rains beating down on Cebu during the first two starting days, The Poker Circuit Motherboard's first leg finished strong with eighteen qualifiers moving on to the finals at APT Philippines 2010.

Players from Cebu and the surrounding areas braved the storm to play in the leg, which was guaranteeing at least 18 players moving on to the TPC Motherboard's final round.

Only a total of 66 entries were registered for the first two starting days. The third starting day, however, saw 80 entries to boost the total to 143 entries.

"We're very pleased with the outcome considering the bad weather," said TPC founder and tournament director Lloyd Fontillas. "There was a substantial overlay but we guaranteed eighteen players in the finals from this leg and that's exactly the number that will be moving on to RWM in late August."

It was fast and furious all throughout as only 39 players made it to the second day. Finally, with 19 players left, Bong Santos decided to move in with his short stack holding {a-}{4-} and Connie Tan made the call with {k-}{10-}. It looked like Bong was ready to double up as the flop and turn did not bring anything. However, luck would not be on his side as a king landed on the river to give Connie the pair and making him the bubble boy.

Leading the way is Rolando Paredes, who proved that one can never be too old to play the game he loves. A 66-year-old retired doctor, Paredes won a handful of big pots throughout the first two days and ended with 449,000. In second place is John Rodger Ruiz, who is more than a 100,000 in chips behind with a stack of 310,000.

Three more TPC Motherboard qualifying legs are scheduled to take place before the finals on August 23 at Resorts World Manila: Poker Royale in Pasay City (August 6 to 9), The Midas Touch in Pasig City (August 13 to 16), and Kings Poker Sports Club in Pampanga (August 19 to 22).

Buy-in for each TPC Motherboard event is set at Php 5,000 + Php 400. With the prize pool at Php 3,000,000, it looks like at least twelve seats to the APT Philippines 2010 main event will be given away in the finals.

APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines. Buy-in is set at approximately US $2,500 + US $200.

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