J.C. Tran Wins Celebrity Event at APT Philippines 2010

It was an eventful first day at APT Philippines 2010 and a familiar face in J.C. Tran capped off the opening ceremonies with a big win in the Asian Poker Tour's celebrity charity challenge.

Tran, who is one of the most popular and respected Asian American players in the world, beat out pros such as John Juanda, Quinn Do, Nam Le, Steve Sung, Neil Arce, and Amnon Filippi, as well as the representatives from the APT, including AsianLogic CEO Tom Hall, APT chairman Chris Parker, and APT CEO Jeff Mann.

The APT ambassador also had to adjust and outwit a contingent of Manila's local celebrities, including sports host Jinno Rufino, who ended up in second place. Other top names who were on hand included Troy Montero, KC Montero, Karen Bordador, Jinno Rufino, Rajo Laurel, Khai Lim, Haji Alejandro, Priscilla Meirelles, and John Estrada.

For the win, Tran picked up Php 100,000 for the Kythe Foundation, a charity organization based in the Philippines.

The celebrity charity challenge was part of the first day for this year’s APT Philippines, which is being held at Resorts World Manila. Aside from the opening ceremonies, the APT also held a media event, the PKR Battle of Teams side event, and the TPC Motherboard finals.

APT Philippines 2010 will be held from August 23 to 29 at the Resorts World Manila complex in Manila, Philippines. The main event will start on Wednesday, August 25. Buy-in for the main event is set at approximately US $2,500 + US $200.

Click here to find out more about this year's APT Philippines schedule.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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)

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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)

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Satellites Ongoing for Upcoming APPT Macau Main Event

With the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) making its way back to Macau this May, satellites are already ongoing for players who want to win their way into this year’s APPT Macau main event.

Live satellites have already started at the PokerStars Macau poker room at the Grand Lisboa Casino, which is the official venue of APPT Macau. In addition, Phase 1 and Phase 2 satellites will be available daily starting from Monday, May 3 – the official starting day of the APPT Macau series of tournaments.

The APPT Macau main event will be held from May 18 to 23. Buy-in is set at HK $40,000, which is approximately US $5,160. The schedule calls from three Day 1 flights, followed by Day 2, Day 3, and the final table day.


Buy-in for Phase 1 satellites are set at HK $220 ($190+$30) while Phase 2 satellites have a buy-in of HK $950($860+$90).

As always, satellites are also available online on PokerStars. Simply select “Events” in the poker client and then click on “Macau”.

Last year, the third edition of the APPT Macau main event saw Irish player Dermont Blain win HK $4,194,000 after emerging as the champion. Blain was just one of the APPT Macau record 429 players who played in the main event, contributing to the prize pool of HK $16,130,400.

For more information about the APPT, visit its official web site by clicking here.

Start playing on PokerStars now!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Elton Tsang Wins the Asian Poker King Tournament

Elton Tsang from Hong Kong outlasted a field of 233 players to become the champion of the Poker King Club’s Asian Poker King Tournament Main Event, held at the Level 8 Ballroom of the StarWorld Hotel and Casino, to take home the first prize of HK$ 553,600.

(Main photo: Elton Tsang, in white, holds up the trophy as he poses along with Poker King Club business director Winfred Yu and the Poker King models.)

On the last hand of the tournament, John Hoang from the USA made it 100,000 to go pre-flop and Tsang called. Tsang checked the flop of {a-Diamonds}{a-Clubs}{4-Spades} and Hoang bet another 100,000. Tsang raised to 200,000 which was re-raised by Hoang to 300,000 total. Tsang called and they saw the turn {9-Clubs}. Tsang checked and after Hoang shoved in the remainder of his shorter stack, Tsang snap-called to show {k-Diamonds}{9-Hearts}, well ahead of Hoang's {j-Clubs}{6-Spades}. The river {8-Hearts} was a brick, good enough to crown Tsang as the champion of the Asian Poker King Tournament.

Results and pay-outs from the final table:

1 HK$ 553,600 Elton Tsang (Hong Kong)
2 HK$ 294,100 John Hoang (USA)
3 HK$ 138,400 Jose De Caro (Venezuela)
4 HK$ 103,800 Fred Leung (Hong Kong)
5 HK$ 86,500 Samuel Sin Cheung Luk (Hong Kong)
6 HK$ 69,200 Brice Renaud (France)
7 HK$ 51,900 Sae Jin Lee (Korea)
8 HK$ 34,600 Ryan Kim (USA)
9 HK$ 32,900 Kuok Uki Cheong (Macau)
10 HK$ 29,425 Wu Hong Cheng (China)

The Asian Poker King Tournament, which is an Asian Poker Tour Accredited Event, featured a guaranteed prize pool of HK$ 1,000,000 with a buy in of HK$ 7,500 + HK$ 500. The guarantee was exceeded as the prize pool reached HK$ 1,730,025.

The last side event, HK$ 1,100 Shootout Event was won by Ricky Foo. Ricky took home the HK$ 14,600 after the third hand of heads up play when he hit an unlikely flush after four suited cards came on the board.

The Poker King Club is located on the third floor of the StarWorld Casino in Macau. For more information, read the Asia PokerNews feature on the Poker King Club. You may also visit their web site by clicking here.

Sign up for an online poker room through Asia PokerNews to get exclusive freerolls, bonuses, and promotions!

Join Asia PokerNews on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!