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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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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Davao City’s First Eagle Cup Slated for Mid August

Poker players in the Philippines are all familiar with the Metro Card Club’s tournaments, but this August, it will be the poker room’s branch in Davao City grabbing the headlines.

To celebrate an annual local festival, Metro Card Club Davao will be holding the first-ever Eagle Cup poker tournament. The event 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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Fourth and Fifth Tournaments of RWM Satellite Series Officially Announced

Resorts World Manila and the Asian Poker Tour have officially announced two more Php 500,000 guaranteed RWM Satellite Series events.

According to the APT's website, the fourth in the series of APT Philippines 2010 satellite events at the resort complex will be held on Sunday, August 8. The next weekend, RWM Satellite Series Event 5 will be held on Sunday, August 15.

Players will be able to join for Php 5,000 while RWM regulars can exchange 5,000 player points for entry.

Mega satellites to the two RWM Satellite Series events will be held on Saturdays starting on July 31 at a buy-in of Php 500 (with optional one rebuy and one add-on) and no registration fee.

The RWM Satellite Series' first three winners were Ray Serion, Win Carlos, and Michael Cua, who all won APT Philippines main event seats and cash for topping their respective tournaments.

Php 25/50 cash games will be available to all players during the Sundays that the Satellite Series events will be held. The minimum cash game stakes at the Resorts World Manila poker room are typically Php 50/100.

Eighteen winners will be receiving cash prizes, with the winner of the tournament receiving an APT Philippines 2010 main event seat and at least Php 40,000 in cash.

In addition, players who finish second all the way to fifth will be awarded seats to the final event of the Satellite Series.

The final event, entitled the RWM Satellite Series Finale, will take place on August 21 at RWM for a buy-in of Php 10,000 + Php 1,000.

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.

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Macau Heads for Big Week of Tournament Poker

Fans of tournament poker in Macau will have plenty to talk about in the next week with both the Macau Poker Cup (MPC) and the Poker King Club’s Summer Challenge taking place in the coming days.

The Poker King Summer Challenge will be a two-day event featuring a HK $388,000 guaranteed prize pool. Buy-in is set at HK $4,500.

The first day will take place on Saturday, July 3, at 1:00 pm. Play will continue until the final table is reached. The remaining players will then return on Sunday afternoon to duke it out for the top prize.

In addition to the Summer Challenge, the Poker King Club will also be holding a small 32-max Heads-Up event on Sunday afternoon.


Three blocks away, the Grand Lisboa’s PokerStars Macau poker room will be holding its next Macau Poker Cup from July 7 to 11. All eyes will be on the Red Dragon main event, which is guaranteeing a prize pool of HK $2,000,000 for a buy-in of HK $10,000.

There will also be several side events for players to participate in, including a charity tournament and a knockout bounty tournament.

Some of Asia’s best players, including top pros such as Bryan Huang and Celina Lin will be looking to dethrone reigning MPC winner Raymond Wu, who won the event last March.

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Hard Rock Poker Lounge Opens at Macau's City of Dreams

Macau's City of Dreams hosted a media launch event yesterday to mark the official opening of its highly anticipated Hard Rock Poker Lounge.

Located on Level Two of City of Dreams Casino, Hard Rock Poker Lounge boasts full integrated bar and lounge facilities and is perfect for private parties and special events. The Hard Rock Poker Lounge offers 9 tables, plays great music, and combines the excitement of the Hard Rock experience with the thrill and suspense of Texas Hold’em Poker.

“With the increasing development of poker rooms and large-scale tournaments held in 2009, Macau has already established as the go-to place for Texas Hold’em poker in Asia,” said Mr. Greg Hawkins, President of City of Dreams.


“Hard Rock Poker Lounge at City of Dreams provides a sophisticated yet fun atmosphere designed with the players’ comfort in mind to attract the world’s top poker players as well as high-end bachelor parties and private events. We believe our Hard Rock Poker Lounge will significantly enhance the face of the Macau Poker scene.”

Players and patrons of Hard Rock Poker Lounge will be able to enjoy their Hard Rock Poker gaming experience whilst listening to great music and sampling a wide range of stylish and sophisticated drinks.

The main table area consists of 7 tables, including two VIP ‘High Stakes’ tables for hard-core Texas Hold’em Poker fans. Two special party tables are available for use by groups of friends or colleagues, ideal for rock star style partying fun.


An Art Wall defines the lounge area, with framed images of rock ‘n’ roll instruments and TVs showing Poker player action. The atmosphere is certainly stimulated further with the very own Poker Lounge Hard Rock Babes who will help to make the rock star atmosphere really rock.

As part of the launch event, Hong Kong celebrity model Ms. Ankie Beilke was invited as a special guest and dressed in Hard Rock Poker Lounge Babe style to charm the audience and introduce City of Dreams’ coolest and most exciting Hard Rock gaming experience.


For more information, visit City of Dreams online by clicking here.

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Poker King Club Announces Summer Challenge

The Poker King Club in Macau has announced that its next tournament, the Poker King Summer Challenge, will be taking place on the first weekend of July.

The Poker King Summer Challenge will be a two-day event featuring a HK $388,000 guaranteed prize pool. Buy-in is set at HK $4,500.

The first day will take place on Saturday, July 3, at 1:00 pm. Play will continue until the final table is reached. The remaining players will then return on Sunday afternoon to duke it out for the top prize.

In addition to the Summer Challenge, the Poker King Club will also be holding a small 32-max Heads-Up event on Sunday afternoon.

The Poker King Club is located on the third floor of the StarWorld Casino in Macau. The poker room's last big tournament was the second-ever Macau Poker Challenge, which was won by Australian player Michael Marvanek for HK $89,000 in prize money.


For more information about the Poker King Club, read the Asia PokerNews feature on the Poker King Club. You may also visit their web site by clicking here.

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