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.

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Steve Wynn Hints at Company’s Possible Move to Macau

Steve Wynn recently made ripples in the gaming industry when he stated that he was considering moving his company's corporate headquarters from Las Vegas to Macau.

Wynn, the chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, said in a recent MSNBC interview that "it is not improbable or unrealistic considering so much of our revenue is from China that it makes sense that I spend most of my time here."

He went on to criticize U.S. President Barack Obama’s handling of the American economy, saying that "the governmental policies in the United States of America are a damper, a wet blanket," he told Bloomberg News. "They retard investment; they retard job formation; they retard the creation of a better life for the citizens in spite of the rhetoric of the president."


In addition, Wynn said that he would overlook potential investment opportunities in Las Vegas to focus more on the Asian gaming market. He hopes to break ground on a third hotel-casino on Macau’s Cotai Strip next year, which could signal the arrival of another poker room in the region.

Wynn Resorts currently operates the Wynn Macau, which houses what many consider the most popular poker room in the area.

The company recently opened Encore, its newest hotel in Asia’s gaming capital. The US $600 million project is a 414-suite expansion of the successful Wynn Macau.

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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.

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Asia PokerNews Featured Poker Room: The Big Ace Liberty Club

One of the best, up-and-coming poker rooms in the Philippines is the Big Ace Liberty Club in Mandaluyong City, which has seen its following increase steadily over the last year.

The Big Ace club, which was the site of The Poker Circuit’s Plugged In tournament in mid-March, first opened in the last week of May 2009. It is located within the spacious Liberty Center on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, a complex that features a variety of restaurants as well as a large warehouse club.

The room is equipped with a total of fifteen poker tables. Eight of those tables are located in the main room, which is regularly used for the poker room’s cash games, with two more reserved for VIPs. Meanwhile, the other five tables can be found in the secondary room, which is reserved primarily for weekend tournaments.

With its friendly staff and relaxing atmosphere, the room has become a favourite for many players who have had the chance to play there. “We claim to be the friendliest poker room in the Philippines,” said operations manager Odeck Go. “The staff members are carefully screened, well trained, and very professional.”

Players also have plenty of other incentives to regularly visit the poker room. “For our cash games, we have a high hand promo where you can win up to Php 25,000 every Sunday. We have top ten qualifiers daily and then they play for the big prize at the end of every week,” said Mr. Go. “We also have a bad beat jackpot, which is at over Php 500,000 at the moment.”

“The Big Ace is also holding a Php 300,000 guaranteed freeroll for its members,” added general manager Patricia Seo. “If you have accumulated 120 points before the end of April, you automatically qualify for the freeroll.”

The last major tournament held at the Big Ace Liberty Club was The Poker Circuit: Plugged In. The event, which was held from March 13-17, 2010, was a Php 1,000,000 guaranteed tournament. The winner was Mark Pagsuyuin, who outlasted a field of 173 players to take the title.

For more information on the Big Ace Liberty Club, visit their website by clicking here.

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Asian Poker King Tournament Exceeds Prize Pool Guarantee

A total of 233 players joined the Asian Poker King Tournament Main Event this weekend. Today’s field for Day 1B of 105 players combined with the 128 sign ups on Day 1A ensured that the prize pool swelled to HK$ 1,730,025. The last 27 players in the tournament will be in the money with the champion taking home HK$ 553,600.

Aside from the main event, today’s schedule also includes the HK$ 100,000 HK$ 1,000 Sun City Group High Rollers Event starting at 5:00 pm.

For the complete event schedule, click here.
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Tournament Director Lloyd Fontillas (Center) with Assistant Tournament Directors Mico Rilloraza (L) and Raymund Gamier (R)
Tournament Director Lloyd Fontillas (Center) with Assistant Tournament Directors Mico Rilloraza (L) and Raymund Gamier (R)

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