Fresh off its stop in Macau, which occurred in August, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) revealed on Wednesday that its Manila event will occur from January 27th to February 1st, 2009. The buy-in will be $2,500. The highly-successful Macau event had a price tag of $5,300 and was won by 20 year-old Yevgeniy Timoshenko, an American.
The 2009 Philippines event is scheduled to be held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel, the same location as this year’s event. The 2008 Manila tournament, which was held in May, attracted 316 players from across the world, all of whom came in search of their share of a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. David Saab, who is currently perched atop the APT’s Leader Board, was the champion of the event, pocketing $280,000.
CEO of the APT Chris Parker commented in a press release distributed on Wednesday, “The APT has already held two major events this year – APT Philippines and APT Macau. After consultation with players, online partners, and sponsors, a comprehensive schedule is now being planned for 2009 to successfully meet the needs of all concerned. We are looking forward to enhancing poker’s presence in Asia.”
The APT made quite a splash with the Macau event. Tournament officials were successful in bringing some of the most recognizable names in poker to the Galaxy StarWorld Casino. Attendees included Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Liz Lieu, J.C Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Steve Sung, and World Series of Poker “November Nine” member David “Chino” Rheem. The APT also authored an open letter to U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals during the 2008 Beijing Games and told his hometown newspaper that he would like to play in the WSOP. Event organizers encouraged Phelps to stop off in Macau before heading back to his native Baltimore; he did not participate.
The growing poker market in Asia has helped the APT to become successful. In fact, an expanded Galaxy StarWorld poker room was opened just days before the start of the Macau tournament. Tom Hall, CEO of AsianLogic, which owns and operates the APT, stated, “Adding eight tables to the APT poker room may not sound like a big move to the well-established western poker community, but you have to remember that this is Macau, where baccarat is king. Poker is in its infancy – this is a significant step forward and further evidence of the growth and potential in this market.”
In September, the APT signed Quinn Do, J.C. Tran, and Nam Le to serve as ambassadors. Shortly after, Le won the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) High Rollers event for $474,358. Do finished in third, taking home $153,846. The poker tournament had a buy-in of just under $20,000. Tran took down a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event during the 2008 World Series of Poker for his first bracelet. He has 28 total WSOP and Circuit Event cashes for a combined $1.7 million.
The 2008 Philippines tournament was the first ever APT event. The field included Huck Seed and Chip Jett and was played over four days, including two starting days. Joining Saab at the final table of the event were Chris Roh, Satoru Ishii, Kwang Soo Lee, Michele Ferrari, Jin Man Yun, Don Carmona, Terry Gonzaga, and Gerasimos Deres. Veteran tournament director Matt Savage managed the tournament and 200 poker enthusiasts packed the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel to watch the final table play out.
After Macau, the APT was scheduled to make stops in Seoul and Singapore, although no information has been disseminated about these tournaments.
