Doyle Brunson, one of the legends and founding fathers of the world of poker, has been recently announced as the latest addition to the roster of brand name poker professionals who will be attending the Asian Poker Tour’s Macau event. The tournament starts on August 27th and takes place at Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino. The APT’s tournament will boast some of the top tournament and cash game pros in the world. Scheduled to attend are J.C. Tran, Nam Le, Steve Sung, and Doyle’s son Todd Brunson, who was also just announced as an attendee. The move is just the latest in bringing the APT to the forefront of the poker world.
Macau is very similar to Las Vegas, but transplanted thousands of miles west, adjacent to the South China Sea. Its tenants include many casino names you’ll recognize. In fact, the MGM Grand and The Venetian both opened for business last year. Other casinos in this gambling Mecca include the Grandview, Sands, and the New Century Hotel & Casino.
Day 1-A of the APT Macau begins on August 28th, with satellites occurring the day before. There are two starting days, meaning that the survivors from Day 1-A and Day 1-B will converge on the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino for Day 2 on August 30th. A winner will be determined on August 31st. Players must be 18 to play poker in Macau and 500 combatants are expected. If you’re looking to play in the APT Macau tournament, the buy-in is $5,300 and a $1.5 million prize pool is guaranteed. Online poker rooms such as DafaPoker, Titan Poker, PartyPoker, and PKR have been running satellites into the Macau tournament, which means an international contingent should be on hand.
For cash game enthusiasts, a high-stakes ring game will also make its home at the APT Macau tournament. The minimum buy-in is HKD $1 million (which is about US $128,000). This should satiate the gambling appetites of those who have been knocked out of the Main Event as well as help to attract high-rollers.
There are four events during this year’s Asian Poker Tour. The Philippines leg has already occurred, with David Saab walking away the winner. The $2,500 buy-in tournament boasted a $1 million prize pool. Events in Seoul and Singapore will round out the APT’s schedule after Macau. The number of events will mushroom from four to six next year and each Main Event will guarantee at least one million dollars. PokerStars is sponsoring the second season of its Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT). An event in Macau begins September 1st.
Brunson is a 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. He took down the Main Event in 1976 and 1977. His most recent piece of hardware came by virtue of winning a $5,000 buy-in NL Hold’em Short-Handed tournament in 2005. He has 31 career WSOP cashes for a grand total of $2.8 million. He’ll be on hand for a book signing in Macau, which is sure to attract throngs of poker enthusiasts.
Doyle’s son Todd’s first, and only, WSOP bracelet came in 2005, when he emerged victorious in a $2,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better event, cashing for $255,945.
We’ll have more from one of the largest live poker tournaments held outside of the United States as more news develops. Best of luck to Doyle Brunson, the Texas Dolly, as he squares off in the Asian Poker Tour’s Macau event.