Asian Poker Tour expands Macau offerings

The event will run August 12-23 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau. The APT also sponsors the poker room at the StarWorld. The festival will include high-limit cash games, sit-'n'-go action and a varied but not yet released lineup of preliminary events. The main event is set, however, running August 19-23 and featuring three separate Day 1 starting sessions.

The buy-in for that event will be us$ 4,300 ($4,000+300). Also returning is a "high rollers" event; tournament organizers promise a higher buy-in than in 2008, but have not yet formalized its structure. World-traveling tournament director Matt Savage will return to head up the festivities.

The 2008 APT Macau Main Event was won by 20-year-old Russian Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who claimed the inaugural event's us$ 500,000 first-place prize over a field that included a large number of prominent international stars. Among those who participated were Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, John Juanda, Huck Seed, Jack Binion, Liz Lieu, Todd Brunson, Kenny Tran and several soon-to-be members of the "Poker Pack" - Nam Le, Quinn Do, JC Tran, Steve Sung, David "Chino" Rheem and Kwang Soo Lee – which focuses on emerging Asian poker stars. More than 40 countries were represented at the inaugural APT Macau event.

According to Asian Poker Tour CEO Chris Parker, "The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will feature a side event schedule never seen in Asia before, including several new formats that will stir the curiosity of poker enthusiasts at all levels. We believe Asia's first festival of poker will establish Macau as an essential stop on the international poker circuit."

More information on the Asian Poker Tour can be found at www.asianpt.com.