The APT is officially open
PartyPoker – Asian Poker Tour Macau.
It doesn’t seem like it has been 7 months since I was over in Manila for the Asian Poker Tour event there but the time has flown by and here we are at the fantastic Galaxy Starworld Hotel and Casino for the Asian Poker Tour event in Macau. The guys at the Asian Poker Tour really know how to put on a great tournament and I am looking forward to the next week.
I arrived on Sunday afternoon having flown into nearby Hong Kong. The local people are really concerned about swine flu and everyone must fill in a health declaration form when they arrive. The airport staff all wear face masks so they do not catch any germs from any of the thousands of travellers they see every day. I don’t know what would happen if anyone sneezed in the arrivals hall. They would probably get thrown in quarantine for 6 months.
The venue for this event is one of Macau’s finest hotels. The Galaxy Starworld is a 5 star luxurious venue with a very nice ballroom which will be hosting the poker this week. Speaking with Asian Poker Tour CEO, Chris Parker, he is hoping for about 350 players in the main event. That would indeed be a good turnout and would create a prize pool well in excess of USD$1 million.
The Poker Pack pose with the APT models.
Although the Asian Poker Tour has been running for a few days already, today was the official opening ceremony. After plenty of photos with the Asian Poker Tour models and the Poker Pack players like JC Tran, David ‘Chino’ Rheem, & Quinn Do we were entertained by some absolutely amazing Chinese drumming. The girls were dressed to impressed and the drumming was even more impressive.
Quickly following this we had the start of the invitational celebrity event. This four table event featured a fun mix of local TV celebrities, the Poker Pack and other invited players. It was all very light hearted and I imagine that the Poker Pack does not normally laugh so much at a poker table but this was more for fun than the usual tournament. The serious business will start on Thursday when Day 1 A of the main event will begin. Until then there is a packed schedule of satellites and big money tournaments to keep the players entertained. Bring it on.
Jeremy Coleman
