$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

This is the third year that the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour has visited the world’s gaming capital Macau, and with each visit has come more milestones and records. In 2007, it was the first No Limit Hold’em tournament to be played in the People’s Republic of China. Last year, it was the largest field and prizepool ever offered in an Asian poker tournament.

For all the achievements in the past two years, the 2009 APPT lifted the bar to new heights. For the first time, the tournament was held at the stunning Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino, and in the largest poker room in continental Asia, PokerStars Macau.

The prizepool for the 2009 APPT Macau Main Event again set a new benchmark for Asia, with the field of 429 players chasing a slice of the HKD $16,130,400 prizepool (just over USD $2 million).

But there was more to this year’s event than the numbers - poker felt like it really belonged in Macau. To see a packed room of players from around the world mixing it up with increasingly skilled and competitive locals in the heart of the most prestigious casino in Macau showed that the work of the regional APPT and PokerStars teams is starting to pay handsome dividends. There’s still much work to do, but the foundations have certainly been established.

Appropriately, it was a player who won his seat in a live satellite at PokerStars Macau, 25-year-old Irishman Dermot Blain, who was the last man standing after four days and more than 30 hours of play. The quietly-spoken Dubliner played the final table to perfection, mixing aggression with skill to dominate his opposition, as shown by the 8:1 chip lead he held before the heads-up duel started.

Blain prevailed at an often enthralling final table, which featured a player who encapsulated the excitement of poker in Asia, 47-year-old Daoxing Chen.
A PokerStars Macau regular who learned to play Texas Hold’em less than 12 months ago, Chen, known as “Bao Bao”, brought boundless enthusiasm and an element of carnival to the final table.

He spent more time out of his seat than in it, agonised over decisions much to the frustration of his rivals, congratulated and commiserated with those same players after almost every hand and, in the end, was heart-broken that to have finished higher than second.

Chen and the scores of PokerStars Macau regulars who also took their seats in the APPT Macau Main Event are the new guard to Asian poker pioneers like Mike Kim, who finished runner-up to Blain. Kim has been a tireless advocate for poker in Asia, and played a pivotal role in the first APPT event hat was played in Macau. The 42-year-old struggled for traction at the final table and rarely held more than the 1.6 million in chips with which he started the day.

And if ever there was an indicator of poker’s growing popularity throughout this continent, our fourth-place finisher, Darkhan Botabayev hails from the nation more famous for Borat than poker players: Kazakhstan.

Other noteworthy performances came from Korea’s Youngshin Im, who was the top-placed female player in 15th, PokerStars Sponsored Player Van Marcus who collected a record breaking fourth APPT cash and Roger Spets, who scored his third APPT in-the-money finish.

This event also marked the international debut of PokerStars.net Team Asia, with Korean-based Dan Schreiber leading the way in 40th place (his third APPT cash). Schreiber’s teammate Jonathan Lin displayed plenty of tenacity to return for day two after falling ill in the wake of his day one appearance.

It was again encouraging to see many of the world’s best players supporting this event, led by Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Raymond Rahme and Bertrand ElkY Grospellier along with members of PokerStars.net Team Australia and numerous WSOP bracelet winners (including dual WSOP Main Event winner Johnny Chan) and major title winners.

One down, three to go - with the postponement of APPT Seoul due to construction work at the Seven Luck Casino, the next scheduled stop will be APPT Auckland for the SKYCITY Festival of Poker (October 14-18).

PokerStars Macau is also scheduled to host two major events before the end of the year - Macau Poker Cup events will be held on October 19-25 before the season-ending tournament from December 12-20, including the HKD $20,000 Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of HKD $2 million.

We’d like to thank everyone at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino for their hospitality over the past week, and on behalf of Landon Blackhall and Jenn Barr, along with the entire APPT and local PokerStars teams, farewell from Macau, China. We look forward to bringing you all the action from SKYCITY Auckland in October.

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking here.

Level 19 (blinds 6000-12,000, ante 1000)

5.45pm: Kim climbs thanks to Kyle

The last of Kyle Cheong’s money was in after the flop after he caught a slice of the [10d] [jc] [4c] flop, but it wasn’t enough against the [jh] [5c] of Mike Kim, with the Korean’s pair of jacks good enough to take the pot and send the promising Aussie youngster out in 19th position, good for HKD $ 96,800. That elimination sent Swedish PokerStars Qualifier Pontus Kers to a new table, where he was visibly shocked to see the size of the stacks held up chip leader Brandon Demes, Darkhan Botabavzv and Mike Kim. Could all be yours soon Pontus!

5.30pm: Kagawa leads in High Roller

With just 19 players in the APPT Macau Main Event (10 short of the money), it’s worth checking in on the latest from the APPT Macau High Roller. Andrew Scott has just taken his seat minutes after busting out of the Main Event, where he finds Masa Kagawa leading on 150,000 ahead of PokerStars Sponsored duo Terrence Chan (140,000) and Lee Nelson (130,000), PokerStars.net Team Australia’s Grant Levy (125,000) and JC Tran (120,000). Theo Tran and Wing Cheong “John” Chong have joined David Steicke on the rail.

5.25pm: Sun sets on Bhayana

They’re tumbling in pairs, with Canadians Shawn Buchanan and Sunny Bhayana the latest casualties in the APPT Macau Main Event. The end came for Buchanan when he unsuccessfully raced the [as] [qs] of Daniel Hansson with [9c] [9h]. There was an ace on the flop of [ac] [10d] [4s] and no help for the PokerStars Player as the board completed [4c] [kc] to confirm his first APPT cash in 21st. PokerStars Qualifier Sunny Bhayana had been among the chip leaders for much of day two but tumbled in 20th after pushing all-in with [kh] [2h] on a flop of [ks] [10c] [9d] with Brandon Demes snap-calling and slamming down his [qh] [jh] for the nuts. The turn [3d] and [qc] were no good for Bhayana, and he is our 20th-place finisher.

5.10pm: Scott, Sombero sent to rail

The bold run of Andrew Scott has ended in 23rd place after he found himself in a flip with Canadian PokerStars Qualifier Dbinder Singh. It was Scott’s [ah] [kd] against Singh’s [9d] [9s], and although the board of [qc] [4h] [5h] [8h] [6d] teased Scott, the 2008 APPT High Roller runner-up was eliminated short of a second APPT final table. Larger-than-life character Wally Sombero followed soon after in 22nd after moving all-on over the top of Tom Hall’s pre-flop raise. Swede Stefan Hjorthall also moved all-in, Hall folded and it was [ac] [7c] for Wally against the PokerStars Qualifier [ad] [ks]. The flop of [8h] [9c] [10d] was good for Sombero, but the turn [9h] and river [qd] missed his hand, giving Hjorthall a much-needed injection of chips.

4.55pm: Vu, Myhre take extended break

Eliminations have come in fits and spurts all day, with the APPT Macau Main Event field suddenly down to 23 just before players took their second break of the day. Frenchman Bernard Vu was officially 25th, after moving in the last of his chips with [ah] [8c]. Mike Kim called and showed [kc] qc], which improved to a pair of queens on the turn. Former chip leader Kristoffer Myhre struggled to get much going today, and bowed out 24th after pushing all-in on a flop showing [5h] [6s] [7h]. Daoxing Chen quickly called and tabled [8c] [8s], which led Myhre’s [ah] [qd] to the turn. The board ran out [jc] [3d] to end Myhre’s tournament.

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking here.

Level 18 (blinds 5000-10,000, ante 1000)

4.40pm: Lam cooked, Rafferty removed

A huge three-way pot has signalled the end of the hopes of Charles Lam and Tom Rafferty in the APPT Macau Main Event. Rafferty raised pre-flop, with Lam and Kakakhstan’s Darkhan Botabavzv along for the ride as the flop fell [9s] [6c] [4s]. Lam shoved all-in, Rafferty also pushed all-in and Botabavzv called, showing [js] [jc] while Lam held [qs] [9c] and the Aussie showed [10d] [10c]. The board ran out [7d] [4h], sending Lam out in 27th, Rafferty in 26th and Botabavzv up to 880,000, extending his chip lead.

4.30pm: End for En

Richard En is out of the Main Event in 28th place after Brandon Demes bet enough to put him all-in, and the Filipino quickly saddled up for the ride and showed [qh] [qd]. The PokerStars Player held [as] [6c], which improved to a full-house on an unbelievable flop of [6h] [ac] [ad]. The board ran out [4c] [9h]. There are 15 minutes remaining in level 18, with 27 players still in the hunt for a final table berth.

4pm: Full house at PokerStars Macau

What a day at PokerStars Macau! More than 100 players have just taken their seats for the HKD $2000 No Limit Hold’em, the APPT Macau Main Event is down to 28 players, more than 60 of the region’s best are battling it out in the early stages of the APPT Macau High Roller and the cash games are fast and furious. In the Main Event, David Chiu has fallen to 300,000 after an all-in bet of Josh Ang Pang on the board of [3s] [4c] [7s] [qc] forced the 2008 WPT Championship winner to fold. The top five chip counts in the Main Event are Darkhan Botabavzv (545,000), Brandon Demes (540,000), Sunny Bhayana (510,000), Daniel Hansson (440,000) and Michael Collins (420,000).

3.50pm: That’s how Marcus (high) rolls

Latest from the APPT Macau High Roller event is that there have been double-ups for JJ Liu and PokerStars.net Team Australia’s Grant Levy, while PokerStars Sponsored Player Van Marcus (just KOed from the Main Event) marked his arrival in sensational fashion after flopping quad kings. Canada’s Will Ma and 2009 Aussie Millions champ Stewart Scott have also joined the field. Across the floor in the Main Event, the last remaining female player Youngshin Im from Korea has just doubled through Charles Lam when he rivered a full house against Lam’s turned flush.

The numbers have just been confirmed for the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino, with a field of 429 players. That’s down from last year’s figure of 538 but with a buy-in HKD $15,000 higher than 2008, the prizepool of more than HKD $16 million is well up on last year. The winner will take home HKD $4,194,000 with 48 players ensured a payout.

So let’s make it official: this is a new record prizepool for a poker tournament in Asia - congratulations to all involved.

One player who won’t be making a trip to the cashier’s cage is David “Chino” Rheem. Moving all in on a flop of 3-4-9, an opponent with pocket fives called him down. Rheem was in great shape with pocket fours for a set until the turn and river ran out [6h] [7d] to make his opponent’s straight. Rheem splashed his remaining chips into the pot angrily and muttered, “Good luck to you,” before storming out of the poker room.

JJ Liu has been a regular visitor to Macau, and sadly her schedule has been freed up after being KOed early in level three. The pot was already stacked when her opponent moved all-in on a board showing [ac] [10s] [7s] [jc][jh]. After a long deliberation, Liu called but her opponent showed [7c] [7d] for the full-house. Liu flashed a jack, flashed a grin and headed for the door.

The 2009 WPT Championship winner Yevgeniy Timoshenko was also spotted heading for the exit after shipping his last 800 in chips on a board that came [ad] [9c] [8d] [8s] [kc]. Timoshenko showed an ace, but mucked at the sight of his rival’s rivered set of kings. Tony bond18 Dunst has also been eliminated in the early going today.

The form that took Tony Hachem to the overall ANZPT points title has helped PokerStars.net Team Australia’s Tony Hachem to an early double-up. The board of [10h] [3h] [jc] [6d] [9c] was bet all the way, with Hachem’s opponent moving all-in for his last 11,000 on the river. The Aussie called and tabled [qh] [jh], and top-pair was enough against [kh] [2h] for Hachem to drag in the pot.

Sida Yuen continues his charge with a stack of 75,000 after the opening three levels, with Michael Woo (55,000), Richard En (40,000), Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand Grospellier (35,000), Tony Hachem (35,000) and Kenny Ng (35,000) holding the biggest stacks after the first three hours of play.

Watch APPT Macau 09: Bryan Huang, Day 1C on PokerStars.tv

Two years ago, UK-based Vietnamese player Dinh Le wrote himself into the Asian poker history books when he won the first APPT Macau Main Event, worth USD $222,640.
Le, who earned the nickname “All-in” thanks to his fearless aggression, claimed the scalp of 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem on the way to that memorable victory.

Fast-forward 21 months, and they’re at it again. In an intriguing coincidence, Le and Hachem (who finished eighth here in 2007 APPT) have been drawn at the same table here at PokerStars Macau in the 2009 APPT Macau Main Event.

The pair have been carefully side-stepping each other in the early going, and Le watched on as the Team PokerStars Pro took down a nice pot when he pushed Andrew Hinrichsen out of the way with pocket eights on a board of [7s] [2s] [jd] [jh] [6s].

We’re in China, so it’s not surprising that the eights have been prominent early. PokerStars Sponsored Player David Wang of Taipei took red eights to the dance against an opponent’s Q-10. The flop of [9c] [jh] [7s] was a little scary, but the turn and river bricked out [5s] [2s], crippling his opponent down to around 2000. Wang moved up to 35,000 after that hand.

It’s been a miserable start to the day for the highly respected JC Tran, who held just 2500 in chips when he committed his remaining chips with [ah] [kc], and found himself up against the [ac] [jh] of Yevgeniy Timoshenko. The board of [9h] [7c] [10c] [qd] [jc] gave Tram some nervous moments before he doubled to 5500.

Tran’s good mate David “Chino” Rheem has also made a rocky start, losing half of his stack when he bet aggressively into another player on a board of [7c] [ks] [ad] [3h]. It went check-check on the river [ac], and Rheem mucked almost instantly before his opponent showed [kd] 2c].

Rheem’s day isn’t going to get any better in the short-term, as the larger-than-life Aussie pro David Saab has just been moved to an adjacent table. Saab is bouncing around like a five-year-old who’s overdosed on raspberry cordial, but he is effervescent personality and boundless enthusiasm adds an X-factor to every tournament he plays.

Some of the early movers in today’s field have been Sida Yuen (44,000), Michael Woo, Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (35,000), Corwin Cole (31,000) and David Chiu (30,000).

My, they grow up so fast.

Just a few short years ago, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour was a smattering of events in the Far East, a short series of tournaments that looked to test the poker waters in that part of the world. Today, even we folks in the West are looking at the schedules and saying, “Wow, how can I get over there for that?”

We’ve just had a peek at the schedule for the kickoff of the APPT’s third season in Macau, and it rivals the rundown for just about any series we have ever seen. There’s little question why.

The Season 1 APPT Macau main event drew more than 300 players. Just a year later, more than 200 new players showed up to build a field of 538. It was a record then, and one that could very well be beaten this year.

APPT president Jeffrey Haas announces the broken record in 2008

Now, we’re looking at an APPT schedule that kicks off in just a little more than two weeks and will run for 15 straight days. During that time, we’re going to see 20 (count’em 20!) poker tournaments with buy-ins for every bankroll. Short-handed events, knockout tournaments, charity events, and high roller tourneys are all over the schedule. That’s not to mention to potentially record-breaking main event that kicks off on August 25th.

If you’re anything like us, you’re now thinking, “Well, surely I can find some way to get myself over there.” Fortunately for you, PokerStars is always running APPT qualifiers. Just click on EVENTS and APPT in the tournament lobby.

In the meantime, see APPT.com for more details or check out this schedule below (and put in a good word for us…and maybe one of us will see you there!)

Saturday August 15th

14:15 - Satellite to 100K Guarantee HKD$550

18:00 - No Limit Holdem HKD$2,500 HKD ($100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool)

Sunday August 16th

14:15 - No Limit Holdem w/ Rebuys HKD$500 (HKD$20,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool)

17:00 - Satellite Main Event Phase 2 HKD$900

19:00 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

Monday August 17th

12:15 - Satellite Main Event Phase 2 HKD$900

14:15 - No Limit Holdem HKD$1,000

Tuesday August 18th

12:15 - Satellite Main Event Phase 2 HKD$900

14:15 - No Limit Holdem HKD$1,500

Wednesday August 19th

12:15 - Satellite Main Event Phase 2 HKD$900

14:15 - Knock-Out Bounty No Limit Holdem HKD$2,000 (HKD$500 cash for every player you eliminate)

18:00 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

Thursday August 20th

14:15 - Free to Enter Mega Satellite w/ HKD$500 Rebuys HKD$0 (1 APPT Macau MAIN EVENT SEAT GUARANTEED - Entries open at 10am)

18:00 - APPT Macau Charity Event w/ max 2 Rebuys HKD$1,000 (HKD$50,000 added value prizes)

Friday August 21th

14:15 - No Limit Holdem Deep Stack HKD$1,500

18:00 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

Saturday August 22th

12:15 - Mega Satellite to 10k HKD$2,150

15:30 - No Limit Holdem Day 1 HKD$10,000 (HKD$500,000 GUARANTEED Prize Pool)

18:00 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

Sunday August 23th

12:15 - No Limit Holdem Day 2

14:15 - Terrence Chan Limit Hold’em 6 Handed HKD$2,500

18:00 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

Monday August 24th

12:15 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

14:15 - Turbo Shoot-out No Limit Holdem HKD$1,500

16:30 - Satellite Main Event Phase 3 HKD$4,200

21:00 - APPT Macau Welcome Party

Tuesday August 25th

12:15 - APPT Macau Main Event Day 1 Flight 1 HKD$40,000

15:00 - No Limit Holdem HKD$4,000

Wednesday August 26th

12:15 - APPT Macau Main Event Day 1 Flight 2 HKD$40,000

15:00 - No Limit Holdem 7-Handed Event HKD$5,000

18:00 - Last Chance Mega Satellite to Main Event HKD$4,200

Thursday August 27th

12:15 - APPT Macau Main Event Day 1 Flight 3 HKD$40,000

16:00 - Knock-Out Bounty No Limit Holdem HKD$4,000 (HKD$1,000 cash for every player you eliminate)

18:00 - Ladies Event No Limit Holdem HKD$1,500

Friday August 28th

12:15 - APPT Macau Main Event Day 2

15:00 - No Limit Holdem Teams Event HKD$5,000

18:00 - Mega Satellite to High Roller Event HKD$9,400

Saturday August 29th

12:15 - APPT Macau Main Event Day 3

14:15 - APPT Macau High Rollers Event Day 1 HKD$88,800

15:00 - No Limit Holdem HKD$2,000

18:00 - Satellite to APPT Seoul w/ Rebuys HKD$500

Sunday August 30th

12:15 - APPT Macau Main Event Final Table

13:00 - APPT Macau High Rollers Event Day 2

14:15 - No Limit Holdem w/ Rebuys HKD$1,000

18:00 - Mega Satellite to APPT Seoul HKD$4,000

It’s only be a couple of years since we first talked about a little poker tour. The Asia Pacific Poker tour was in its infancy. No one knew exactly what would happen with it.

PokerStars had a pretty good idea, though, and it predicted the APPT would become poker’s biggest tour in that part of the world. PokerStars was right.

Now, just a couple of years later, the APPT has announced the dates for its third season.

According to information just released on APPT.com, the tour is going to kick up again in Macau August 24-30. The event will return to the scene of its other successes at the Grand Lisboa. The $5,160 buy-in event can handle up to 700 players over three Day 1 flights. Last season, Eddie Sabat played a marathon 12-hour final table to take down the Macau championship. Now it’s time for another group of people to have a shot at Macau glory.

The APPT has four other events on its Season 3 schedule. After starting in Macau, the APPT will wind its way across Asia and the Pacfic, from Seoul, to Auckland, to Cebu, and finally to Sydney for the Grand Final.

It was there that Martin Rowe became Australia’s newest million-dollar man in Season 2 of the APPT. Just six months ago, Rowe won the Season 2 Grand Final for AUD $1,000,000.

Keep your eye on the Events > APPT section of the PokerStars tournament lobby. Before too long, you should be able find a full array of satellites for the APPT. And, as always, you can get full details on that tour over at APPT.com.

See you in Macau!

Strike another one up for Team PokerStars. After Chris Moneymaker’s victory in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event two days ago, Vanessa Rousso has taken out the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions.

‘Lady Maverick’ was confirmed champion when APPT Grand Final winner Martin Rowe was forced make a move with 9-7 offsuit when he found himself short-stacked. Vanessa made an excellent read and called him down with K-5 pre-flop. The board blanked out and we had our new champion.

Vanessa was playing for the ‘No Limit, No Profit Initiative’, which is a charity that was created by her and her fiancé Chad Brown. The charity is going to target the pockets of poker players to raise money for Africa and cancer research.

“This is just so great to win this event as all the money we have put into the charity so far has been our own. To get a boost like this is fantastic. We are in the process of organising a three-day event that will feature a concert, golf day and poker tournament in Las Vegas next year,” Rousso said.

Vanessa has wowed local fans with her regular appearances in the poker room, and has posed for score of photos and signed mountains of autographs over the past week.

For Martin Rowe, it’s been one of the biggest weeks of his life and he is a worthy runner-up in this event. As well as becoming a millionaire over night he has donated a cheque of $5000 to the Save the Children Fund, which helps disadvantaged children.

We’re heads-up in the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions, with Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso a big chip leader (4:1) over new APPT Grand Final champion Martin Rowe.

Players eliminated in the past hour have included Sydney young gun and 2007 APPT Macau High Roller champion in fifth. His close friend and Melbourne rival Van Marcus called down Eric’s all-in move on the turn. In Eric’s own words he was “looking for a miracle”. Eric put his arm around Van and covered his eyes as he missed the draw.

Reigning APPT Macau champion Eddy Sabat was next to go. Vanessa Rousso called down Eddy’s all in with pocket 4s and Eddy was looking for an ace to hit the board but the youngest player in the field failed to connect.

Then Van Marcus was eliminated in third spot. His chosen charity was Child Fund and he was disappointed he couldn’t send them a cheque.

“I have been paying some money into Child Fund every month now for some time. I really hate to see children suffering and I try to do what I can. I would have liked to have won this event but I might make a bigger donation this month,” he said.

Martin Rowe is quickly adjusting to life as a poker personality. He leads the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions with four players remaining, and is within reach of an amazing double after winning the APPT Grand Final last night. After KOing most of the players at the final table of the APPT Grand Final, he’s picked up where he left off.

Ironically, it was this year’s champion that knocked out last year’s APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy
The two APPT Grand Final winners shook hands and compared notes and Grant wished Martin all the best for the year to come. Grant is the only person who really understands the expectation and pressures that Martin will face in this poker-addicted city of Sydney. Grant is looking forward to a quiet holiday period with family and friends and a big year in 2009 on the tournament circuit.

Moments later it was the other great Australian champion Joe Hachem who crashed out of the tournament in eighth. Lowe again was the man who was stacking up the chips. The dream of back to back APPT TOC titles didn’t turn out for Joe who graciously exited to a standing ovation from the supportive crowd.

Next to go in seventh position was New Zealand’s favourite poker personality, Lee Nelson. Lee had been sharing interesting stories with fellow Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso. Its event’s like this that the pros love because they get to spend time with their peers in a friendly environment.

The next victim of Rowe was Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown. Chad had been keeping a fairly low profile on the table but was getting a little short on chips and when he pushed all in against Rowe, he couldn’t hit his draw. Rowe has 40,000 in chips and leads from Vanessa Rousso.