HK$1,000,000 GAME IS UNDERWAY AT APT MACAU
Macau – China – 29th August 2008 – The Asian Poker Tour is making history again this evening at the glamorous Galaxy StarWorld in Macau as Asia’s biggest game gets underway, coverage of which will be televised and distributed worldwide.
The details are simple, players can buy-in for HK$1,000,000 (US$130,000), starting blinds are HK$3,000 - $6,000, straddling and blinds are raised at the discretion of the players. Amongst those expected to swim the shark pool for this landmark Macau marathon at some point are Todd Brunson, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, JC Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Steve Sung, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Roger Spets, Sean Buchanan and Chris Parker. The action is overseen by leading tournament director Matt Savage. The early action is already fast and furious with John Juanda taking a HK$1,000,000 pot off Chris Parker in the first 15 minutes.
Parker, who is CEO of the Asian Poker Tour said: “There’s such a buzz about this game, its difficult to predict how high the stakes will go or how long it could go on for. I’m up against the ropes but you’ve seen Rocky, I am on my way back!”
The Main Event of the APT Macau is currently on Day 1B as 257 players line-up for a GUARANTEED prize pool of US$1.5 million and GUARANTEED first prize of US$500,000. ‘Godfather of Poker’ Doyle Brunson and the legendary host of the 1970 World Series of Poker ® Jack Binion called ‘Shuffle Up and Deal’ as a world class field took their seats. The chip leader at the end of Day 1A was Guray Turkay, with Carter Gil and PartyPoker.com Million VI winner Alexander Jung all chipped up at the end of play.
A formidable line-up of players are at the StarWorld for the landmark USD $5300 (US$5000+$300) event. Amongst those spotted include Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Liz Lieu, J.C Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Steve Sung, Huck Seed, David ‘Chino’ Rheem, Mel Judah, Mansour Matloubi, Harry Demetriou, Richard En, Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, Aaron Kanter, JJ Liu and APT Philippines champion David Saab. You can follow all the action LIVE at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-apt-macau/main-event/ with a selection of videos available at http://www.thenutz.tv/ . Information can also be found at the official website http://www.asianpt.com/
One massive spin-off of hosting the landmark event is record numbers in the APT sponsored poker room at the Galaxy StarWorld. The stampede of players to Macau has resulted in the addition of eight more tables. Six new state of the art shuffling machines have been added to cope with the demand and the players have raved about eight air purifying units that pump through the packed poker room. The room was officially opened on Tuesday.
Tom Hall, CEO of AsianLogic said: “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.”
ABOUT ASIAN POKER TOUR (APT)
The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is Asia’s biggest and original poker tour. The Tour was recently acquired by AsianLogic (AIM:ALOG). As part of the new organisation of the APT, four events will be held across Asia in 2008. Next year, the Tour plans to increase this to a total of six events. Each tournament is set to attract live players as well as internet players who will qualify via online satellites. Each main event will offer a minimum guaranteed USD $1 million prize pool. The official web site of the APT is www.asianpt.com. David Saab of Australia won the top prize of US$280,000 at the first leg of the Asian Poker Tour in Manila on June 1st. He recently finished 46th in the WSOP® Main Event, winning US$135,100, and hopes to add a second APT championship to his poker accomplishments. The APT has also created a special leaderboard that rewards players who take part in every leg of the tour. Joining the stars are players from all over the world who have won seats to the event by qualifying through online satellites at PartyPoker.com, DafaPoker, PKR, Titan Poker, Bodog, JBet Poker, Virgin Poker, PaddyPowerPoker and Poker Trillion
ABOUT ASIANLOGIC (ALOG)
AsianLogic is a leading online and land-based gaming company focusing on the Asia-Pacific markets. The Company is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: ALOG). AsianLogic owns and operates eight online casino brands and two online poker rooms as well as land-based sportsbook operations through its MegaSportsWorld brand. It is a specialist in Asia-specific games such as Mahjong, Cho-Da-Di, Do-Di-Zhu and 13 Card Poker. The Company owns and operates the Asian Poker Tour. The Company also maintains a corporate advisory team specialising in the gaming sector which is an active investor in gaming-related businesses as well as providing consultancy and analytical services. AsianLogic enjoys strong commercial relationships with leading gaming providers including Playtech, ID Games and LVS. Founded as ESL in 2002, AsianLogic employs over 300 employees, the majority of whom are based in the Philippines.
September 1, 2008