Boasting the planet’s biggest cash games and two thriving tours, Macau has become Asia’s go-to destination for poker. PokerAce gives you the lowdown on the burgeoning Macau poker scene

One thing visiting poker aficionados will notice is Macau’s distinct deficit of poker rooms. As of mid-2013 there are exactly four casinos offering poker: The Venetian, City of Dreams (COD), Star World and the Wynn Macau. Only one of these, COD, offers regular tournament poker. For a city that boasts 35 casinos that’s a pretty small number.

However, when you consider the fact Macau generated US$38.1bn in gaming revenue in 2012 and baccarat and VIP baccarat accounted for US$34.6bn (91%) of this figure – compared to the US$36m (less than 1%) generated by poker – you can see why.

Of course Macau’s rather restrictive table cap – a limit on the number of gaming tables imposed by Chinese authorities currently standing at 5,500 and only permitted 3% annual growth – is another factor that contributes significantly. This does not mean however, that the game is not thriving.

HOW MUCH?

Stakes are significantly higher than in the West. The smallest game in town is HK$25/$50 (US$3/$6) with a minimum buy-in of HK$2,000 (US$260). This ranges all the way up to the giddy heights of HK$30,000/$60,000 (US$3,900/$7,800) with buy-ins in excess of HK$2m (US$260,000).

The Venetian is generally considered the best for lower stakes with games ranging from HK$25/$50 to HK$100/$200 (US$12.5/$25), rarely getting larger. COD, who have just opened their new room in conjunction with PokerStars, offer the same stakes as well as a daily tournament schedule.

Wynn Macau is the undisputed home of the higher stakes. Games here start at $50/$100 but run all the way up to HK$300/$600 and higher regularly. Pot Limit Omaha is also on offer though does not run with the same frequency as the 24-7 Texas Hold’em games.

Star World’s Poker King Club run games ranging from HK$25/$50 to $100/$200. PLO $25/$50 and $50/$100 games occasionally run and HK$1,100 and $2,200 single table sit and go tournaments also run on Fridays and Saturdays. There is then a significant jump as Poker King is home to the planet’s highest stakes cash game.

With stakes ranging from HK$10,000/$20,000 (US$1,300/$2,600) to the daunting HK$30,000/$60,000 (US$3,900/$7,800) buy-ins regularly exceed HK$2m (US$260,000). The ‘Big Game’ attracts a mixture of wealthy Chinese businessmen and some of the world’s best poker pros including Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Sam Trickett.

THE TOURNAMENT SCENE

Poker in Macau has come a long way since Star World first introduced the game in an electronic format back in 2007. However, it was the debut of tournament poker in September 2007 with PokerStars launch of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) that really saw the game begin to flourish. The Asian Poker Tour (APT) followed suit with the August 2008 APT Macau. Since then poker has developed at breakneck pace. Macau now boasts two world-class poker tours and APPT and APT player numbers continue to rise, but it is the introduction of the PokerStars Macau-based tournament series – the Macau Poker Cup – in May 2008 that has really seen poker’s popularity skyrocket.

A total of 33 players anted up the HK$11,000 (US$1,420) entry fee for the inaugural 2008 MPC Red Dragon main event. Fast forward five years and the April 2013 MPC Red Dragon guaranteed the prize pool at a hefty HK$5m, a target it surpassed easily to become Asia’s largest ever poker tournament with a record 891 runners, a staggering HK$8,746,412 (US$1.1m) prize pool and an impressive HK$1,771,000 (US$230k) first prize.

With fast growing tournament fields and some of the world’s biggest cash games it should come as no surprise that the stakes are rising. In August of 2012 Macau hosted the rather pricey HK$1m (US$130,000) Macau High Stakes Challenge. This Super High Roller Event, sponsored by PokerAce and run in conjunction with Poker King, is Asia’s richest ever tournament to date, boasting a prize pool of HK$182,360,000 (US$23.5 million). According to Poker King’s Winfred Yu this is but a taste of things to come.

“We are keen to promote Macau as a hub of poker tournaments in Asia – we are already home to the largest cash game in the world, and now one of the richest high roller tournaments ever. [The] Macau High Stakes Challenge is a milestone of poker development in Macau,” said Yu.

With PokerAce and Poker King committed to further developing poker in the region, the promise of a follow-up event looking distinctly possible and PokerStars now running regular daily tournaments over at COD, 2013 could well be the best year yet for the Macau poker scene.

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poker scene

Macau hosts Asia’s largest ever tournament field, the Philippines goes poker mad as the Asian Poker Tour (APT), the Manila Millions and PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) hit town and APPT is Macau bound…

RED DRAGON ROARS

Since its initial launch in May 2008 PokerStars Macau Poker Cup tournament series has gone from strength to strength. In a fitting testament to its continued success the Red Dragon main event roared into life April 19-28 for the first time at new home City of Dreams, smashing all previous records.

A grand total of 2,812 players competed in nine events over ten days, playing for a hefty HK$16,976,762 (US$2.2m) in prize money, a new record for the popular poker series. However, it was the HK$5m guaranteed HK$11,000 (US$1,420) Red Dragon main event that really set the precedent.

Organizers had been hyping for months they would break Asia’s unique-player record of 635, set at the MPC Red Dragon at Grand Lisboa back in February 2012. That mark was absolutely obliterated after 891 players took part – smashing the HK$5m guarantee and swelling the prize pool to HK$8,746,412 (US$1.1m).

“This [Red Dragon] far exceeds our wildest expectations,” said PokerStars’ Danny McDonagh. “But this isn’t the end. This is just the beginning of even bigger things to come.”

Headlining the tour was PokerStars Qualifer Terry Fan, who slayed the record-shattering Red Dragon to take the HK$1.7m (US $230k) top prize, the largest win in the Taiwanese poker pro’s career.

THE TWO TOURS

Poker players in the Philippines have been well catered for recently with both the PokerAce sponsored APT and PokerStars APPT hitting the island archipelago in quick succession.

Returning for an impressive sixth season the APT came home to Resorts World Manila on April 17-24, attracting 205 runners who stumped up the US$2,700 buy-in for April’s APT Philippines, ballooning the prize pool to an impressive US$497,120.

Australia’s Khac Trung Tran proved to be man of the hour, emerging triumphant after three days of play to win the title. Tran defeated fellow Aussie Thang Truong in decisive fashion after just two hands of heads-up play to take the trophy and the US$124,000 first prize.

Poker junkies with an insatiable appetite for action had to wait a whole week before being treated to yet more tournament thrills and spills in the form of PokerStars APPT Cebu, which took place at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino May 1-5.

Korea’s Jae Kyung Sim triumphed over the 158-strong field to emerge victorious after just three hands of heads-up play against Sweden’s Magnus Karlsson to win the US$96,410 first prize.

Filipino players still thirsting for more will have to wait until the APT Asian Series returns to Resorts World Manila in October. Those willing to travel however, have the upcoming APPT Macau to look forward to. Running June 12-16 at the newly opened PokerStars Macau City of Dreams card room this promises to be yet another great Asian poker tournament.

MANILA MILLIONS RETURNS

Following on from the success of 2012’s inaugural Manila Millions the Super High Roller event returned to the Philippines in April for a highly anticipated second season. With a sizable HK$1,000,000 buy-in (US$129k) this is already one of Asia’s richest and priciest poker tournaments, but organisers APT and Resorts World decided to up the ante with unlimited rebuys available for the first four levels of play.

Taking place over two days during the APT Philippines, April 18-19, with one-hour levels and a slow structure the Manila Millions promised to be a mouth-watering tournament poker spectacle and did not disappoint.

Some of the world’s top poker pros made the trip out East to compete, including Super High Roller specialist Sam Trickett, 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem, 2010 WSOP Main Event final tablist Joseph Cheong, Nam Le, JC Tran, Philipp Gruissem, Andrew Robl, Nick Wong, Paul Phua, Richard Yong and Tom Hall.

In total just 18 players had the pockets deep enough to compete, with just five of these opting for a re-buy. In the end it turned out to be Joseph Cheong who had what it took to go the distance. In what proved to be a grueling final table Cheong saw off challenges from USA’s David Benefield and the UK’s Tom McDonald before eliminating China’s Peter Chan in third place to take the action heads-up with Malaysia’s Richard Yong.

In what must be a record Cheong defeated Yong after just one hand of heads-up play, his Ace Ten out-flopping Yong’s Ace King to award the US pro the jaw-dropping HK$10.4m first place.

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Every keen amateur who has dabbled with tournament poker has daydreamed about ‘going pro,’ jet setting between glamorous gambling destinations and playing poker for life-changing sums of money. For most it remains just that, a dream. Play your cards right however, and it could become a reality.

Online card room PokerAce has started its search for Asia’s next hot prospect. This burgeoning poker prodigy will earn their stripes battling it out in a series of online qualifying tournaments in the Poker Hero Asia arena. A total of six seats to the Poker Hero Asia “single table” final will be available on PokerAce, with one additional seat to the final made available for players of Asian Poker Tour (APT) live events.

As well as taking home a package worth US$30,000, which includes $20,000 of APT tournament event buy-ins and $10,000 travel and expenses, the winner of Poker Hero Asia will be awarded something that money can’t buy; a 12-month professional contract with PokerAce.

In addition to cultivating the next generation of Asia’s professional poker players, PokerAce is also working closely with the APT to provide a proving ground for them to work on their skills. The APT has been one of the game’s driving forces in the region since giving tournament poker its Asian debut in the 2006 Singapore Asian Poker Tour. Seven years later poker has come on leaps and bounds and, with legs in India, the Philippines and Macau as well as a successful spin off series – the APT Asian Series – the APT has firmly established itself as one of the frontrunners when it comes to the development of Asian tournament poker.

Both PokerAce and the APT continue to push the envelope, running the region’s biggest buy-in events like the Macau High Stakes Challenge and the recent Manila Millions. This Super High Roller event, boasting a HK$1m (US$129,000) buy-in and run in conjunction with Resorts World Manila, returned during the 2013 APT Manila for a highly anticipated second outing.

Playing in his first Manila Millions, but no stranger to big buy-in events, was US poker pro Joseph Cheong who emerged victorious, taking down the monster HK$10.4m (US$1.3m) first prize and seeing off challenges from some of pokers’ top professionals including previous winner Allan Le.

Le is a prominent member of the PokerAce team alongside fellow ambassadors of the game like Joe Hachem, JC Tran, Nam Le and Steve Gee. Dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Asia’s professional players PokerAce is offering the new Poker Hero Asia a chance to further develop their tournament skills and have their bio featured on PokerAce.com in addition to the 12-month professional contract.

“I am thrilled to be a part of PokerAce,” said Joe Hachem. “Asia is a rapidly growing market and a poker room dedicated to this region is in a position to take the game in Asia to the next level. JC, Nam and I have had input into the development of the platform and we aim to become the preferred destination for poker players in the Asia region.”
Qualifying online at PokerAce for Poker Hero Asia could not be easier, with stage 1 freeroll qualifiers running twice daily at 18:05 and 23:05. Stage 2 qualifiers run every Sunday at 17:05. You can fast track your way to the finals with $1.00 qualifiers daily at 22:00. Stage 1 and 2 qualifiers and the $1.00 daily qualifiers feed the 6 final qualifiers:

- Sunday May 26th at 21:30 (one winner goes through to final)
- Sunday July 7th at 21:30 (one winner goes through to final)
- Sunday August 18th at 21:30 (one winner goes through to final)
- Sunday September 29th at 21:30 (one winner goes through to final)
- Sunday November 10th at 21:30 (one winner goes through to final)
- Sunday December 15th at 21:30 (one winner goes through final)

Don’t miss your chance to be the next Poker Hero, head over to PokerAce now!

Author: Ben Wilson
Date: 17th May 2013

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