Asia Pacific Poker Tour heading to Sydney
(PRESS RELEASE) -- The PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour is set to end its third season in spectacular fashion this year with the AUD$6,300 buy-in APPT Grand Final running from December 1-6 at the Star City Casino in beautiful Sydney, Australia.
A wealth of different tournaments are taking place at the Grand Final which looks set to be one of the most exciting poker "festivals" ever held in the Asia Pacific region. Among the stars taking part are Team PokerStars PROs and former world champions Peter Eastgate and Joe Hachem as well as fellow team members Lee Nelson, Emad Tahtouh, Tony Hachem, Eric Assadourian and APPT Season 1 Grand Final winner Grant Levy. This season's APPT champions - Simon Watt, Dermot Blain and Dong-bin Han – have also won a seat into the Grand Final as part of their prize.
Jeffrey Haas, President of the PokerStars.net APPT, said: "This season's APPT has been a great success with over a thousand players competing in the three events already held in Macau, Auckland and Cebu in the Philippines. This has been made possible by massive enthusiasm for the tour right across the region. This season's Grand Final in Sydney is set to cement the tour's reputation for providing incredible events in great locations."
The schedule kicks off next Sunday with the AUD $200 Pink Diamond Ladies No Limit Hold'em tournament. A host of other events are taking place every day in the run-up to the APPT Grand Final, including a deep stack tournament, PLO event and mega satellites to the Main Event. Once the Main Event is under way, side events include the: AUD $15,300 High Roller, a bigger buy-in (AUD $550) Ladies Tournament, an AUD $1,100 team event, an AUD $3,200 Heads-Up event and the AUD $340 Camp Quality Charity Event in aid of the Australian Children and Families Cancer Charity.
On December 7, the annual APPT Tournament of Champions event will take place. This invitation-only Tournament of Champions features winners from the APPT as well as some of the biggest names in poker, all competing to help their favorite charities. In its first year, the event was won by former world champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem from Australia and last season by American Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso.
Online free-to-enter satellite tournaments at PokerStars.net are still running, and winners can make their way to the APPT Grand Final for free - receiving a prize package worth USD $9,500 which includes tournament buy-in and accommodation at the luxurious Star City Hotel in Sydney.
Live satellites are running almost every day at Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia. Visit the Big Game Poker website at http://www.biggamepoker.com.au for full details.
The huge success of the recent APPT event in the Philippines, which was held on the luxury resort island of Cebu and broke records for an event in the country, will help stimulate even more interest in this season's APPT Grand Final.
Last year's APPT Grand Final Main Event attracted a total of 477 players with 34-year-old local Martin Rowe taking home over USD $648,046 for clinching the title. The first ever APPT Grand Final was won by Grant Levy, who snagged USD $850,000 for his achievement and is now a member of Team PokerStars PRO Australia.