Poker News

PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Day 3: Daoxing Chen Thunders to Lead

Forty-two players returned to the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau for Day 3 of the 2009 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event. The contingency represented 14 countries, each vying for the HK $4,194,000 (~US...

PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Day 2: The Bubble Bursts

Today saw 196 players returned to the beautiful Grand Lisboa Casino for the continuation of the 2009 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event. It was the first time all of the remaining players were in the room at the same time, and...

PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Day 1C: Wei Cheng “Jacko” Chiang Leads the Way

They say that in life, the third time is a charm. The 185 registered players for Day 1C of the 2009 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event surely were hoping that the third and final of the Day 1 flights was their lucky charm. For...

Overseas players dominate Day 1B at APPT Macau

Kristoffer Myhre holds the chip lead at the PokerStars Asian Pacific Poker Tour after a phenomenal run in Day 1b that saw him crack aces twice, running his stack to a staggering 183,400 – over 40,000 more than his nearest competitor and more than three times the average stack.

PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Day 1B: Myhre and Nielsen Lead the Way

Following the traditional Chinese mask-changing dance to kick off play for Day 1B of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event, the international contingent would jet in and dominate an action packed day of poker! 125 players...

PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Day 1A: Demes and Steicke Lead the Way

Season 3 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) officially commenced on Tuesday as the Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau opened its doors to the first of three main event flights that will flow through the PokerStars Macau Poker Room this...

ESPN Inside Deal Features WSOP November Niner Eric Buchman

This week, “Inside Deal,” which airs on ESPN.com, welcomed World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Eric Buchman, who will hold the second largest chip stack when play resumes in November.

Talk of recent additions to the Caesars Cup teams opened the show, which is sponsored by PokerStars. Phil Hellmuth and John Juanda will join Team Americas, while Dario Minieri and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier will become part of Team Europe. “Inside Deal” host and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee gave his take on the selections: “Daniel Negreanu was going to mold his team around team chemistry, solid heads-up play, and high-profile players.” Negreanu and Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad serve as team captains.

Discussion on “Inside Deal” then turned to Doyle Brunson’s Hall of Shame, which features Puggy Pearson, John “Doc” Holiday, Nick “Shoestring” Simpson, Nick Lanette, Stu Ungar, and Nick Vacchiano. Brunson unveiled his Hall of Shame in a recent blog post, with the only criteria for entry being that the person had to be deceased. Lanette earned his induction after biting a dealer’s ear off at the Stardust. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee was asked who he would add to the Hall of Shame, dead or alive. His nominee was Tony G, who berated Ralph Perry after eliminating him from the 2006 Intercontinental Poker Championship, among other incidents.

Results from the PokerStars Sunday Million, Asian Poker Tour (APT) Macau, European Poker Tour (EPT) Kiev, and Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge were displayed before Howard Lederer joined the show via satellite. On the young guns of poker, Lederer told “Inside Deal” hosts, “I feel like 2009 was really the true arrival of the internet player, the player who got started in 2004 and finally got enough live play under their feet.”

Lederer and sister Annie Duke were an integral part of the National Poker Week Fly-In, which took place last month in Washington, DC. On the future of legalized and regulated online poker in the United States, Lederer remarked, “A bit of it is timing and a bit of it is politics. The practical effect of [Congressman Barney Frank’s] bill is that there wouldn’t be any sports betting on the internet, but that doesn’t mean the professional leagues aren’t scared of it.” Lederer was one of a half-dozen high-profile players to turn out to the nation’s capital in an effort coordinated by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to lobby for Frank’s bill.

Attention then turned to Buchman, who was asked how he was turned onto poker. The WSOP November Nine member responded, “My brother got me interested in it. We’d play in clubs in New York and go to Atlantic City.” He has a pair of runner-up showings in WSOP and WSOP Circuit tournaments, experience that he hopes to parlay into a bracelet in the 2009 Main Event: “Final table experience is invaluable when it comes to improving your game and performing under pressure.” Buchman will have three short-stacks to his left when play resumes in November.

ESPN Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, returning from a one-week vacation, asked Lee, “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, and Buchman who they would add to the American and European Caesars Cup squads. Buchman noted that he’d add reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed and Carlos Mortensen. Lee suggested Chris Ferguson and Gus Hansen. Lane threw out Erik Seidel and Vitaly Lunkin. Feldman told the cast that he’d add Lindgren to the U.S. team and Patrik Antonius to the European roster.

Viewer questions included whether Buchman would treat the final table as a continuation of play in July or as a new tournament. He responded, “The experience I have playing against these players and the footage I’ve seen on ESPN will help me get reads on players.” Many in the poker industry have questioned chip leader Darvin Moon’s experience. Buchman noted that, despite Moon’s lack of background on the felts, he is a formidable force: “He’s definitely a threat to win. He doesn’t have as much experience as everyone else, but he definitely can play.” In the end, Buchman predicted that he would be heads-up against Moon for the Main Event title.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

APPT: Macau running, Seoul on hold

The first week of preliminary events in Macau, China has seen almost 1,000 entrants at the Grand Lisboa including 150 for a HKD$1,500 Deep Stack event and 122 for a HKD$10,000 buy-in tournament.

The Grand Lisboa hotel and casino also became home to Asia's first Limit Hold'em tournament hosted by limit specialist and PokerStars.net sponsored player Terrence Chan last week.

The third edition of the HKD$40,000 main event begins Tuesday and with almost 300 players already registered, APPT Macau seems poised to maintain its status as the largest and richest poker event on Asian soil.

In Season 2, 22-year old American PokerStars qualifier Eddie Sabat took the title and HKD$3,540,04 first place prize at the Main Event.

All is not good news for the fledgling APPT however.

APPT Seoul, originally planned for September 17-20, has been postponed.

According to PokerStars, construction delays at 7-Luck Casino in Seoul, South Korea forced the move.

Details on a new date will be announced as they are available.

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Adrien Allain Wins APT Main Event from $5 Satellite

Adrien Allain, who probably needs a poker nickname such as “All-In Allain”, has won the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau festival Main Event, winning over $3m which works out as just under a quarter of a million pounds.

Asian Poker Tour — Adrien Allain Wins Macau Main Event

Adrien Allain found a very unconventional way to win over $3 million HKD on Aug. 23 at the Asian Poker Tour Macau main event. “I’m overwhelmed; this is so wonderful. …

Frenchman grabs APT Macau title

"I'm overwhelmed, this is so wonderful," the Rennes, France native said. "I qualified for this tournament through a $5 lottery tournament on PKR and end up beating all these top players."

The win was worth approximately $391,547, slaughtering the recently turned pro's career best cash of $8,000.

When play began at the Starworld Hotel and Casino at noon Macau time Kastle was almost immediately the first out, busting on the third hand of his third consecutive APT final table.

Winifred Yu, who was in Macau working as a member of the crew for the Chinese film 'Poker King' being shot during the event, busted next, followed by Christer Hallberg, Michael Woo and Chris Chau.

Steicke, who added to his growing poker resume by taking down the Poker Pack High Rollers event earlier in the week, was the next out, leaving Allain three-handed with Inwook Choi and the formidable Tran.

Choi then made a straight to bust a short stacked Tran and get heads up.

Eventually Choi got all his chips in the middle with ace-queen dominating Allain's ace-three, but the Frenchman hit a miraculous three to book the win.

"It is disappointing not to take down the Main Event, but congratulations to Alain," Tran said.

"He played good poker and is a deserving champion. To take down such a major tournament for just $5 is quite something - there's no doubt he has great potential."

There were a total of 326 entrants at the Asian Poker Tour Macau main event with a total prize pool of HK$10,919,040.

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Adrien Allain Wins 2009 APT Macau Main Event

In the Far East, it was a Frenchman from halfway around the world who emerged victorious. Adrien Allain, who hails from Rennes, France, won this year’s running of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Macau Main Event. Allain banked HK $3.035 million for his efforts.

Allain qualified for the APT Macau festivities by winning a $5 tournament on PKR. In the online world, he’s known as zlatan35 and his largest poker cash prior to Macau weighed in at $8,000. His HK $3.035 million payday equates to nearly USD $400,000 at current exchange ranges. In the final hand in Macau, Allain drew out with A-3 against Korean poker player Inwook Choi’s A-Q after spiking a three on the flop. Entering heads-up play, Choi was a 2:1 underdog. Here’s how the final table shook out:

1st Place: Adrien Allain (France) - HK$3,035,000
2nd Place: Inwook Choi (Korea) - HK$1,660,000
3rd Place: J.C. Tran (United States) - HK$910,510
4th Place: David Steicke (Hong Kong) - HK$708,300
5th Place: Chris Chau (Hong Kong) - HK$506,000
6th Place: Michael Woo (Hong Kong) - HK$404,800
7th Place: Christer Hallberg (Sweden) - HK$303,600
8th Place: Winfred Yu (Hong Kong) - HK$202,400
9th Place: Casey Kastle (Slovenia) - HK$131,500

J.C. Tran holds two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and was arguably the most successful player at the final table. After scoring his first piece of hardware in 2008, Tran won another bracelet this year by virtue of winning a $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event for $235,000. Tran won the 2006 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $670,000.

Tran, a member of the APT’s Poker Pack, commented in a press release distributed by tournament officials, “It has been a great 12-day festival for the Poker Pack. It is disappointing not to take down the Main Event, but congratulations to Allain. He played good poker and is a deserving champion. To take down such a major tournament for just $5 is quite something – there’s no doubt he has great potential.”

Day 1B of the APT Macau Main Event featured filming of the Chinese language poker film “Poker King.” Ten-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan predicted that the movie would be bigger than “Rounders,” which helped spur the growth of No Limit Texas Hold’em in the United States. Yu, who finished in eighth place, came to the Macau event as part of the crew of “Poker King.”

Tran was eliminated from the tournament when Choi and Allain checked the action down on a board of A-J-10-9-8. Tran showed the Dead Man’s Hand, aces and eights, but was trumped by Allain’s A-Q for a straight. David Steicke was ousted from the final table after running his pocket nines into Choi’s pocket kings. The board ran out 3-3-A-3-K, giving Choi a better full house and sending Steicke packing.

WSOP November Nine member James Akenhead made the trek to Macau. Also appearing in the field were 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event winner John Juanda, Chan, Liz Lieu, Season VI World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Chiu, new Team Ultimate Bet member Liv Boeree, Amnon Filippi, and reigning WPT Championship victor Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Matt Savage served as the APT Macau’s Tournament Director, a role he will reprise in October for the annual Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic.

In addition to finishing third in the Main Event, Tran won the Poker Pack Headhunter tournament in Macau. Other highlights included Team Korea (featuring Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem, and Brandon Wong) winning the inaugural JBET Battle of the Nations. A “Poker King” charity tournament was also held, with Poker Pack member Quinn Do emerging victorious.

Adrien Allain wins the Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event

After a Saturday evening party of presidential proportions, the final nine players arrived at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino with a strong coffee in hand for the conclusion of the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event. Play started three...

APT Macau: Day 1B Eugene Teh Soars and J.C. Tran Survives

The second day of the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Main Event brought expectations of a 200+ player field, but the final figure fell just short of that mark, with 193 hopefuls hitting the felt for Day 1B action. This brought the total number of entrants...

Johnny Chan & Scott Stewart Still Alive at Macau

The second day of the Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event concluded yesterday evening (GMT) with 51 players remaining of the 192 that began. Aussie Millions 2009 champion Stewart Scott enjoyed a very successful day, narrowly beaten to the chip lead in the dying hands of the session by Eugene Teh.

APT Macau on the rise

The main event at the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival kicked off Thursday drawing a combined 326 players over two day ones.

"One year ago we projected that we would get 300 runners for the main event so we are delighted with the turnout," APT CEO Chris Parker said. "Especially in the current economic climate. It vindicates our decision to transform The Asian Poker Tour Macau into a 12 day festival."

The HK$34,400 buy-in has helped create a total prize pool of HK$10,919,040 with a HK$3,035,000 top prize.

Last year's main event in Macau, won by American Yevgeniy Timoshenko, drew 257 players.

Outside of the sheer increase in numbers, Parker said the most encouraging sign for the tour is the bump in the number of Asian players in Macau.

"[This] bodes very well for the future," he said. "For example, on Day 1a just over 50% of the field was from Asia."

With online satellites available on a myriad of sites, including bwin poker, PKR, Titan Poker, RedKings Poker, ChiliPoker, and Winamax, the number of online qualifiers has increased significantly as well.

A bevy of big name pros also made the trip to Macau, including Full Tilt's John Juanda, PokerListings blogger Liz Lieu, 2009 November Niner James Akenhead, Team UB's Liv Boeree and APT sponsored Poker Pack members J.C. Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do, David 'Chino' Rheem, and Steve Sung.

The Poker Pack has had a particularly good showing in preliminary events at the Starworld Hotel and Casino so far.

Sung and Rheem helped Team Korea to a victory in the JBET Battle of the Nations event, Quinn Do won 'The Poker King Movie' Celebrity Charity event, and Rheem was at it again, winning the HKGC No-Limit Hold'em R+A event.

Plus, Tran took down the 'The Poker Pack' headhunter event never giving up the bounty on his head on the way to a HK$76,000 first-place payday and HK$10,500 in bounties of his own.

Day 1b of the APT Macau main event continues Friday. Hong Kong Trader turned high-stakes pro David Stiecke led all comers on Day 1a.

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APT High Roller Champ Leads Main Event Field.

Due to those pesky time zones that come as a result of having a spherical planet in orbit of the Sun – damn you, Galileo! – the Asian Poker Tour’s $5,000 Main Event in Macau is currently playing through Day 2, in which Johnny Chan and Liv Boeree are both doing quite well.

Team Korea Triumph at APT Battle of the Nations

Korea saw victory in the inaugural Battle of the Nations, hosted by JBET and overseen by top tournament director Matt Savage, at the Asian Poker Tour Macau yesterday.

Asian Poker Tour — Macau Main Event Begins Today

The $32,000 HKD ($4,400 USD) no-limit hold’em main …

APT Macau: Day 1A Belongs to Steicke

If it's August, it's time for big buy-in No-Limit Hold'em poker in Macau. The first of the Macau major tournaments, the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event, kicked off today in an eighth floor ballroom at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino.

David “Chino” Rheem Takes Down APT Side Event.

The Poker Pack, a group of sponsored Asian pros for the Asian Poker Tour with over $24m in tournament earnings between them, can now add $64,200 to that total after David “Chino” Rheem took down the fourth side event at the Asian Poker Tour Macau.

APT Invites “Poker Face” Star Lady Gaga

The APT is already a roaring success without using the credibility of other celebrities. Nevertheless, after the APT invited 14-time Olympic Gold Medal winning simmer Michael Phelps to the Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival they are now trying to court “Poker Face” singer Lady Gaga.

Will Lady GaGa show her “Poker Face” in Macao?

World famous pop star Lady Gaga is the latest celebrity being invited to the Asian Poker Tour.

APT invited 14-time Olympic Gold Medal winning swimmer Michael Phelps to the Asian Poker Tour Macao Festival last week. Now they’re after the pop singer diva, who got famous performing the song “Poker Face”.

An open letter was sent to Lade GaGa: “Imagine the reaction if you showed your poker face at the Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival dear Lady Gaga.”

“We have a special Celebrity event featuring Hong Kong and Chinese language stars on Tuesday the 18th which you would be more than welcome to attend.”

Like with Phelps invite, APT is willing to pay all the fees.

“Despite what some poker purists might argue, you have brought the great game to the attention to millions of new people through your worldwide best selling hit,” the letter reads.

“Congratulations on your nine MTV Video Award nominations, but do us and the world a favor, come and see us in Macau and show us your poker face! We would be honored.”

Source: Pokerlistings

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Will Lady GaGa show her “Poker Face” in Macao?

APT goes Gaga

Last week, the APT invited 14-time Olympic Gold Medal winning simmer Michael Phelps to the Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival, running August 12-23 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino.

Now, the tour is after the "Poker Face" singing diva, who will be on the Chinese island August 15 for a concert at The Venetian Macau.

"Imagine the reaction if you showed your poker face at the Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival dear Lady Gaga," reads an open letter from the APT to Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, otherwise known as Lady Gaga.

"We have a special Celebrity event featuring Hong Kong and Chinese language stars on Tuesday the 18th which you would be more than welcome to attend."

Gaga's "Poker Face" topped the charts in late-March and early-April this year selling millions worldwide.

Like the Phelps invite, the APT is willing to pick up the entire tab.

"Despite what some poker purists might argue, you have brought the great game to the attention to millions of new people through your worldwide best selling hit," the letter reads.

"Congratulations on your nine MTV Video Award nominations, but do us and the world a favor, come and see us in Macau and show us your poker face! We would be honored."

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Yevgeniy Timoshenko - Poker Player Profile

Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko is, quite simply, a master of the big score. Of his 9 live cashes, Timoshenko has five over $100K, including a massive $2.1 million payday for winning the 2009 Five-Star World Poker Classic. Jovial Gent’s other scores include a whopping $500K for taking down the 2008 APT event in Macau, $166K for winning the 2007 Irish Poker Open, $133K for 2nd at EPT Barcelona, and just over $100K for a 3rd place finish at the ’08 WSOP Europe. No doubt already a premiere poker player, Timoshenko will be a feared opponent for years to come.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, but moved to Washington State when he was 10 years old. He currently resides in Mukilteo, Washington.

New Team Event at APT Macau

The Asian Poker Tour appears to have found a new team event to match the forthcoming Caesars Cup in London. The Battle of the Nations is a three-man team event that will pit players from two countries against each other in six-handed play. The team that knocks out all the opposition team is the winner.

Hachem takes ANZPT title

Thanks to the fact he cashed in four out of five events on the PokerStars.net Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour this season, Tony Hachem has won the tour's overall points race and will be a PokerStars sponsored player in all of the PokerStars.net Asia ((Pacific Poker)) Tour events this season.

"I am very happy to be the PokerStars.net ANZPT Champion," Hachem said. "This tour has been a fantastic experience. I am looking forward to keeping up my good form when the APPT starts in Macau later this month."

The ANZPT actually wrapped up on Australia's Gold Coast this weekend with the first event Hachem failed to cash in.

Scott Kerr took down the 249-player dual-venue event that began at both the Conrad's Treasury Casino in Brisbane and Conrad's Jupiter's Casino at the Gold Coast to win the $168,075 first place prize.

"I am so happy to have won," Scott said. "It is has been such a great experience competing against so many great players."

By virtue of a third place finish in the event, Joel Dodd managed to take over third place in the overall points standings, winning a seat in the 2010 Aussie Millions.

Chris Levick, winner of ANZPT Melbourne, came second in the points race and won himself entry into every ANZPT event in Season 2.

The five-date ANZPT made stops at Adelaide's SkyCity Casino, Sydney's Star City Casino, Melbourne's Crown Poker Room, Queenstown SkyCity Casino, and the two Queensland venues this season awarding $2,982,196 in prize money.

Season 2 will begin in Adelaide at SkyCity Casino February 9-14, 2010 and PokerStars will likely run satellites in advance.

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US Olympian Michael Phelps invited to 2009 Asian Poker Tour

This is the second year in a row that Michael Phelps, US Olympic Swimmer and record breaking gold medalist, was invited to participate in the APT Macau event. This years event is being held at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino from August 12th through the 23rd.

Asian Poker Tour Invites U.S. Swimmer Michael Phelps to 2009 Event

For the second straight year, record-breaking U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has been invited to play in the Asian Poker Tour’s (APT) Macau event. The festivities run from August 12th to 23rd at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino.

Last year, a six-day event played out in the Asian metropolis. This time around, the poker festivities will occur over the course of 12 days. After recording eight gold medals during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, which included seven world records and one Olympic record, Phelps was invited to play in the APT event in nearby Macau. The worldwide race to lure Phelps to a major poker event began after he told his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to compete in the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Phelps was escorted to poker events by the game’s legends like Doyle Brunson and news of the swimmer signing with various online poker sites abounded. However,  entry into a major event did not occur.

WSOP Europe sponsors Betfair invited Phelps to play in the 2008 tournament series. In addition, Phelps was set to become involved with the poker stage show The Real Deal at the Venetian. An open letter sent by APT officials to Phelps this week read, “We heard positive noises, but there was no sign of the human dolphin when they called ‘shuffle up and deal.’ We would like to extend this invite once again to you to come, all expenses paid, and take part in this showpiece poker event. The Main Event is in Macau between the 20th and 23rd of August, but the 12 day festival of poker starts on August 12th, so let us know!”

Phelps’ appearance in a tabloid newspaper holding a bong led to a three-month suspension from competitive swimming.  He also lost several endorsement deals as a result, but has recently appeared in Subway commercials opposite Jared Fogle. The bong in question allegedly belonged to 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event Champion Carter “ckingusc” King, a South Carolina native.

The open letter alluded to Phelps’ recent public relations difficulties: “Some media reports even suggest that you may have got in with the wrong crowd in the last 12 months – we promise to keep you out of trouble. We’ll give you access to pools of sharks, fish, and those that you swim in! If you don’t want to bring your goggles, fair enough; bring a pair of sunglasses and your poker face! While you are at it, you could ask a certain poker playing President by the name of Barack Hussein Obama II if he fancies joining you!”

Last year’s APT Macau Main Event was won by Yevgeniy “atimos” Timoshenko, who also took down the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship in April, the culmination of the WPT’s seventh season. Timoshenko defeated Steve Yea heads-up in Macau, with 40 players finishing in the money. Day 1A of this year’s APT Macau Main Event kicks off on August 20th, with two starting days set to play out. Players will be given 10,000 starting chips, with blinds increasing every 60 minutes and starting at 25-50. Antes kick in at Level 4, when blinds are 100-200.

Among those slated to battle it out in this year’s APT Macau Main Event are 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan, J.C. Tran, Nam Le, Steve Sung, Quinn Do, 2008 WSOP November Nine member David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee. Each will participate in filming of the new movie “Poker King,” which Chan stated may trump “Rounders.”

PokerNews Jet Set: Macau

Since we know you're heading to Macau for all the APT and APPT action, we thought we'd go ahead and prep you with a plethora of places to spread the spoils of your victories and sorrows of your defeat. Don't get too caught up in this 21st century...