Home / Poker News August 2008 / APPT set to conquer Asia, bringing the continent with the largest population into the poker fold
APPT set to conquer Asia, bringing the continent with the largest population into the poker fold
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2008-08-25 16:00
The Asia Pacific Poker Tour had its first ever season only about a year ago. It was a cautious and thrifty approach to breaking into the Asian poker market and turning NL Texas Holdem into a household game in the world’s most populous continent. The idea of “Poker Tourism” fueled the foray into a yet pristine environment which is nonetheless much friendlier to poker and gambling related activities than the West.
The organizers behind the APPT were fully aware of the fact that despite the immense potential, the Asian poker scene lacked the resources needed to put together a world-class event on its own. Poker tourism was promoted to lure high stakes professionals to APPT events from the US and Europe, and thus to raise the level of the competition. According to president Jeffrey Haas, the APPTs season one goals were quite clearly defined.
First of all, they wanted to keep the undertaking from becoming ridiculous. In that respect – I think it’s fairly safe to affirm that they have succeeded with flying colors. The second goal was to turn the whole enterprise into a success. Whether or not they’ve succeeded in that, remains to be seen as seeds planted last year will only yield a harvest this upcoming season. According to Jeffrey Haas, a 30% yearly growth in prize-pools and buy-ins would be needed for the APPT to be considered a success.
Towards that end, the APPT has made it its primary goal to contribute to the proliferation of poker in Asia by all means possible. The echoes of its first season are already being felt, as poker is slowly but surely surfacing as the next big thing on the home game scene. Pub leagues and real action filled poker rooms are also appearing in Macau (a long-time Asian gambling hotspot) and in Manila. Season 2 will feature significant prize-pools growths in the Macau, Sydney and New Zealand events. The Auckland even held at the Skycity casino will be the first ever in the country’s history to feature a prize-pool in access of NZD 1 million. The Seoul event is projected to remain on last year’s level although some growth may occur there too.
