August 2009 Archives

APPT Macau: Level 27 updates (final table)

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 26 updates (final table)

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 25 updates (final table)

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 24 updates (final table)

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 23 updates (final table)

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 22 updates (final table)

Live updates from the final table of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found...more


APPT Macau: Level 21 updates (final table)

Live updates from the final table of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found...more


APPT Macau: Final table profiles

Seat 1: Dermot Blain, Dublin, Ireland (507,000 in chips): Having switched to playing poker full time from his original job as a sales manager, the 25-year-old resident of Dublin said that he has only won a few small tournaments live and online. He took up poker a few years...more


APPT Macau: Local favourite leads field into final table

A massive day of action at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino has ended with the final table decided for the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Main Event. Despite a star-studded field that included four WSOP Main Event champions and numerous Team PokerStars Pros, it will be a...more


APPT Macau: Level 22-23 updates

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 21 updates

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 20 updates

Live updates from day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by...more


APPT Macau: Level 19 updates

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 18 updates

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 17 updates

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 16 updates

Live updates from day 3 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: High stakes in global gaming capital

As we head towards the big money in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event, it's only appropriate to take a quick look at how Macau became the world's gaming capital - yes, it turns over more money than Las Vegas. It's hard to imagine two more diverse cities than...more


APPT Macau: Cheong on song heading into day three

By Landon Blackhall The final 42 players have been decided for day three of the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event after a gripping day at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. After eight one-hour levels, the field was slashed by more than 75 per cent...more


APPT Macau: Level 15 updates

Live updates from day 2 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 14 updates

Live updates from day 2 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 13 updates

Live updates from day 2 of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking...more


APPT Macau: Level 12 updates

Live updates from day 2, level 12 (blinds 1200-2400, ante 300) of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip...more


APPT Macau: Level 11 updates

Live updates from day 2, level 11 (blinds 800-1600, ante 200) of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip...more


APPT Macau: Level 10 updates

Live updates from day 2, level 10 (blinds 800-1600, ante 200) of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip...more


APPT Macau: Level 9 updates

Live updates from day 2, level 9 (blinds 600-1200, ante 100) of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip...more


APPT Macau: Level 8 updates

Live updates from day 2, level 8 (blinds 500-1000, ante 100) of PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip...more


APPT Macau: Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

Macau is home to one of the most iconic events on the world's sporting calendar each year, not that many outside a core of enthusiasts know of its existence. Each November, the streets of the city roar to life to the sound of racing cars representing the four corners...more


APPT Macau: Day 2 seat draw

PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event day 2 seat draw Table 1 Seat 1: Dennis Huntly (Australia) 4400 Seat 2: Yik Hei Lo (Hong Kong) 34,700 Seat 3: Jaime Ballester (Spain) PokerStars Qualifier 29,400 Seat 4: Shen Yu (China) PokerStars Macau Satellite Winner 6100 Seat 5: Wing Leung (Andrew) Chung...more


APPT Macau: Chiang leads day 1C, Myhre still on top

We've reached the end of the beginning in the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event, with the last of the three day one flights consigned to history and the day two field decided. A total of 196 players will return to PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and...more


APPT Macau: Mahjong man welcomes new challenge

Players in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino are taking their final break for the day, meaning there's just one-hour left before the day two line-up is finalised. Day 1C started with 185, with almost half (86) sent to the rail in...more


APPT Macau: Hachem lops the legs off 'Final Table'

By Landon Blackhall It's still been tough going in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event with some of the PokerStars contingent finding it hard to gain traction. Team Asia's Celina Lin and PokerStars Pro Lee "Final Table" Nelson have been struggling to find hands, down to 12,500 and 6000...more


APPT Macau: Poker spotlight firmly focussed on Grand Lisboa

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander When the Grand Lisboa opened in 2007, the mould for everything that came before in Macau had been shattered. The excitement of the Grand Lisboa opening had barely subsided when new broke that the property would also become home to the new "PokerStars...more


APPT Macau: Record prizepool for Asian event confirmed

The numbers have just been confirmed for the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino, with a field of 429 players. That's down from last year's figure of 538 but with a buy-in HKD $15,000 higher than 2008, the prizepool of more than...more


APPT Macau: Hello old friend, nice to see you again

Two years ago, UK-based Vietnamese player Dinh Le wrote himself into the Asian poker history books when he won the first APPT Macau Main Event, worth USD $222,640. Le, who earned the nickname "All-in" thanks to his fearless aggression, claimed the scalp of 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem on...more


APPT Macau: One step for man, a giant leap for Asian poker

We've just witnessed another historic moment in Asian poker history at an official ceremony to open day 1C of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. Dignitaries including Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) Director and Chief Operating Officer Mr Louis Ng and...more


APPT Macau: A recipe for success

It's amazing what can be achieved with some full cream milk, whipped cream, castor sugar, egg yolks and some puff pastry. Let me introduce you to one of Macau's hidden treasures - the Portuguese egg tart. One of the many manifestations of European culture in this former Portuguese colony,...more


APPT Macau: Scandi steamrolls his way to chip lead

The girls from Tokyo Nights, one of the shows here at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino, have just made their nightly parade past PokerStars Macau, meaning we must be into the final hands of the night on day 1B of the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event. The...more


APPT Macau: Standing room only

By Landon Blackhall Any sceptics who question the potential for poker in Asia should take a walk through PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino this evening. There's a nice crowd playing on the baccarat tables, but the poker room is the heart of the action; abuzz...more


APPT Macau: Rahme removed; Myhre on the march

Team PokerStars Pro Raymond Rahme has been eliminated from the APPT Macau Main Event, ending his all-too-brief stay at PokerStars Macau and the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. The story of Rahme's demise started with a raise from middle position to 800, Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker re-raised to...more


APPT Macau: Slow road in China

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander The second of the three day-one flights here at PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino is slowly taking shape, well, very slowly. Just 18 of the 125 players have been sent to the rail...more


APPT Macau: Time for intervention as sleeping giant stirs

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander Poker has found an Asian home in Macau, with players nearby markets such as the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Korea also picking up on the game that is sweeping the planet. But there's another Asian country that is being touted as...more


APPT Macau: Moneymaker's appeal crosses all borders

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander The big names are taking it easy during the early stages of day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event, here at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. TeamPokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker and Raymond Rahme, who surprised everyone when...more


APPT Macau: Ruins to riches, welcome to day 1B

If there's an ideal time to take a leisurely walk around Macau, it's in the early morning, before the humidity kicks-in and the city comes to life. To be honest, this is a city that never really sleeps - more than a few insomniacs could be seen squinting their...more


APPT Macau: Demes the dominator on day 1A

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander We started with the traditional changing of the mask and finished with the traditional bagging of the chips - the 2009 PokerStars.net Asian Pacific Poker Tour is off and running after the first of three day one flights in the APPT Macau Main...more


APPT Macau: Famine for most, feast for Steicke

APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh has just announced that there will be just one more level of play this evening, making a total of seven for the opening day of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event. Good deal for the remaining 71 players, who'll be able to start making...more


APPT Macau: Teammates in another test of loyalty

By Landon Blackhall PokerStars.net Team Australia Pros Eric Assadourian and Emad Tahtouh are good friends, but when it comes to big events (particularly on the APPT) they've had more than their share of battles. In the first year of the APPT, they both made the final table of the...more


APPT Macau: Lin rides poker's new wave in Asia

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander Amid the rapid growth of poker in Asia, Taiwan counts as a newcomer on the scene. However, it's widely recognised as one of the boom markets in Asian poker, as reflected by a sizeable delegation from the island, which lies off the south-east...more


APPT Macau: Smoke 'em if ya got 'em

Poker players who travel the world become accustomed to the quirks of playing in different countries, where the rules are mostly the same with the odd local variant. Here at the Grand Lisboa, players are warned to be extremely careful about betting out of turn, as any chips that...more


APPT Macau: Steicke v Chan, a clash for the ages

By Landon Blackhall Though the locals have come out in force this year for the PokerStars.net APPT day one flight, the internationals are getting involved in some heavy action in the early going. In particular, table seven is bound to offer some of the best play today, which sees...more


APPT Macau: Mask unveiled on tour's third season

The ceremonial duties have been completed, the mask has been changed, handshakes have been exchanged and the cards are in the air for season three of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour. The buzz is electric in the PokerStars Macau room at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino where...more


APPT Macau: Poker on the menu at world's biggest gaming buffet

Less than four years ago, it was almost unthinkable to envisage an international poker calendar that included stops such as Kyiv and Macau. But just days after the opening event of PokerStars EPT Season 6 wrapped up in the Ukrainian capital, the eyes of the poker world turn east...more


EPT Kyiv winner Maxim Lykov

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Maxim Lykov wins PokerStars EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship

Confidence in poker can go an awful long way, and the abundance of that commodity in Maxim Lykov has made him the first ever champion of EPT Kyiv. "I'm already thinking of my second title," said Lykov in the moment after his dominant display in the first EPT event of...more


ANZPT Queensland: Kerr's win caps a memorable debut season

Many talked about it, but it wasn't until the first hand was dealt on a sweltering Adelaide afternoon back in February that Australia and New Zealand finally had a poker tour to call their own. The first season of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour has been run...more


ANZPT Queensland: Wick lit on latest trans-Tasman showdown

By Landon Blackhall The heads-up duel has been decided for the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event, with the great trans-Tasman rivalry set to be reignited by the battle between PokerStars Qualifiers Phillip Willcocks from New Zealand and Aussie Scott Kerr. This is the first time that the two nations...more


ANZPT Queensland: Kiwi comes from the clouds

The PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event has been turned on its head with a new chip leader and two quick eliminations leaving just four players chasing the first prize of AUD $168,075. New Zealand's Phillip Willcocks has nosed ahead of Joel Dodds in the chip count, not that the...more


ANZPT Queensland: Sun sets on Sunshine State's last hope

By Landon Blackhall Level 21: It took most of the level for the next elimination with the hopes of a local player winning the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland title ending. Danny Joukhadar kept his hopes of a top-three finish in the overall points title alive when he took out...more


ANZPT Queensland: Fraser felled in eighth

By Landon Blackhall Level 20: It's strongplay all the way in the early going with Joel Dodds extending his lead at the head of the chip count in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland final table. More and more people are joining the rail as the afternoon ticks by, from where...more


ANZPT Queensland: Dodds dents Shoshiro's short stack

By Landon Blackhall Though we are in the in the heart of the Conrad Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, with the whizzing and clunking and trickling of gaming machines and table games operating around the poker area, the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland final table began in more subdued fashion....more


ANZPT Queensland: Scene set for season one finale

The final day has dawned on the first season of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour, with the final eight players starting to arrive for the final table in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event. There are one or two sore heads in the room after last night's...more


ANZPT Queensland: Tom-Tim-Tim sets rhythm at Treasury

By Landon Blackhall After a relatively sedate day at Treasury Casino in Brisbane, all hell broke loose in the final minutes of day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZT Queensland Main Event. After 68 players had taken the order to shuffle up and deal just over eight hours earlier, less...more


ANZPT Queensland: Day 2 seat draws

Seat draw, PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland day 2 (Jupiters, Gold Coast) Table 2 Seat 1: Julius Colman (Australia) 23,850 Seat 2: Yvonne Grant (Australia) 26,600 Seat 3: Rajesh Patel (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 24,625 Seat 4: Celina Lin (Australia) PokerStars Team Australia 33,275 Seat 5: Craig Matthews (Australia) 12,175 Seat 6:...more


ANZPT Queensland: Duffy's big day out at Jupiters

The future of casino-based tournament poker in Queensland has received a massive boost with a field of 249 players creating a prizepool of AUD $622,500 in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event. The number of entrants makes this the second biggest event on the first season of the...more


ANZPT Queensland: Local qualifiers livin' the dream

As we click down to the end of day 1B in the battle for the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland title, excitement is starting to build as players - those who've already qualified from yesterday's day 1A flights and those with big stacks heading into the final level of today....more


ANZPT Queensland: Jupiters' chip lead sweet for Honeybone

Observations from the floor of Jupiters Casino ... in lieu of much action to report (we're still at 56 players midway through level five on day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event. In Las Vegas, you get accustomed to seeing senior citizens in casinos. That's certainly the...more


ANZPT Queensland: Don't trip(s) over your set

By Landon Blackhall The Queensland contingent have come out in force to represent their state and are proud as punch to have a major poker tournament like the PokerStars.net ANZPT in their casinos after many years of waiting. Not only are Queenslanders quickly adapting to the ins and outs...more


ANZPT Queensland: Canuck soaks up some Aussie culture

"Any idea of where you can party on a Wednesday night around here?" asked PokerStars qualifier Jon Weitzel while watching the latter stages of day 1A in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event at Jupiters. "Sorry Jon, bloggers are sworn off alcohol during events, they're the rules ... nah,...more


ANZPT Queensland: Nines just fine for Neilson; Scott out

Andrew Scott will finish the first season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT with 40 points - that's 10 points for participating in four of the five events. Sadly, the hopes of a first cash for the 2008 APPT Macau High Roller runner-up have come to an early finish after he...more


ANZPT Queensland: Full house signs set to be posted

The brekky bars in Broadbeach and Brisbane have been working overtime this morning as players fuel up for day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event, the final event in the first year of the tour. Yesterday, 60 players qualified for day two - 27 in Brisbane and...more


ANZPT Queensland: Hachem keeps the flame burning in Brisbane

By Landon Blackhall The PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Day 1A Brisbane flight has also wrapped up - the chips have been cut down, counted and listed. From a tense start to a fast finish - those who survived the carnage on the felt today will return on Friday afternoon to...more


ANZPT Queensland: Joukhadar gets the jump at Jupiters

A new chapter in Australian poker history was written today when the first hand was dealt in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland tournament, the final event in the fledgling tour's first season. In addition to the 54 players who shared in the celebrations at Conrad Treasury Casino in Brisbane, a...more


ANZPT Queensland: Barry's bonkers about Brisbane

By Landon Blackhall Sharing is very much the theme for the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland event. Conrad Treasury Casino in Brisbane and Conrad Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast are sharing the state's first major poker tournament. They are also sharing with the players, as there is no rake or...more


ANZPT Queensland: Local players basking in the limelight

We're thrilled to announce that the first major poker tournament to be held in Queensland has surpassed all but one other ANZPT event in terms of entries and prizepool. With seats still available in Brisbane for tomorrow's day 1B flight, the field has already surpassed 230, making it the...more


ANZPT Queensland: Cooper barrelled on the river

The Gold Coast is recognised as Australia's holiday capital, for good reason. Beaches, theme parks, nightclubs, restaurants, tropical weather, major events like the IndyCar Carnival and the annual influx of school-leavers known as Schoolies Week ... everyone comes here to recharge the batteries and have a little fun. Kim...more


ANZPT Queensland: They're not mucking about

Queenslanders are among the most parochial people in Australia. The State of Origin rugby league series played between Queensland (the Maroons) and New South Wales (the Blues) is the most fiercely contested sporting rivalry in Australia. The Queenslanders also love to rib those who relocate north for the sun...more


ANZPT Queensland: Bucking the button trend

The innovation of using two venues is creating plenty of interest early on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event. There are plenty of SMS messages, phone calls and MSN pings going back and forth between Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast and Conrad Treasury in Brisbane,...more


ANZPT Queensland: Two venues, twice the fun

Queensland's tourism motto is "beautiful one day, perfect the next". That's certainly the case today with brilliant sunshine greeting players making their way to the two venues being used today for the opening day of Queensland's first major casino-based poker tournament. The battle for the final PokerStars.net ANZPT title...more


ANZPT Queensland: Finale fires-up under the tropical sun

The face of poker in Australia will never be the same again after the first season of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) so it's only appropriate that the bar is again raised for the final tournament of 2009. After a week in New Zealand's Southern Alps...more