By Landon Blackhall Day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event at SKYCITY has come to a close and the remaining 67 players have bagged and tagged their chips in preparation for Day 2 on Friday. Play started shortly after noon with a performance by representatives of the local Maori community. PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh embraced the spirit of the warrior and, after seven one-hour levels, sat atop the chip count with 162,900, followed by Michael Shinzake (109,800), James Ciurlionis (105,600), Daniel Hall (93,600) and Jacky Tastavin (73,300). Day 1A chip leader Emad Tahtouh found himself
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APPT Auckland: Leaps of faith
By Landon Blackhall With less than an hour left on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event, less than 80 of the 135 starters are in line to return on Friday for a shot at a share of the estimated NZD $1 million prize pool. PokerStars.net Team...more
APPT Auckland: Here's cheers to Tahtouh
By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander Having just returned from the most recent APPT event in Macau, one of the world's great dining destinations, we find ourselves in New Zealand. OK, we're struggling to come up with a signature Kiwi dish but that's not to say that we're lacking...more
APPT Auckland: Pyrite is alright for Aussie Millions champ
By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander It's been an unforgettable year for Stewart Scott. Back in January, he became the first Australian to win the Aussie Millions Main Event and followed that up with a top-three finish in the $5000 NLHE event at the Bellagio Cup in Las Vegas....more
APPT Auckland: Time for a cool change
By Landon Blackhall The field for day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event has been confirmed at 135 players, and with expectations of a total field in excess of 300, that means many of our visitors are out enjoying the sights of the city today. SKYCITY Poker...more
APPT Auckland: Putting the Pacific in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour
By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander PokerStars tours take players to all parts of the world, and we're continually impressed with some of the journeys undertaken by qualifiers chasing their poker dreams. It's not like they don't have poker tournaments in Scandinavia, the USA and Brazil but that hasn't...more
APPT Auckland: Sherif gets his man in early going
By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander During the opening ceremony for the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event, Lee "Final Table" Nelson warned the day 1A field to stay of his way. Those words proved prophetic when the PokerStars Sponsored Player had a beeline for the exit just minutes into...more
APPT Auckland: Haka gets blood pumping for day 1A field
By Landon Blackhall It's a tradition at international events held in New Zealand (like the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event) for visitors to be welcomed with a spine-tingling performance that culminated in the traditional "Ka Mate" or haka, which we've just watched in awe at SKYCITY Casino in Auckland....more
APPT Auckland: Poker's newest pearl of the Pacific
Albert Einstein once said "it is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely." That's a pretty good description of New Zealand. Welcome to Auckland, one of world's most remote cities, for the second event on season three of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour...more
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