Asian Poker Tour

ANOTHER poker tournament could head to Singapore next year, in a bid to boost the card game’s growing popularity here.

The organisers of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) told my paper they hope to kick-off next year’s season in Singapore, in March or April.

The tour’s president, Mr Jeffrey Haas, who co-founded the tournament in 2006, was in Singapore yesterday to meet local partners Asian Poker Network, which publishes the regional poker magazine Poker Times.

This comes just after last week’s announcement that the final leg of another tournament, the Asian Poker Tour (APT), could be held here at the end of the year. It is likely to have a US$3,000 (S$4,200) buy-in fee and 700 players are expected to take part.

Titan Poker, the largest online poker room on the iPoker Network, is preparing to send a delegation of its finest poker players to the Asian Poker Tour in Macau (APT Macau) this August. Nine players have already qualified for this exciting event and, with Super Satellites awarding seats to China twice weekly, this exclusive poker team is expected to grow considerably before the Main Event starts next month.

Players from across the globe have been competing for the chance to play poker in this exciting and exotic location. The current team of qualified players will be flying from countries all over the world, including Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, France, Japan and the Czech Republic.

An ace in the flop sealed the win for David Saab and the Korean-born Australian walked away as the first champion of the 2008 Asian Poker Tour taking home the US$280,000 first prize.

From a total of 316 players that participated in the APT Manila event from 27 May to 1 June, Saab emerged as the last man standing at the table after defeating Korean Chris Roh who won US$150,000 for placing second.