Second stop in the inaugural Asia Pacific Poker Tour starts today in Korea
Friday 28th September 2007
The second stop of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) begins today in Seoul, South Korea, and will see up to 250 players battle it out for a place at the Grand Final in Australia.
The event will be staged at the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel And Casino with a buy-in of $2,500. Players will hope to take home as much as the $179,775 that Brett Parise pocketed when he won the inaugural APPT in Manila in August against 254 other players.
Online poker sites have started to branch out to Asia and Europe following the passage of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) a year ago with the unexpected ban sending the industry searching for new markets such as Korea, where seven-card stud has proved popular.
'We created this series of world-class poker tournaments for poker tourists who want to experience something exciting and new along with their favourite pastime,' said Jeffrey Haas, President of the APPT.
'We saw an opportunity to promote Seoul as a unique tourist destination for international poker players who wanted a great poker tournament experience.'
The Korean event runs until Sunday with the winner getting a seat at the APPT Grand Final in Sydney in December. Haas said at least three more events are expected for this year with the venues to be announced later.
