Total entrants: 538
Total countries represented: 43
Total prizepool: HKD $12,643,000 (USD $1.62 million)
First Prize:: HKD$3,540,040 (USD $453,850)
Number of entrants paid: 56

1 Eddie Sabat (USA) HKD $3,540,040 (USD $453,851.28)
2 Charles Chua (Malaysia) HKD $2,275,740 (USD $291,761.54).
3 Bryan Hwang (Singapore) HKD $1,201,080 (USD $153,984.62)
4 Mikael Rosen (Sweden) HKD $847,080 (USD $108,600.00)
5 Jeppe Drivsholm (Denmark) HKD $632,150 (USD $81,044.87)
6 Will Cheong (China) HKD $442,500 (USD $56,730.77)
7 Tim Chen (China) HKD $328,720 (USD $42,143.59)
8 Javed Abrahams (England) HKD $240,220 (USD $30,797.44)
9 So-Myung Shim (South Korea) HKD $177,000 (USD $22,692.31)
10 David Steicke (Hong Kong) HKD $126,430 (USD $16,208.97)
11 David Chiu (USA) HKD $126,430 (USD $16,208.97)
12 Taneli Tiikkaja (Finland) HKD $126,430 (USD $16,208.97)
13 Mark Walsh (Ireland) HKD $101,145 (USD $12,967.31)
14 Joel Dodds (Australia) HKD $101,145 (USD $12,967.31)
15 Adrian Mills (Ireland) HKD $101,145 (USD $12,967.31)
16 Kenny Hicks (USA) HKD $101,145 (USD $12,967.31)
17 Carter Gill (USA) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
18 Charles Lam (Hong Kong) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
19 Jung Hyun Choi (Korea) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
20 Kevin MacPhee (USA) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
21 Mudasser Khan (USA) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
22 Eugene Borukhov (USA) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
23 Ole Steinvik (Norway) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
24 Keith Wintermans (Canada) HKD $75,860 (USD $9,725.64)
25 Quinn Do (Korea) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
26 John Juanda (USA) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
27 Kejing Tang (China) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
28 Andre Wagner (Germany) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
29 Simon Greene (UK) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
30 James Bunner (Canada) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
31 Ming Lau (Hong Kong) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
32 Michael Doodson (Australia) HKD $63,215 (USD $8.104.49)
33 George Vassilopoulos (Australia) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
34 Tyler Cornell (USA) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
35 Daisy Wain (USA) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
36 Michael Lindstrom (Denmark) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
37 Olle Lindberg Sweden) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
38 Tom Carter (USA) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
39 Ricky Lui (Australia) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
40 Xinzheng Xu (China) HKD $50,570 (USD $6,483.34)
41 Andrew Pantling (Canada) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
42 Lee Nelson (NZ) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
43 Hon Ming Kim Lee (Hong Kong) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
44 Aditya Agarwal (India) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
45 John Dalessandri (Australia) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
46 Marius Bobinas (Lithuania) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
47 David Ewing (Australia) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
48 Matt Lee (Hong Kong) HKD $44,250 (USD $5,673.08)
49 Frank Bianco (Australia) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
49 Frank Bianco (Australia) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
50 Tyrone Kerrigan (UK) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
51 Manlee Wan (Macau) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
52 Elton Tsang (Hong Kong) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
53 Doron Tourgman (Germany) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
54 Emad Tahtouh (Australia) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
55 John Babatsikos (Australia) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)
56 Chris Levick (Australia) HKD $37,930 (USD $4,862.82)

PokerStars has just announced an unprecedented line-up of champion poker players who will be bringing world-class poker action to Macau in the People’s Republic of China on September 1st for the launch of Season 2 of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

Joining the field of 20 world class champions in a tournament that is destined to become the largest-ever in Asia with 500+ participants, is poker legend Johnny ‘The Orient Express’ Chan. There are few players on the planet who can rival his poker record, with ten World Series of Poker bracelets to his name and more than $6.7 million in tournament earnings during his career.

“It’s great for Poker in Asia that there’s a major tournament like this here in Macau,” says Chan. “It’s bringing in top players like myself, and letting the world know that there is real poker here, and real poker players here, and that anybody can win millions of dollars.”

Joining the Chan will be a host of players from across Asia Pacific, and the world, who have won their way to the event via free online tournaments on PokerStars, in addition to those who will win their entries through live mega satellites still to take place throughout next week at the PokerStars Macau poker room at Grand Waldo Casino. Players can also buy-in directly on-site.

The PokerStars.net APPT Season 2 in Macau from September 1-9, will include the $25,000 HKD buy-in Main Event (approximately $3,200 USD) September 1-6 and the return of the prestigious “high roller” event with a buy-in of $150,000 HKD (approximately $19,250 USD) September 7-9. Both televised events guarantee a minimum prize pool of $10M HKD and with more than 500 players expected to start in the Main Event it is likely to set a new record for poker tournaments in Asia, both in player numbers and prize pool.

The Champions from around the world that will be hosted at PokerStars APPT Macau event include:

Joe Hachem, Australia (2005 WSOP Main Event Champion)

Johnny Chan, Hong Kong (1987 & 1988 WSOP Main Event Champion)

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, France (2008 PCA Champion)

Scotty Nguyen, Vietnam (2008 WSOP HORSE Champion)

Lee Nelson, New Zealand (2006 Aussie Millions Champion)

Isabelle Mercier, Canada (2004 WPT Ladies Event Champion)

Van Tuyet Nguyen, Vietnam (2008 WPT Celebrity Invitational Champion)

Barry Greenstein, USA (2008 WSOP Razz Champion)

Dinh Le, Vietnam (2007 APPT Macau Main Event Champion)

Eric Assadourian, Australia (2007 APPT Macau High Roller Event Champion)

Neil Arce, Philippines (2008 FPT Manila Champion)

Mike "Timex" McDonald, Canada (2008 EPT German Open Champion)

Ziv Bachar, Israel (2007 APPT Seoul Champion)

Grant Levy, Australia (2007 APPT Sydney Champion)

Mel Judah, England (2003 WPT Legends of Poker Champion)

Daniel "Rekrul" Schrieber, USA (2007 WSOP Heads Up Champion)

Men "The Master" Nguyen (2005 Player of the Year)

Harry "Wise Owl" Demetriou, England (2004 Victor Poker Cup Champion)

Anthony Rivera, USA (2008 WSOP Mixed Events Champion)

Isaac Galazan, USA (2005 WSOP Short-Handed Champion)

For more information on the PokerStars.net APPT and how to qualify for the tournaments, go to: http://www.appt.com.

PokerStars Macau has wrapped up another Macau Cup and the results are in.

If you're not aware, PokerStars Macau opened a few months back as the first-ever live poker room in Macau. Since then, it's been home to the biggest poker play going on in China. It will also serve as host to September's Asia Pacific Poker Tour event in Macau (more about that event at the end of this post.

In the meantime, here are the results from the second Macau Cup event (all prizes HKD).

Macau Poker Cup Charity Event

1. Kim Lee from Hong Kong – Prize: APPT Macau Entry to Main Event
2. Sae Hon Lee from Korea – Prize: APPT Macau Entry to Main Event

59 participants each paid a $500 entry fee and made a $1,500 donation to Caritas de Macau. In total, $88,500 was raised for the Caritas De Macau

Deep Stack Event

1. L Devadason – Prize: $20,520
2. Manuel Chu – Prize: $14,108
3. Barry Chang – Prize: $7695
4. Philip Prause – Prize: $5130
5. Alex Low – Prize: $3847

Red Dragon Event

1. “Denny” Dengfeng Yu from China – Prize: $119,040
2. Celina Lin from Australia – Prize: $81,840
3. Ivan Tan from Singapore – Prize: $44,640
4. Jean-Philippe Buanton from USA – Prize: $29,760
5. Luke Wei – Prize: $22,320

$500 Challenge

1. Ted Fu – Prize: $6120
2. Gang Wang – Prize: $4208
3. Stephen McDonagh – Prize: $2295
4. Kin Man So – Prize: $1530
5. Dak Bong Daniel Poon – Prize: $1147

If you find yourself in Macau in the next month or so, take some time to visit the room for these events.

Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau
September 1-6, 2008
Entry Fee: HKD 25,000
Guaranteed Prize Pool: HKD 10,000,000
Qualify at PokerStars Macau, or online at PokerStars

Saturday 100K Guarantees
Entry Fee: HKD 2500
Guaranteed Prize Pool: HKD 100,000
Every Saturday at 8:00 PM beginning August 9, 2008 at PokerStars Macau

Less than two months ago, the concept of a No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in the People’s Republic of China was more hope than reality.

But having already achieved milestone after milestone in 2007 with the biggest poker tournament ever held in the Philippines and the first international event scheduled in South Korea, the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour team pulled up its sleeves and made something out of nothing to break down the metaphorical ‘Great Wall of Poker’.

As the biggest gaming market in the world, it was only fitting that the poker fever swept into Macau like a typhoon swirling in from the South China Sea.

Over the past week, 352 players arrived at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino chasing a slice of poker history ever bit as momentous as Johnny Moss’s World Series of Poker victory in 1970 and Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP success in 2003, which spearheaded the online poker boom.

The man who will occupy that most important page of poker history is an unlikely hero. A shy and soft-spoken 27-year-old from south London, Dinh Le, swept to victory and a life-changing first prize of $US222,460.

Le’s hard exterior, which materialised in an often ultra-aggressive style over the three-day event, is tempered by his humble Vietnamese background. He even listed his occupation as a nail technician – not the hardware variety; his family actually run a beauty shop in south London.

And he exemplifies the poker dream that the APPT has already provided for hundreds of players from more than 40 countries around the world.

Dinh Le was making his first live tournament appearance in Macau – his only poker experience comes from a regular weekly game with some friends, who he described as being “three times better players than me”.

Though somewhat to the international Hold'em circuit, he brought plenty of bravado to the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open, and showed a particular aptitude for his favourite move: bluffing.

Time and time again, vastly more experienced players were left scratching their heads as to the strength (or otherwise) of the two cards that Dinh Le was holding, right down to the final hand with Singapore’s Ivan Tam.

The 26-year-old Tam, who decided to combine a holiday with the chance to play in Macau (he won his way in via a Mega Satellite here at the Grand Waldo last Thursday), decided to take a stand just eight hands into the heads-up duel.

With the blinds at 20,000/40,000, Dinh raised to 240,000 before Tan bumped it up to 720,000. The impetuous Dinh Le, who had already pushed all-in out of turn on the first hand of heads-up play, again threw his hand in the air to indicate he was all-in, and Tan was quick to call.

Dinh Le turned over one of the most successful hands in major tournaments of recent years: pocket eights. It was the hand that steered both Greg Raymer (2004) and Jerry Yang (2007) to their respective World Series of Poker main event victories.

PokerStars Video Blog
Interview with DInh Le winner of the APPT Macau Asian Open



However, Tan was well in the game with As 10c, but the board of 6s 5s Qd 2h Jd completely missed Tan. However, a $US129,536 prize wasn’t a bad souvenir for Tan’s holiday to Macau.

Another tournament first-timer, South Korea’s Sangkyoun Kim, qualified for his trip to Macau via a $11 rebuy tournament on PokerStars, and returned home with a massive profit ($US72,864) on his investment.

Good friends and fellow Seoul residents Guillaume Patry (fourth) and Bertrand ElkY’ Grospellier (fifth) did Team PokerStars proud and again showed that they are among the most exciting and talented young players on the planet.

Young Australian casino dealer William Tam made a great decision to invest some PokerStars $W for his Macau buy-in, and recouped some tasty hard currency – $US40,480 – for his trouble.

Our top female finisher was another player of Asian descent, Liz Lieu, who was a most popular addition to the field. The Poker Diva’s seventh place finish was one of her best ever in a major tournament.

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem was shooting for an unbelievable hat-trick of becoming the first player to win a WSOP main event, WPT title and APPT tournament. He fell short in eighth spot, but as always conducted himself admirably and again underlined himself as one of poker’s most esteemed ambassadors.

Simon Randall, a comedy club owner from the UK, made the most of his brief final table experience and the room beaming after collecting ninth spot and $US16,192.

PokerStars Video Blog
The televised FInal Table sneak preview and behind the scenes



The $2500 buy-in main event may be over, but we’ll be back from midday tomorrow with all the news and stories from the $15,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, which will feature many of the big names who’ve featured over the past three days, plus Kirk Morrison and Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, who’ve flown in especially for the tournament.

PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final results

1. $222,640 Dinh Le (Vietnam)


2. $129,536 Zhong Wei “Ivan” Tan (Singapore)


3. $72,864 Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea)


4. $56,672 Guillaume Patry (Canada)


5. $48,576 Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France)


6. $40,480 William Tam (Australia)


7. $32,384 Liz Lieu (USA)


8. $24,288 Joe Hachem (Australia)


9. $16,192 Simon Randall (United Kingdom)

We’re heads-up between Ivan Tan (1.825 million) and Dinh Le (1.7 million) for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title. After starting with 352 players, just two remain and with stacks almost level, it’s shaping as a tight and tense heads-up battle. The blinds will be at 20,000/40,000 with a 5000 ante when heads-up play starts.

Hand 96: Split – Tan/Le, Sangkyoun Kim eliminated in 3rd place ($72,864)

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Kim is all-in for 155,000, and again there will be side action after Dinh Le (small blind) and Tan (big blind) call. The flop shows 10s Qc 3c. Both players check, and turn is Ah, and again both players check. The river is Kd, and its checked again. The side-pot is split as Dinh Le and Tan show aces, but Kim is eliminated when he shows Kc 6c. Kim, playing in his first major live poker tournament, was looking good on the flop!

Hand 95: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le gets a walk in the big blind.

Hand 94: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Le (seat 6) – Kim gets his measly stack in the middle, but there’s side action between Dinh Le and Tan. The flops comes 6d 5h 5s, check check, the turn 3d, check, check and the river 3h. Le mucks, Tan shows A Q offsuit, but Kim hangs on with pocket eights, and triples up.

Hand 93: Ivan Tam

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan calls from the button, Dinh Le raises another 150,000, then Kim comes over the top all-in for more than 1.3 million, and Tan calls for his last 880,000! Dinh Le folds, Kim shows 5s 5h and Tan 6d 6s. Tan makes a set on the flop but 6h 10h Qh gives Kim a flush draw. The turn of 4s misses both players, as does the Ac. Ivan Tan doubles-up and edges ahead in the chip count, but Kim is smashed down to just 65,000. What a call by Ivan Tan for his tournament life, gutsy play by the 26-year-old.

Hand 92: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – With the chip count reading 1.63 million to Dinh Le, 1.1 million to Kim and 805,000 to Tan, Kim raises to 100,000 and Dinh Le calls. The flop is 8h Ks 6d, Kim c-bets 150,000 but Dinh Le forces into the tank with an all-in bet. Eventually, Kim folds and Dinh le takes the chip lead.

Hand 91: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – We’re back after a short break with the blinds at 20,000/40,000 and ante of 5000. Tan makes it 80,000 in the big blind, and Dinh Le calls. The flop comes 2s Js Kc, and Tan bets 100,000. Dinh Le throws his cards into the muck.

We’re 90 hands into the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open and the battle for this historic title has come down to three players – PokerStars’ online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim from South Korea; Dinh Le from England and Ivan Tan of Singapore.

It will be interesting to see how the event unfolds as three relatively inexperienced players exercise the sweet science that is short-handed poker. Sangkyoun Kim and Ivan Tan have clearly struck up a good friendship, and have struck up a chat at every opportunity.

In contrast, Dinh Le is only slowly coming to grips with the spotlight and has been content to slip away out of sight when he can.

And of course, how fitting is it to have three Asian players battling it out for the honour of being the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open champion in the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament ever held in the People’s Republic of China.

Hand 90: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh le opens up with a raise of 140,000, and Kim calls from the big blind. The flop is 10h 8d 4h, Dinh Le shoves in all his chips and Kim says “adios”.

Hand 89: Ivan Tan

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tan completes his blind and Dinh Le checks. The board of 7c 10c 5s 2d 3c is checked all the way, and Ivan Tan’s king-high is enough to take it down.

Hand 88: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – Dinh Le raises 130,000 and there’s no action from either player.

Hand 87: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan says “100,000” – Dinh Le and Kim say “fold”.

Hand 86: Ivan Tan

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tan calls from the small blind and Dinh Le checks. The flop is 10h 7h 2d, Tan bets 60,000 and takes down the pot.

Hand 85: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Le (seat 6) – Kim opens up with raise of 75,000 and Tan calls from the big blind. The flop is Ah 9d 8s. Kim checks, Tan bets 60,000 and Kim calls. The turn is 7d, Kim again checks but this time Tan makes it 200,000 and gets another call. The river is a 4s, and it goes check-check. Kim shows J 9, and his pair of nines is good, ensuring a huge pot.

Hand 84: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh Le is again in the action, raising to 130,000 from the small blind and taking it down.

Hand 83: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le extends his chip lead with a raise of 100,000 after Tan calls from the small blind. Tan folds.

Hand 82: Guillaume Patry eliminated by Sangkyoun Kim in 4th position ($56,672)

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Patry follows the example of his good friend and former roommate ElkY and pushes all-in for 235,000 and he gets a call from Kim. Patry is again trying his luck with 9 2, but Kim is way ahead with pocket queens. The flop comes As 5s Kc, the turn is 6c and river Jd, ensuring Guillaume Patry fourth position.

After play had limped along for almost 90 minutes since dinner, two players have gone out in as many hands and the three most inexperienced players at the final table are chasing the first prize of $US222,460.

Ivan Tan, who’s here in Macau on holidays with his wife, won his way into the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open via a Mega Satellite last Thursday while Sangkyoun Kim won his way here via a $11 rebuy tournament on PokerStars. Both players are ensured a massive return on their investment!

Hand 81: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier eliminated by Dinh Le in 5th place ($56,672)

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY is all-in – again – but finally there’s some action with a call from Dinh Le. It’s ElkY’s Ah 2s versus Dinh Le’s Jh 9d. Both players make a pair on the flop of 2h 9s 10c, turn comes Kh and the river 8h, meaning ElkY is our fifth-place finisher.



Hand 80: Dinh Le

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Tan makes it 90,000, Dinh Le announces reraise and adds 150,000 more and Tan folds.

Hand 79: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh Le gets a walk in the big blind.

Hand 78: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le’s raises an extra 50,000 from first position and wins the pot.

Hand 77: Ivan Tan

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Kim raises to 90,000, Tan reraises a further 250,000, and there’s no call from the Korean player.

Hand 76: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – A pre-flop raise ensures Ivan Tan another pot.

Hand 75: ElkY Grospellier

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – ElkY is all-in for 180,000 and collects the blinds and antes, now worth 70,000 each hand (blinds are at 15,000/30,000 with a 5000 ante).

Hand 74: Split – Tan/Patry

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Patry raises 75,000 from first position, and Tan calls. It’s just the second flop since dinner, and comes 5h 9d Jh. Patry bets 155,000, Tan puts Patry all-in and is called. Both players show K Q, and it’s split on a board of 5h 9d Jh 5s 4h.

Hand 73: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le bumps it up to 130,000, and gets it done. Raise, fold, raise, fold, raise, fold has been the pattern since the break.

Hand 72: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Patry gets it all-in (270,000), Tan requests a count but eventually mucks.

Hand 71: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY is all-in for 175,000, but no-one’s interested in the action.

Hand 70:

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – this time it’s Dinh Le raising it up (105,000), and he hauls in the blinds and antes. It’s going to be an enthralling evening, with the three ‘amateurs’ – Kim, Dinh Le and Tan almost level in chips, and the two Team PokerStars players short-stacked.

Hand 69: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Tan (seat 9) – In a carbon copy of the previous hand, Kim pops it up 80,000 and takes it down.

Hand 68: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Kim raises to 80,000, and the blinds fold to give Kim his first pot since eliminating William Tam.

Hand 67: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – A raise of 70,000 gets it done for Patry.

Hand 66: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – Tan is straight back into action with a pre-flop raise of 84,000 and takes down another pot.

Hand 65: Ivan Tan

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Tan raises an extra 80,000 and makes it two out of the last three pots.

Hand 64: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – ElkY gets it all-in but there’s no action from any of the other four players.

Hand 63: Ivan Tan

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tan pops it up to 48,000 from the small blind, and ElkY folds in the big blind.

Hand 62: William Tam eliminated by Sangkyoun Kim in 6th place ($40,480)

Button: Patry (seat 7) – On the first hand after the dinner break, Tam pushes in all his chips except 3000, gets a call from Kim, and eventually gets it all-in with Qd Jh against Kim’s Ad 6d. The board is 5h 5c 9d 9h 3c, sending William Tam to the rail in sixth position.

It’s break time at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open. Our chip leader is again Dinh Le from England with 1,145,000.

He leads from Ivan Tam of Singapore (945,000), followed by Korean online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim (734,000) Team PokerStars member Guillaume Patry (343,000), fellow Seoul resident and Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (244,000) with the short stack Australia’s William Tam (148,000).



Hand 61: Dinh Le

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY raises to 55,000, Dinh reraises to 255,000 and ElkY folds. 

Hand 60: Guillaume Patry eliminates Liz Lieu in 7th place ($32,384)

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Liz Lieu is all-in yet again, and gets an unlikely call from Patry with 7h 2s. Lieu has Ah 6d, and the gods smile on Patry again when the flop comes 8s 3c 7c. The turn is Js, and the river 7d, giving Patry trips and sending Liz Lieu out in seventh place.



Hand 59: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Tam raises to 70,000, ElkY reraises 182,000 and Dinh moves all-in. Tam folds and ElkY also mucks his card, giving Dinh Le the pot and putting him back in the chip lead.

Hand 58: Ivan Tan

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Tan is back in action, raising an extra 53,000 but ElkY adds an extra 120,000 to the pot. Tan calls and we see a flop of 8h 5h Qs. ElkY checks, Tan makes it 210,000 and ElkY folds to give the Singapore player a pot worth more than 400,000, consolidating his chip lead.

Hand 57: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan bumps it up an extra 55,000 to 79,000 total and takes it down.

Hand 56: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le raises to a total of 84,000 and drags the pot.

Hand 55: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Déjà vu – ElkY raises to 58,000 but this time Tan makes the call. The flop is 6c 2c 2d; Tan checks, ElkY bets 80,000 and claims another pot. He’s been the big mover since Joe Hachem was eliminated, picking up five of the last 10 pots.

Hand 54: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY raises to 58,000 and there are no callers.

Hand 53: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Sangkyoun Kim is first into the pot with a raise of 60,000, and nobody else wants to join him.

Hand 52: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – ElkY completes the blind but Dinh raises an extra 50,000 from the big blind. ElkY calls and the flop is Jd Js 9c. Dinh bets 100,000 and ElkY mucks ’em.

Hand 51: Guillaume Patry

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Patry raises to 70,000 and induces a fold from the five players behind him.

Hand 50: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – ElkY’s pre-flop raise of 55,000 earns him the last pot before the blinds are increased to 12,000/24,000 with an ante of 4000.

Hand 49: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Dinh Le limps in, Kim pops it up to 90,000 and Dinh Le calls. The flops reads Js 9c 10s; Dinh checks, Kim bets 160,000 and closes the gap on chip leader Ivan Tan.

Hand 48: Liz Lieu

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Lieu is again all-in, this time from first position. She again gets the respect: the only three pots the ‘Poker Diva’ has won today have been when she’s shoved all-in.

Hand 47: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY’s in the action again with a raise to 55,000 to make it two out of two.

Hand 46: ElkY Grospellier

Button: dead – ElkY raises it up to 50,000 and hauls in the 51,000 in blinds and antes.

PokerStars Video Blog
Alison speaks with Guillaume Patry and Bertrand ElKy

The Poker Stars video blog team have been working their socks off capturing the Macau Asian Poker Open for the people at home .

Follow along on PokerStars blog or see all the posts in order at: APPTLive

Ivan Tan makes it to the Final Table



APPT - Liz Lieu talks about the second day

The 2005 World Series of Poker champion Joe Hachem has had his hopes of winning the first PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title extinguished by Korean online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim.

Hand 45: Sangkyoun Kim eliminates Joe Hachem in 8th place ($24,288)

Button: ElkY (seat 4) –Kim raises to 60,000, Hachem pops it up an extra 90,000, then Kim puts Hachem all-in. The Team PokerStars Pro shows Ad Ac to Kim’s Ah Qs. Kim earns some outs on the flop of Jh 5s Kc; and makes his straight with a 10d on the turn. The river is a meaningless 4h, and Joe Hachem is out in eighth place.

Hand 44: Liz Lieu

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Lieu pushes all-in from the cutoff, for 86,000, Tam has a long think and passes as do ElkY and Joe Hachem

Hand 43: Dinh Le

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Dinh Le limps in and goes the flop with ElkY from the big blind. The flops comes Qc Qd 9s. Both players check, the turn is 7c, check-check again, and the river is 7h. Dinh shows A K, and ElkY A 5 giving Dinh the pot.

Hand 42: Dinh Le

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Dinh raises an extra 60,000 and takes the pot.

Hand 41: Joe Hachem

Button: Kim (seat 8) – This time, it’s Hachem who pushes all-in but there’s no caller.

Hand 40: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Patry wastes little time getting the remainder of his chips into play; Kim calls and shows 6d 6c (the same hand that ElkY won with in hand 39) while Patry shows Ad 8c. The flop hits Patry (9d Ah 3h), the turn is 4s and river the Js, giving the Canadian some timely life support.

Hand 39: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Le (seat 6) – ElkY pushes all-in for approximately 180,000, Dinh calls, Patry comes over the top all-in and Dinh calls. Patry shows pocket aces (As Ah), ElkY has pocket sixes (6d 6c) and Dinh shows pocket threes (3h 3d). The flop misses everyone (Qh 8s 2c), but a 6s on the turn puts ElkY in front, and hangs on as the 7c lands on the river. It’s a huge turnaround: ElkY triples up to more than 500,000, Dinh has tumbled to 660,000 (losing the chip lead for the first time today) and Patry is down to 134,000. Ivan Tam is our new chip leader.

Hand 38: Liz Lieu

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – Liz Lieu shoves all in for 80,000 from middle position, and takes down her first pot of the final table.

Hand 37: Dinh Le

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Dinh gets a rare walk in the big blind, claiming the blinds and antes worth 54,000.

Hand 36: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Sangkyoun Kim raises to 53,000 total and there’s no interest from the other seven players.

Hand 35: Ivan Tan

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Dinh Le raises to 45,000, Tan calls and ElkY calls. They see a flop of 4d 8h 8d – check, check, check – and the turn is 4c. Dinh bets 60,000, Tan calls and ElkY gets out of the way. The river is Kh; Dinh bets 120,000 and Tan calls. In the first major setback for the chip leader, Tan showed A J and Dinh 9 10. The Singaporean, here on holidays, sweeps in a pot of more than 500,000.

Hand 34: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – On the first hand after a 10-minute break, ElkY shoves in his remaining 200,000 in chips and gets no love.

Dinh Le’s play has been the highlight of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final table. The English-based Vietnamese-born player has been the enigma of this $2500 buy-in main event.

He carefully considers every act but when he makes his move, it’s done with real authority: like a Big Cat pouncing on its prey.

The 27-year-old is slowly becoming comfortable with the media coverage being afforded his new-found fame as a key player in the poker history that’s unfolding here in Macau as the race to crown the first tournament poker champion in the history of the People’s Republic of China gets down to eight players.

Hand 33: ElkY Grospellier

Button: Kim (seat 8) – ElkY pops it up to 45,000 and takes the last pot before players head out for a 10-minute break. When we return, play will be at level 22 (10,000/20,000 with 3000 ante).

Hand 32: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Sangkyoun Kim raises to 120,000 after Patry’s initial pop to 45,000 and scoops it up.

Hand 31: Ivan Tan

Button: Le (seat 6) – Tan raises an extra 35,000 under the gun and Dinh Le calls from the big blind. The flop reads 8h 2h 4c; Tan bets 80,000 and Dinh Le shows the Ac before folding.

Hand 30: Dinh Le

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – First to act, Kim raises to 40,000 and gets calls from Dinh Le and Patry in the blinds. The flop is 6d 10s 5s; Dinh bets 50,000, Patry calls and Kim folds. The 10c hits on the turn; Dinh checks, Patry bets 120,000, Dinh reraises the minimum and Patry calls. The river is 5c; and Dinh’s last bet of 120,000 is enough to take down a big pot.

Hand 29: Dinh Le

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Action folds around to Hachem in the small blind; he calls, Dinh Le raises 40,000 and Hachem folds.

Hand 28: William Tam

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Tam raises to 45,000, ElkY pushes all-in from the small blind, Hachem folds and Tam calls. He’s well behind with Ac Qh against ElkY’s Ah Kh. But the flop hits (Qs Ad 4d) is great for Tam; the turn is 6s and the river 3s, allowing the Queenslander to double through.

Hand 27: Guillaume Patry

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Patry raises to 45,000 and snares the blinds and antes.

Hand 26: Sangkyoun Kim eliminates Simon Randall in 9th place ($ 16,192)

Button: Randall (seat 1) – Sangkyoun Kim raises to 40,000, Randall goes all-in for a total of 144,000 and Kim calls. Randall has As Qd and Kim Kc 10h. The flop (7s Kh 8h) hits Kim, as does the turn (Kd), sending Randall out in ninth place

Hand 25: Joe Hachem

Button: Tan (seat 9) – On a flop of 10d Qc 9h, the short-stack Hachem moves all-in after a pre-flop raise of 45,000. Lieu called, but threw it away after the flop.

Hand 24: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – It’s a five-way pot featuring Tan, Randall, Lieu, Dinh Le and Patry. The flop comes Jd 2s 6c, and it’s checked around to Dinh Le who makes it 56,000 – enough to claim the pot.

Hand 23: Guillaume Patry

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Lieu limps, in, Tam pops it up to 60,000 and Patry comes to life with a reraise to 140,000. Lieu and Tam get out of the way.

Hand 22: Split pot – Randall/Tam

Button: Le (seat 6) – Randall raises 57,000, Tam pushes all-in to make the pot 287,000 total and Randall calls. It’s Ad Kh for Randall and As Ks for Tam! The board reads 7c 6s Kc Qs 7d, giving Randall some anxious moments before the pot is split.

Latest chip count:

• Seat 1: Simon ‘vuka’ Randall (UK) 159,000


• Seat 2: Liz Lieu (United States) 232,000


• Seat 3: William ‘walrus_poker’ Tam (Australia) 293,000


• Seat 4: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) 455,000


• Seat 5: Joe Hachem (Australia) 130,000


• Seat 6: Dinh ‘Darren’ Le (England) 710,000


• Seat 7: Guillaume ‘TheGrrr…’ Patry (Canada) 575,000


• Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 422,000


• Seat 9: Ivan Tan (Singapore) 549,000

Hand 21: Joe Hachem

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – ElkY raises to 35,000, Hachem reraises another 50,000, ElkY folds and the Hachem fan club, led by his younger brother Tony, gives their man a nice round of applause.

Hand 20: Ivan Tan

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Tan pops it up to 48,000 total and after some initial interest from Dinh Le, takes it down.

Hand 19: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Dinh Le raises to 53,000 total and gets no callers. In his first major live tournament, he shows he’s not intimidated by the big names around him by showing queen-high.

Hand 11: Sangkyoun Kim; hand 12: ElkY; hand 13: Ivan Tan

Just caught a very quick word from Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, who’s just flown in from the US after spending Thanksgiving with his family. Barry will join the world-class field for the $15,000 buy-in event, which starts tomorrow. We’ll also be covering that event on the PokerStars Blog.

Hand 14: Dinh Le

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Hachem raises to 32,000, Dinh Le requests a count before adding a further 90,000. Play is folded back to Joe, who shows an ace and folds.

Hand 15: Dinh Le

Button: Kim (seat 8) – Tam raises 35,000 from early position and gets a call from Dinh Le. It’s folded to Randall in the big blind, who calls. Tam checks in the dark, Dinh Le pushes all-in for his huge stack of 700,000-plus. Both players fold and Dinh Le increases his lead.

Hand 16: Bertrand Grospellier

Button: Tan (seat 9) – ElkY raises to 40,000 and gets no interest.

Hand 17: William Tam

Button: Randall (seat 1) – Joe Hachem limps from early position, Lieu completes the small blind but Tam raises an extra 58,000 from the big blind to scoop the chips.

Hand 18: Sangkyoun Kim

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – Dinh Le makes it 47,000 total, Sangkyoun Kim pushes all-in and Dinh Le calls. It’s pocket fives for the Korean against Dinh Le’s Ah Jc. The flop comes Qs 9d 5d, the turn is Kc, and the river an agonising 9c. Sangkyoun Kim couldn’t watch the river land, and was clearly relieved Dinh Le didn’t make his straight – he doubles through to about 500,000.

Players are taking a short five-minute break and when we return, blinds will be up to 8000/16,000 with a 2000 ante.

By Sean Callander

We’re underway here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in the first APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open $2500 buy-in main event. We started with 352 players, and just nine remain in the chase for this historic title.

Play starts at level 20 with blinds at 6000/12,000 and 2000 antes. The button is starting with William Tam in seat 3, meaning the blinds will start with ElkY Grospellier (small) and Joe Hachem (big).

• Seat 1: Simon ‘vuka’ Randall (UK) 125,000


• Seat 2: Liz Lieu (United States) 384,000


• Seat 3: William ‘walrus_poker’ Tam (Australia) 201,000


• Seat 4: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) 467,000


• Seat 5: Joe Hachem (Australia) 325,000


• Seat 6: Dinh ‘Darren’ Le (England) 657,000


• Seat 7: Guillaume ‘TheGrrr…’ Patry (Canada) 552,00


• Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 261,000


• Seat 9: Ivan Tan (Singapore) 553,000

Hand 1: Dinh Le

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Le raises to 37,000 total and takes down the pot.

Hand 2: William Tam

Button: ElkY (seat 4) – Randall raises to 35,000 before Tam moves all-in for 197,000. Play folds to the Londoner, and he lays them down.

Hand 3: Dinh Le

Button: Hachem (seat 5) – Lieu raises to 28,000 before Dinh Le pops it up to 78,000. Lieu folds and the chip leader makes it two out of the first three pots.

Hand 4: William Tam

Button: Le (seat 6) – Tan bets 30,000, with Patry and Kim in the blinds joining the action. We see our first flop for the final table of 5c 8h 3c. Tam bets 100,000 and scoops the pot.

Hand 5: Joe Hachem

Button: Patry (seat 7) – Team PokerStars claims its first pot of the final table when Joe Hachem raises 68,000 pre-flop to take the blinds and antes.

Hand 6: Simon Randall

Button: Kim (seat 8) – In our first all-in of the final table, the short stack Simon Randall pushes all-in with pocket sixes, and gets a call from Ivan Tan with pocket eights. Randall makes a set on the flop of 2c 6s Kc, then quads when a 6h landed on the river. Randall takes down a nice pot of almost 200,000.

Hand 7: Ivan Tan

Button: Tan (seat 9) – Tan bets 42,000 on the button and Lieu calls from the big blind. The flop reads As 5c 3s, Leiu checks, Tan bets 65,000 and immediately recoups some of the chips he lost in the previous pot.

Hand 8: Guillaume Patry

Button: Randall (seat 1) – Hachem calls and Patry follows into the pot. The flop is 6d 7c 4d, Hachem c-bets 55,000 and Patry moves all-in for almost 450,000. He has Hachem well covered. After about 90 seconds in the tank, Hachem folds.

Hand 9: Dinh Le

Button: Lieu (seat 2) – From early position, Dinh Le bets 70,000 and takes down another pot.

Hand 10: Simon Randall

Button: Tam (seat 3) – Randall’s pre-flop raise to 80,000 is enough to take down the blinds and antes.

By Sean Callander

You’d think Joe Hachem would be use to TV tables and big-time final tables, but the 2005 WSOP champion still had some jitters before taking his seat for today’s PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open final table.

The Aussie favourite paced the hall in deep thought just outside the TV studio here in the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino before taking his seat.

But the Team PokerStars Pro was positively calm compared to Jeannie Hachem. Joe’s wife was ringside when he captured the 2006 WPT Five-Diamond Classic, and is hoping that she can bring some luck and make Joe the first player to win a WPT, WSOP main event and APPT title.

Online qualifier Sangkyoun Kim, the 41-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, is positively beaming at the thought of chasing the $US222,460 first prize, but young Brisbane qualifier William Tam looks quite tense sitting between Liz Lieu and ElkY.

Simon Randall, the other PokerStars online qualifier at the final table, is already cracking the one-liners: hardly surprising given the 45-year-old owns a pair of comedy clubs in London.

Some promos are currently being shot by new APPT hostess Erin McNaught (the 2006 Miss Australia), and we should be underway in the next 30 minutes. Keep an eye on our PokerStars Blog for regular updates of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open and the chase for the honour of being the first winner of a No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in the People’s Republic of China

Chip count (end of day 2)

• Seat 1: Simon ‘vuka’ Randall (UK) 125,000


• Seat 2: Liz Lieu (United States) 384,000


• Seat 3: William ‘walrus_poker’ Tam (Australia) 201,000


• Seat 4: Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) 467,000


• Seat 5: Joe Hachem (Australia) 325,000


• Seat 6: Dinh Le (England) 657,000


• Seat 7: Guillaume ‘TheGrrr…’ Patry (Canada) 552,000


• Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 261,000


• Seat 9: Ivan Tan (Singapore) 553,000

PokerStars Video Blog

Ali interviews Joe Hachem after his final table win



Watch Pokerstars pros teach Hong Kong media a thing or two about the game of Poker.

By Sean Callander

A whirlwind last hour has finished with the final nine players decided to contest the final table at the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour: Asian Poker Open. With 15 players remaining, the short stacks came under attack – first that of veteran Kiwi Graeme Putt (15th), followed by young Aussie Joel Dodds (14th) and Jerry Bucilla (13th), who walked into the pocket aces of Joe Hachem.

Guido Lunardini’s tournament finished when Dinh Le made a pair of jacks after the board missed the Thai’s K Q, and soon after, Claus Valloe’s K 8 ran into the A 10 of Team PokerStars’ Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier. Ace-high was good enough for ‘ElkY’ to eliminate Valloe in 11th place.

Almost immediately after Valloe busted, Cailin Jin fell one short of the final table line-up when his A 5 came up against the pocket queens of Sangkyoun Kim. The flop (Ah 9c As) was sweet for Jin, but one of the two queens in the deck fell on the turn, making Kim’s full house and ensuring his spot in the last nine.

There, he’ll be joined by a dream field that includes Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and ElkY Grospellier, Team PokerStars member Guillaume Patry and US ‘Poker Diva’ Liz Lieu. The field also includes a trio of PokerStars online qualifiers: Sangkyoun Kim from South Korea, knockabout Brit Simon Randall and 21-year-old Brisbane native William Tam. They’ll all be chasing the chip leader, Vietnamese-born Dinh Le. Play resumes at 2pm local time today.

Chip count (end of day 2):

1. Dinh Le (England) 657,000


2. Ivan Tan (Singapore) 553,000


3. Guillaume Patry (Canada) 552,000


4. Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier (France) 467,000


5. Liz Lieu (United States) 384,000


6. Joe Hachem (Australia) 325,000


7. Sangkyoun Kim (South Korea) 261,000


8. William Tam (Australia) 201,000


9. Simon Randall (UK) 125,000

Final table profiles and seating assignments for APPT Macau main event



Seat 7: Guillaume Patry (TheGrrr… on PokerStars, 552,000 in chips): A native of Quebec, Canada and actually started his competitive career as part of the Quebec Junior Provincial Ski Team. By high school, Patry had already become the world’s premier Starcraft gamer and also became the first ever non-Korean professional gamer in South Korea. Residing in South Korea since 2000, he reached celebrity status in both the gaming and mainstream media of his adopted homeland. TheGrrr… gradually built his profile online but it wasn’t until this year that he made the step into major live tournaments with appearances at the PokerStars.net APPT events in Manila and Seoul. He was a massive chip leader midway through day two of the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event but rode the roller coaster late in the day before consolidating his spot in the final nine. He is a member of Team PokerStars.



Seat 5: Joe Hachem, Australia (Joehachem on PokerStars, 325,000 in chips): A man who needs little introduction, the 2005 WSOP champion is already a member of one of poker’s most elite clubs as one of five men to have captured a WSOP main event and WPT title after he captured the prestigious WPT Five-Diamond Classic title in 2006. Born in Lebanon, he moved to Australia in the early 1970s where he worked as a chiropractor and mortgage broker. Married with four children, he stunned the poker world by beating a record-breaking 5619-player field in the 2005 WSOP main event. Since then, he has been the catalyst for the massive growth of poker in Australia, and one of the game’s most respected ambassadors. The 41-year-old played in the APPT events in Manila and Seoul, and by reaching the final table in Macau, he is aiming to become the first WSOP/WPT/APPT champion. Joe Hachem is a Team PokerStars Pro.



Seat 1: Simon Randall, UK (Vuka on PokerStars, 125,000 in chips): He might be the short stack, but this affable Englishman will provide plenty of entertainment value at the final table. The owner of two comedy clubs in West London, he brings a stack of poker experience to the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open having played for more than 25 years (he joked that he was playing poker before most of the final table participants were born)! An aficionado of Seven-card Stud, he was swept up in the Texas Hold’em boom at the start of the new millennium and has acquired some valuable experience at tournaments such as the PokerStars EPT in London and the 2006 WSOP. The 45-year-old father of two will be cheered on at the final table by his wife Vishna. He earned a ticket to Macau via a $100 Double Shootout on PokerStars.




Seat 4: Bertrand Grospellier, France (ElkY on PokerStars, 467,000 in chips): Better known by his professional computer gamer ID, ElkY, this Frenchman has been living in South Korea as a professional gamer for almost six years and is one of the top-ranked Starcraft players in his adopted homeland. He regularly competes in the Korean Pro Gaming leagues, which are televised nationally. He has since transferred these exceptional skills to poker. He came within a whisker of winning the EPT Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen earlier this year (he collected $US400,000 for finishing runner-up). However, he remains better known for his online exploits on PokerStars, where he was the first person to ever reach “Supernova” and “Supernova Elite” status on PokerStars (having earned 100,000 player points in one month and 1,000,000 player points in 12 months respectively). Bertrand Grospellier is a Team PokerStars Pro.



Seat 9: Zhong Wei ‘Ivan’ Tan, Singapore (553,000 in chips): The great story of the final table, this 26-year-old timed a holiday to Macau with his wife around the APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open with the hope of snaring a seat on the cheap. He lined up in the first Mega Satellite, and hung on to grab the last seat on offer for the main event. He’s now in the running to take home the first prize of $US222,640 – not a bad souvenir to take back to his home in Singapore! A keen poker player, he enjoys the occasional cash game but has little tournament experience and has been thrilled with the opportunity to mix it with the world’s best after gaining a taste of the PokerStars.net APPT in Manila three months ago. He is second in chips heading into the final table.


Seat 6: Dinh Le, Vietnam (657,000 in chips)



Seat 2: Liz Lieu, USA (384,000 in chips): One of the most glamourous and recognisable faces in poker, this 34-year-old poker pro was born in Vietnam, raised in the US and has recently made the move to London. Known as the ‘Poker Diva’, she established her reputation first as a cash-game player mainly in Limit Hold’em before making her mark in the tournament arena at the 2005 WSOP with a fifth in the $1500 No Limit Hold’em event. Two more cashes, including a 12th in the $5000 No Limit Hold’em event, marked her as a player to watch. She carried that form into the 2005 Festa Al Lago at the Bellagio where she was fourth in the $2500 No Limit Hold’em event, then broke through for her first major win in 2006 in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em Tournament at the LA Poker Classic. Incredibly, she won the same event 12 months later (pocketing almost $US150,000).



Seat 8: Sangkyoun Kim, South Korea (261,000 in chips): Inspired by the PokerStars.net APPT’s visit to Seoul in September, this 41-year-old father of two successfully chased a seat for the APPT Macau: Asia Poker Open in an $11 rebuy tournament on PokerStars. He’s been playing poker for about three years, but this is his first live tournament, representing a marvellous achievement to make the final table of a major event at his first attempt. He works in the insurance industry in Seoul, where his workmates and family have been keeping close tabs on his chip count via the PokerStars blog. He also ensures that the Korean-based contingent (which includes Guillaume Patry and ‘ElkY’ Grospellier) is the dominant force at the final table.



Seat 3: William Tam, Australia (walrus_poker on PokerStars, 201,000 in chips): The APPT Grand Final will be held at Sydney’s Star City Casino next month, so it’s appropriate that a casino dealer from a sister property to Star City should make the final table of the APPT Macau; Asian Poker Open. Playing in his first major live tournament, this 21-year-old (he only celebrated this milestone birthday last week) is a dealer at Treasury Casino in Brisbane, Australia. Born in Australia to a Vietnamese mother and a father originally from Hong Kong, he’s been playing poker for several years but only decided to try his luck in Macau after cashing fifth in a Sunday Million warm-up on PokerStars. He ensured a spot at the final table when he doubled through ‘ElkY’ Grospellier late on day two when his pocket jacks held up against the Frenchman’s A Q.

By Sean Callander

Just 15 players remain in contention for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open title as the hours after the dinner break on day two ticks past.

We’re at level 18 (4000/8000 with a 1000 ante), but it’s been slow going in the past two hours minutes with only five players – Dane Sean Jensen, Bradley Fu from Canada, Sweden’s Christoffer Stahle, Ang Pend Lang from Singapore and American Brian Tate eliminated.

Tate’s KO was particularly brutal: on a flop of 7d 8c 3h, Thailand’s Guido Lunardini pushed all-in with 8d 3d, and Tate had no hesitation calling with pocket aces. The turn and river came Js 2s, meaning Lunardini's two pair held up.

Almost unbelievably, Guillaume Patry’s chip lead has disappeared with his stack slashed by half since the break. Dinh Le was the latest to acquire a pile of Patry’s chips when he rivered a straight in a pot worth almost 300,000. Le now leads the field from Alan Tan (all three seated at the same table).

The action is tight and tense, but the crowds on the rail haven’t dissipated. It’s interesting to note that the spectators have included more than a few of the senior figures in the local casino industry.

It’s hard to describe the level of development here on the island of Taipa, situated just across the ‘old’ city of Macau. The opening of the Sands Macau casino in 2004 ushered in a new era, which has continued with the opening of lavish properties like Galaxy Entertainment’s Grand Waldo Hotel (the venue for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open), which was the first one-stop hotel and entertainment resort to open in Macau.

A short distance from the Grand Waldo is the massive Venetian Macao, which opened three months ago. The 32-storey, $1.8 billion property owned by Las Vegas Sands (occupying a massive 10.5 million square feet) is the largest single structure hotel building in Asia and the second-largest building in the world.

Just across the road from the Grand Waldo is a massive vacant block, which will soon be home to the jewel in the crown of the Galaxy empire – the Galaxy World Resort. Stage one opens soon, and will feature three hotels, housed in two towers, comprising 2500 rooms.

As one of the largest in the world, the casino will have a capacity to accommodate up to 700 gaming tables and 4000 slot machines. The mass gaming hall will stretch the entire length of the casino (almost 300 metres). It will be a different looking city when we return for the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open next year!

Current chip count (approximate):

1. Alan Tan (Singapore) 475,000


2. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 427,000


3. Guillaume Patry (Canada) 380,000


4. Guido Lunardini (Thailand) 344,000


5. Claus Valloe (Denmark) 235,000

By Sean Callander


The frenetic pace has finally slowed as the field has been reduced to 22 in the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour: Asian Poker Open.

The tournament has been condensed into four tables to one side of the Grand Waldo casino floor, with railbirds packed around trying to get a glimpse of the action.

Team PokerStars has been reduced to two representatives: 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem and Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier. After bowing out on the opening day of the first two APPT events, Hachem has wielded his stack to great impact. He was responsible for the elimination of fellow Aussie James Potter in 30th position.

Hachem’s charge isn’t the only talking point among the Australian contingent in the room, as they’ve just discovered that on their return home, they’ll have a new Prime Minister after today’s Federal Election was won by Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party, ending the 11-year reign of John Howard.

On a momentous day for Australian politics, Hachem is in a great position to claim an equally historic win in the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

But to do so, he’s going to have to overcome the man seated to his immediate right: PokerStars’ sponsored player Guillaume ‘Grrrr...’ Patry.

The Korean-based Canadian has taken a huge chip lead in the past 30 minutes. Like ‘Elky’, Patry made the move to Seoul in 2000 where he became the world's premier Starcraft gamer (and the first ever non-Korean professional gamer in South Korea).

Patry, who’s only major tournament experience has been in the three APPT events, has rocketed to more than 700,000 in chips to be almost assured a spot at the final table.

Liz Lieu assured of finishing as the top female after the young Australian Celina Lin busted out just before the dinner break in 24th place. Other recent eliminations include Lance Yuen (Taiwan, 22nd), Chris Levick (23rd, Australia), former chip leaders Tobias Schulze (25th) and Luca Carlone (Italy, 26th) and Swedes Anders Carlsson (28th) and Kenneth Matsson (29th).



Current chip count (approximate)

1. Guillaume Patry (Canada) 706,000


2. Alan Tan (Singapore) 280,000


3. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 274,000


4. Joe Hachem (Australia) 235,000


5. Bradley Fu (Canada) 220,000

PokerStars Video Blog
Alison interviews Emad Tahtou after he busts out day two, a dissapointing finish, today he got his kicks Bungee-jumping from the Macau Tower today.

By Sean Callander

The bubble has burst here at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino with Canada’s Winfred Yu confirmed as the 41st-place finisher in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event.

A cheer erupted in the room when Denmark’s Sean Jensen sent Yu to the rail, thus ensuring the remaining 40 players a payout of at least $US3238, but all eyes remain focussed on a spot at tomorrow’s final table.

It took just over three hours to slash the field from 77 to 40, with some of the big name eliminations including 1998 world champion Scotty Nguyen.

From middle position, Nguyen moved all-in for his last 30,000 in chips and was called by Swede Markus Duberg from the cutoff. Duberg showed pocket queens, which held up against the Prince of Poker’s Ac Kh.

A popular addition to the APPT Macau field, Scotty departed to warm applause, but not before he’d made a round of the tournament area to wish every player still in the field the best of luck – all class.

Isabelle Mercier’s day two experience was short and sweet. Barely settled into her seat after this morning’s bungy jump off Macau Tower, No Mercy’s pocket kings ran into pocket aces in the first serious showdown of the day. Ouch.

Masa Kagawa was also left with plenty of time to see the sights of Macau when he (and Aussie Paul Gianfriddo) were KOed by Hong Kong’s Nicholas Wong.

The Japanese player had As Jc, Gianfriddo pocket queens and Wong pocket kings, which held firm on a board of 6c 8c Jh Kc 8h. The pot, worth 130,000, was the tournament’s biggest so far.

We also lost APPT Seoul champion Ziv Bachar just before the bubble burst. The 25-year-old Israeli made a brave charge at successive titles only to bow out in 43rd position.



But some heavy hitters remain very well placed to have a major say in who will take home the APPT Macau trophy.

Team PokerStars duo Joe Hachem and ElkY Grospellier are both sitting comfortably inside the top 10 and within reach of chip leader Hosung Kim (180,000).





And a great story is emerging in the form of Celina “id4eva” Lin, a young Australian who was born in Shanghai, China, before moving to Melbourne as a four-year-old.



One of Australia’s emerging online stars, Lin is playing in her first major live tournament. Down to just 8000 in chips late yesterday, she’s rallied to build her stack beyond 100,000. With the first aim of making the money ticked off, she’s now eyeing a spot at the final table.


Current chip count (approximate)

1. Hosung Kim (Korea) 185,000



2. Tobias Schulze (Germany) 170,100



3. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 168,000



4. Pang Leng Ang (Singapore) 135000



5. Bertrand Grospellier (France) 125,000

By Sean Callander

Some players had a quiet night and a lazy breakfast to prepare for day two of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event.

Not the fearless members of Team PokerStars – they jump off buildings! Joe Hachem, Isabelle Mercier, Emad Tahtouh and Terrance Chan skipped their Corn Flakes for the short trip to Macau Tower, which measures a dizzying 338m in height from ground level to the highest point.

The views across Macau and the Pearl River Delta are stunning, but the attraction of Macau Tower for thrillseekers is the AJ Hackett bungy jump. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" from the tower's outer rim is the highest in the world.

Despite some stomach jitters, Team PokerStars took it all in their stride – indeed, the voice of Isabelle could be heard as she rebounded back into the sky shrieking “too easy”.

But the highs of Macau Tower have quickly been forgotten as Hachem and Mercier rushed back to the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino for the opening hand of day two to join the 77 players chasing the inaugural APPT Macau title.

The draw has thrown up some intriguing tables, with Mercier finding herself at the same table as Masa Kagawa, chip leader Tobias Schulze (179,000) and top Aussie pro Gary Benson.

Meanwhile, Hachem occupies the same table as Hevad Khan, Guillaume Patry and Vietnamese player Dinh Le (second in chips with 169,000).

Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier is leading the Team PokerStars charge – looking gaunt and vampish thanks to a bleach-blonde dye job (think Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and a prop bet to lose 24 kgs, ElkY is playing some inspired poker and is well placed for a shot at the final table.

Other big names still in the hunt are Scotty Nguyen (who’s current stack of 30,000 is by far the largest he’s held so far in this tournament), while Liz Lieu is charging early on day two and has propelled his stack above 50,000.

Keep an eye on www.pokerstarsblog.com for regular updates through out the day as we continue to celebrate the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

Current chip count (approximate):

1. Tobias Schulze (Germany) 179,100



2. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 169,100



3. Carlone Luca (Italy) 150,800



4. Bertrand Grospellier (France) 112,300



5. Hosung Kim (Korea) 109,100