Thursday, April 17, 2008

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Asian Poker Tour gets Savage

By Arthur Crowson

The first step to running a successful tournament is hiring a competent director, and the Asian Poker Tour is on the right track with the award-winning Matt Savage.

Savage comes to the APT with over 350 televised events under his belt including the World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour and many more. He was appointed tournament director for the WSOP in 2002 and has since seen the prize pool and the fields of the popular poker series rocket to astronomical levels.

In 2001 Savage founded the Tournament Directors Association, an organization that works to standardize tournament rules worldwide. A favorite among players, Savage was inducted as the first member of the Poker Room Manager's Hall of Fame in 2003. He was also awarded the inaugural Benny Binion award for outstanding service in the poker industry that year.

As tournament director for the Asian Poker Tour Manila leg, Matt Savage will oversee the action for all six days of the tournament, which is expected to attract approximately 400 players from around the world. A third of participants are expected to come from the Philippines, where people have started to catch the poker bug.

APT organizers also took the time to announce they've found a venue for the first leg of the tour. The Dusit Thani Manila Hotel will be the place to be during APT Manila. The Dusit Thani Manila is located in the city's central business district and provides access to accommodation, shopping malls and transport services.

The APT is Asia's original poker tour. The brand was recently acquired by Manila based gaming company ESL-Asia and there are plans for numerous expansions of the tour. This year there are four events that take place in Manila, Macao, South Korea and Singapore.

It's worth noting the APT is not associated with PokerStars' Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), which saw its inaugural season last year.

Related Articles:

• APT Releases 2008 Schedule
• Tony G Wins APT Singapore Event
• Betfair To Host Asian Poker Tour In Singapore

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