Monday, Nov. 26, 2007

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Exciting finish for APPT Macau

By Arthur Crowson

It was the first major poker tournament held in China and it did not disappoint.

World-renowned players like Joe Hachem, Liz Lieu and Bertrand Grospellier all sat down at the final table for a star-studded end to the Far East's biggest poker event ever.

Although the stars shone brightly for the first half of the final table it was the relatively unknown Dinh Le who outlasted them all, claiming the title and $225,640. Le beat Ivan Tan in heads-up play with pocket eights versus A T.

The event would have to be considered an overwhelming success for PokerStars as 352 players took to the felt including big-time poker celebrities like Scotty Nguyen, Isabelle Mercier, John Juanda, Jeffrey Lisandro and many more.

About the only player missing was 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang who was denied entry into the country due to visa issues.

The tournament was an authentic Oriental experience complete with gongs, drums and a Chinese lion dance right before Nguyen told the dealers to shuffle up and deal.

Taking place at the Grand Waldo Hotel, the event was considered by many to be one of the most important poker tournaments in the last 10 years. Although poker's popularity has exploded in both North America and Europe over the last five years, the game has been slow to catch on in Asia. That may be changing, however. The APPT has held several successful events in the Philippines and Korea and interest seems to be growing.

PokerListings.com was fortunate enough to have almost-exclusive coverage of the event and our very own Owen Laukkanen was on hand to give exemplary up-to-the-minute live updates. Check out a few of those live updates here and a recap blog here.

The lights haven't gone out on the felt in Macau, though. There is still the $15,000 buy-in High Roller Event which will include marquee players like Barry Greenstein and Kirk Morrison. Keep checking our live updates as Laukkanen continues his Chinese poker journey.

Related Articles:

• Macau Gambling Age May Go Up
• Yang to Play in APPT Macau
• Poker Growing in Asia

 

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