PokerStars heads Down Under with ANZPT

PokerStars Team Australia member Tony Hachem.

The world's largest poker site is giving two more countries their very own poker tour with the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour.

Taking a cue from the growing popularity of the game in the Southern Hemisphere thanks to events like the Aussie Millions and APPT Auckland, the ANZPT will kick off in Adelaide as part of the Sky City Adelaide Hold'em Championship.

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"Following the success of the second season of the APPT earlier this year we are excited to be expanding poker further throughout this region," said tournament spokesperson Danny McDonald. "The ANZPT will provide Australian and New Zealand poker players with a professionally executed tour in their own backyard."

The Adelaide event carries a $3,000 direct buy-in and will run from Feb. 4 through Feb. 7. Qualifiers for the event are already running on PokerStars.com. There are packages worth over $4,500, which includes the buy-in and five nights' accommodation at the Hyatt Hotel in Adelaide as well as travel expenses.

Many Australians consider Adelaide to be the unofficial "Home of Australian Poker," as the Sky City casino first introduced Texas Hold'em way back in 1987. It is perhaps fitting that the first event of an Australian-focused poker tour would be held there.

The tour is league-based, which means there is a point system awarding players for every event they enter as well as for the position they finish in each tournament. The first season will run up until July.

Some of the game's finest players, including PokerStars.net Team Australia members Grant Levy, Eric Assadourian, Celina Lin, Tony Hachem and Emad Tahtou, will grace the tables at the ANZPT for up to six locations.

The ANZPT joins the Russian Poker Tour and the Filipino Poker Tour as just one of the many region-specific tours that PokerStars has created over the past couple years.

For more information about the ANZPT, check out the official site at www.anzpt.com and learn how you can take a shot at becoming the next Joe Hachem.