Phil Ivey And Tom Dwan Playing 'Big Game' In Manila

The PokerStars Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila has just wrapped up in the Philippines with its main event attracting an impressive 585 players, and eventually won by Aaron Lim for USD $558,000. Next stop on the APPT will be the Macau Poker Cup starting August 27th, but the two popular gambling resorts have been competing for more than tournament players recently, as the high-stakes ‘Big Game’ seems to have now migrated from Macau to Manila, according to Poker King Club’s CEO Winfred Yu.
For years, the Macau’s StarWorld Casino was where poker’s top pros went to compete against wealthy Asian businessmen, but that honor currently belongs to Manila’s Solaire Resort and Casino, where stakes of US$2,500/$5,000/$10,000 are being played in what is believed to be the biggest live poker game in the world. Commenting on the switch, Winfred Yu said:
“The gaming industry is slowing down in Macau. So we need to cater for the needs of the Asians in perfect hotels and casinos, that are legitimate. That’s why we opened here, and you can see how great it is. We also have plans to expand into Vietnam and Korea later this year.”
In fact, at the moment three of poker’s biggest stars are playing nosebleed cash games at the venue, namely Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Dan Cates, with the latter tweeting before setting off to the Philippines:
“Going to one of my favorite casinos @solaireresort in manila.”
Interestingly, last week Dan Cates expressed optimism his 5 year-old “Challenge II” against Tom “Durrrr” Dwan might resume this year, having previously expressed his frustration and outrage that Dwan had “failed to uphold any promises” he had made to him. Thus far, Cates is ahead by $1,251,059 with 19,335 of 50,000 heads-up NL hands already played. By traveling to Manila, Dan Cates can at least now guarantee himself some action against Dwan, even if it is in the live arena.