WSOP Asia Pacific Starting April 2013
May 2, 2012 11:57 amThe World Series of Poker has just announced the addition of five extra braceleted events to its tournament series with the introduction of the WSOP Asia-Pacific (or WSOP APAC).
The multi-year agreement will take place at the Crown Melbourne in Australia, which has the biggest poker room outside the US, and boasts around 18 million visitors each year. The WSOP APAC is scheduled to get underway between April 4th and 15th starting 2013, with WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, commenting:
“With WSOP Las Vegas growing annually and WSOP Europe poised for long-term success after five years, the time is right to turn our attention to the dynamic poker scene in Asia and Australia. Given Crown’s success with the Aussie Millions Poker Championship, we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Crown to establish the Asia-Pacific’s definitive poker festival.”
Just as US player Chris Moneymaker helped spark a poker boom by winning the 2003 WSOP for $2.5 million, so Aussie Joe Hachem‘s Main Event success in 2005 for $7.5 million had a similar effect in Australia and Asia. Not suprisingly, this week Hachem was delighted to hear that the inauguaral 12 day WSOP APAC would be taking place in his hometown of Melbourne, describing it as a “dream come true.”
Crown Melbourne was equally thrilled by the prospect with Chief Executive Officer, Greg Hawkins stating: “This exciting partnership brings together two industry leaders, and two strong brands, to create a premier poker event in this region. Our agreement firmly aligns with our objective of attracting the very best local and international players, all vying for a coveted WSOP bracelet. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved with the Aussie Millions_ and look forward to featuring WSOP Asia Pacific on our poker calendar in April 2013.”
The official schedule and tournament list for the 2013 WSOP Asia-Pacific will be released later on this year.