Is Asia a new poker horizon?
Tours TravelThe game of poker has been a part of card game competitions for over two hundred years. Undoubtedly, poker has enchanted most of the planet, from poker rooms on riverboats and Wild West saloons of days gone by to modern card rooms with plethora of tables and luxurious casinos all over the world. the world. Whether in the US, Europe, or even in Latin America and South America, poker has become a super popular game of the 21st century. But even now there is a “new horizon”, which will be actively conquered in the coming years, in order to bring poker to a new stage of its popularity among tens of millions of new players.
This “new horizon” is a continental Asia. One billion people live in China, one billion more is the population of India, and one billion more are spread over the rest of the continent. Considering such a large number of potential poker players, this market is a “gold vein” for the organizers of the game. Only recently has this horizon begun to develop (with or without the help of local governments). The new horizon may become the last for poker, which means that it will completely conquer the whole world. Poker organizers say that by the end of 2007 many Asians fully understand what “blind”, “twist” and “river” are.
Online companies have long been interested in the possibility of entering Asian markets (in particular, the Chinese market), but the governments of Asian countries prevent the online or traditional gaming industry from developing to a large extent. scale. The Indian government, for example, does not actively support the idea of the gambling industry (although there are six casinos in this country). China, which will host the 2008 international Olympic games, the government gradually loosens control over the Internet. This is very good news for representatives of the gaming industry, who have already prepared to launch a large-scale Asian acquaintance with poker.
Steve Wynn, owner of hotels and casinos around the world, is ready to bring his shiny and glamorous style to the Asian market. “Wynn Macau”, the hotel and casino complex, was inaugurated on September 5 in Macau. It acquaints the Asian continent with the luxury of Las-Vegas. It includes 600-room hotels and casinos, which certainly offer gambling and poker, just like all other Steve Wynn’s institutions around the world. The 20-story hotel will be an exact copy of the “Wynn Las Vegas” hotel-casino. The company plans to organize further spread of the board games across the continent.
Television has also brought poker tournaments to the Asian market. The world’s most popular poker tournament (World Poker Tour or WPT) recently licensed TV stations in Macau and Singapore to show the first season of WPT games to Asian audiences. But the continent is gearing up to host its own prominent poker tournaments. The organization titled “PanAsia Poker Tour” has recently stated that the debut of this new championship will take place in November, and it is the first time in history that the official championship will take place in Manila, Philippines.
The event called “PAPT Philippine Open” will be held from November 3 to 5 at the “Airport Casino Filipino”. Their final tournament will feature a free Texas Holdem poker game with a prize fund of $2,500. The tournament, which has obtained official permission from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Industry Control Corporation (PAGCOR), is expected to attract celebrities and professional poker players who will try to win the tournament title. champion. There are plans to film this tournament which will be shown in the future on Asian TV. This means that viewers on the Asian continent want to watch matches, which are played on their home soil.
However, the poker tournament titled “PanAsia” is not limited to hosting an event. The leaders of this organization have adopted plans to organize in 2007 a tour throughout the continent with ten stops. The latter are planned in Macao, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines. If the tour seems to be successful, it will be able to attract millions of new poker players to the poker community.
India is also a part of Asia; the worldview of the Indians in many ways reflects the peculiarities of Asian or even Eastern philosophy. Gambling and casinos in Indian society are often doomed (although many Indians want to change this), while poker sites, which are not banned here, find it difficult to expand deeper into the continent. It is interesting that some activities of online poker companies take place particularly in India. For example, the company “PartyPoker” has a branch there with 900 employees, the company pays taxes here, as well as in Gibraltar, where its headquarters are located. However, India will be able to show its true interest in poker during the first tournament in the history of this country, which will take place in 2007.
The Asian poker championship in India – Asian Poker Classic – with a guaranteed prize pool of one million dollars will be held from March 1 to 3, 2007, in a major resort of Goa (Grand Resort Goa) at the hotel “Intercontinental “. More than two hundred players are expected to participate in the tournament. The entry fee is $7500, this competition is to attract some of the best poker players from around the world and many celebrities. Its organizers hope that the poker site (and tournament sponsor) “Maharajah Club”, which has built a reputation for a long time, will help attract many players to this competition.
Perhaps the organizers themselves give the best account of the tournament. This is what the tournament director and the respected director of the tournament “European Poker Tour” (European Poker Tour) Thomas Kremser had to say about the event. “Nothing like this has ever happened in India before. The tournament will undoubtedly be impressive. The stunning beauty of the Goa resort, the lavish hotels and the utterly unique character of this tournament will become its unbeatable setting. It will be the poker tournament of the year . !”
Asian poker players have already inscribed their names in the history of the game. From Johnny Chan to Men “The Master” Nguyen and Can Kim Hua, Asian players made their contribution to the game and today their impact is felt in any tournament. Coming to the Asian continent, poker will conquer the new and last geographical horizon and give birth to a new generation of Asian champions.