The most recent stop on the Asian Poker Tour at the StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau began Thursday, with the first of two Day Ones attracting 133 players. 

Although that number would have to be considered fairly respectable for this still relatively young tour, it was easily surpassed during Friday's second Day One when another 193 players entered, creating a complete field of 326 and a total prize pool worth HK$10,919,040 (about $1,410,000 USD).

The top prize for this main event is HK$3,035,000 (a little more than $391,000 USD) and is currently being contested by 88 remaining players including JC Tran, Casey Kastle, Johnny Chan, David Steicke (the Day 1a chip leader) and PokerRoad's own Steve Sung.

Notable players already eliminated from the tournament during the two day ones include Chino Rheem, Mel Judah, Amnon Filippi, Theo Tran, Liz Lieu, Nam Le, Liv Boeree and Vivek "FLOG" Rajkumar.

For more information on the APT Macau visit www.asianpt.com, or for updates visit PokerNews for live tournament coverage.


Story by Mark Anderson