2008 Calendar For Asian Poker Tour Announced

Poker enthusiasts worldwide have received the 2008 dates for the Asian Poker Tour with open arms. As with many industries, Asia has led the way in the poker trend, producing some of the best players in the world.

The Asian Poker Tour will kick off in the Philippines from May 27 to June 1. This first event, held in Manila at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel, will see over 400 players going head-to-head over six days. The buy-in is $2,500 and the prize pool boasts $1 million (USD). As with all of the APT events, players can qualify through online satellites for a fraction of the cost.

The Manila event will be followed by events in Macau, South Korea, and Singapore. Venues and dates for the last three events are expected to be announced shortly.

AsianLogic CEO Chris Parker said: "The Asian Poker Tour (APT) will definitely be a top-class brand. This is such an exciting time for poker players in Asia and we feel that with our expertise and skills, we can make the APT a bigger and better series of events each year. From the four events that will take place this year, the APT plans to expand to a total of six events in 2009. We are continually working to set up some of the world's most exciting and prestigious poker tournaments."

Online gaming company ESL-Asia, a subsidiary of AsianLogic, has taken over the APT and will organize all the online and land-based tournaments, as well as brand management.

ESL-Asia will also supervise the APT's plans to launch their own online poker rooms in the months ahead, where internet players can improve their skills and win money.

Event organizers are optimistic about the APT since the popularity of poker in the Philippines has been growing steadily and has shown no signs of slowing down. There has been an increase in the number of poker events being held in Manila as well as in key provincial cities such as Cebu and Davao. New poker rooms are consistently being opened in Manila and Davao to cater to the emerging poker-playing public and the APT hopes to contribute to this emerging trend.