Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

[ QUOTE ]
Tatsu: since there has been no live poker in Macau up to now, where did they get 40 dealers to work this tournament? All trained in the past 4 weeks?

[/ QUOTE ]

There was local trainers and one brought in from the Philippines about a month ago that were in constant contact with me about rules, procedures, and I answered questions for them. Savage Tournament's two trainers came in the week before and gave them an intense Boot Camp. Sam Quinto and Chinh Chung have both worked with me at Bay 101 and have done an OUTSTANDING job getting them ready. It was Sam's idea to bring Chinh as he speaks three dialects of Chinese.

I am really proud of the effort these dealers have put forward and said yesterday that even though many of these dealers never even knew what a royal flush was 6 weeks ago are now dealing a major tournament without many mistakes at all. Yes, they are slow but they are more concerned about not making mistakes and having a positive attitude and I applaud that!

Interestingly enough I go directly from here to Malaysia's Genting Casino where I sent two other trainers to get 50 dealers ready for another first time poker tournament at their property where we are introducing the great game of poker as well.

Matt Savage

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

Well, I hope they don't all go back to dealing Baccarat after the weekend !! That would be a waste of your efforts !!

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

How are we all doing?

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

Hi!!!

I will arrive on Tuesday in Macao. I wanted to ask if there are somewhere sit and go tournaments for a buy-in of 50$, 100$ or 200$?? If yes which casinos will provide No Limit Texas Hold'em Poker?

Thanks for your help

Kind Regards

Andelie

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

I was hoping that there would be introductory leaflets in Chinese explaining how to play Hold'em. I overheard and saw many people who were curious about it, but didn't know how they worked.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

[ QUOTE ]
I was hoping that there would be introductory leaflets in Chinese explaining how to play Hold'em. I overheard and saw many people who were curious about it, but didn't know how they worked.

[/ QUOTE ]

A few hotel workers told me the same thing: they can't read English so they were not able to learn the game even though they wanted to.

Hopefully, a Chinese-language pamphlet explaning Texas Hold'em will be available at the next APPT event in a Chinese-speaking city, either Macau or elsewhere in Asia.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

Dinh Le's winning hand, pocket 8's, is fitting for the first ever televised poker tournament in China.

Why?

The number 8 pronounced in Cantonese rhymes with the Cantonese pronounciation of the Chinese character for prosperity and wealth.

--

Those of us staying at the Grand Waldo Hotel should have noticed that the hotel does NOT have a 4th floor (the floor numbering skips from 3rd floor to 5th floor).

Why?

The number 4 pronounced in Cantonese rhymes with the Cantonese pronounciation of the Chinese character for death.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

Reminder for those of you departing from Hong Kong Int'l Airport (HKIA) on a flight leaving before 12:30pm (i.e. United Airlines to Los Angeles and San Francisco):

You will have to catch the 8:15am TurboJet Sea Express ferry from Macau in order for your checked luggage to make your flight connection at HKIA.

(The 10am ferry is probably too late for your luggage to make the transfer to the same plane with you.)

In order to catch the 8:15am ferry, you have to be at the Macau ferry terminal by 7am.

That means you have to leave the hotel by taxi by no later than 6:30am. (The hotel shuttle bus to the ferry terminal does not start running until 10am.)

--

I am scheduled to leave on Wednesday morning. My plan for now to stay up through night on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, watch UEFA Champions League football (soccer) matches live on TV between 3:45am and 5:45am (choice of Manchester United vs Sporting Lisbon on ESPN Asia or Sevilla vs Arsenal on STAR Sports), and then come down to the lobby to check out and wait for a taxi as soon as the two matches are over.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hi!!!

I will arrive on Tuesday in Macao. I wanted to ask if there are somewhere sit and go tournaments for a buy-in of 50$, 100$ or 200$?? If yes which casinos will provide No Limit Texas Hold'em Poker?

Thanks for your help

Kind Regards

Andelie

[/ QUOTE ]

The Grand Waldo Hotel on Cotai, where the APPT is being held, has USD$100 and USD$200 sit-and-goes on Tuesday, but not afterwards.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

For more APPT posts see:

APPT Macau Trip Report part 1, The New Sin City
APPT Macau Trip Report part 2, I'm Bond18 Bitch, Main Event
Official APPT Macau Thread (and meet up)

I haven't gotten through them yet, but I know I'll enjoy them when I do.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

A fun anecdote:

During the $300 mega-satellite on the first day, we had a dealer at our table who was new and pretty nervous as it was his first time dealing. He collects the cards from the previous hand. He riffles them, strips them, cuts them. He says, "blinds please" and the small blind posts.

He pitches a card to the small blind, and then to the big blind. Then, with mounting horror, he sees that the big blind has not put out his blind yet! He has an expression of sheer panic on his now weathered visage. After being frozen in his deer-in-headlights look for two seconds, he composes himself.

He sticks his right arm up, ramrod straight, and yells out, "FLOOR!" Big blind has now posted his blind. One of the tournament directors runs over, expertly avoiding people along the way. The director asks the dealer what the problem is. Dealer says, very seriously, "I dealt a card to him before he posted his blind."

The director keeps a perfectly straight face and says, "No problem, keep on dealing." The dealer's relief is evident to all. He keeps dealing.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

[ QUOTE ]
A fun anecdote:

During the $300 mega-satellite on the first day, we had a dealer at our table who was new and pretty nervous as it was his first time dealing. He collects the cards from the previous hand. He riffles them, strips them, cuts them. He says, "blinds please" and the small blind posts.

He pitches a card to the small blind, and then to the big blind. Then, with mounting horror, he sees that the big blind has not put out his blind yet! He has an expression of sheer panic on his now weathered visage. After being frozen in his deer-in-headlights look for two seconds, he composes himself.

He sticks his right arm up, ramrod straight, and yells out, "FLOOR!" Big blind has now posted his blind. One of the tournament directors runs over, expertly avoiding people along the way. The director asks the dealer what the problem is. Dealer says, very seriously, "I dealt a card to him before he posted his blind."

The director keeps a perfectly straight face and says, "No problem, keep on dealing." The dealer's relief is evident to all. He keeps dealing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good stuff. Obviously used to dealing in the pits.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

The biggest minus about Macau that is out the control of the APPT and the host casino is:

AIR POLLUTION

The thick, hazy, greyish or brownish "chog" (short for Chinese smog) that many of us have read about and have seen in photos and on TV news programs each day (i.e. on Bloomberg and CNBC World if you live in the U.S.) has been present in Macau ever since I have been on the ground.

I have NOT seen blue sky yet during the day time in Macau for the 6 days I have been here.

The "chog", in my opinion, is worse that the smog in the valley areas of Los Angeles.

The "West River" estuary, which flows past the hotel and is visible if you have a "harbour view" room facing Hengqin Island on the Mainland China side of the estuary, is also heavily polluted with brownish water.

Re: The APPT Macau: The First Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in China!
 

[ QUOTE ]
The biggest minus about Macau that is out the control of the APPT and the host casino is:

AIR POLLUTION

The thick, hazy, greyish or brownish "chog" (short for Chinese smog) that many of us have read about and have seen in photos and on TV news programs each day (i.e. on Bloomberg and CNBC World if you live in the U.S.) has been present in Macau ever since I have been on the ground.

I have NOT seen blue sky yet during the day time in Macau for the 6 days I have been here.

The "chog", in my opinion, is worse that the smog in the valley areas of Los Angeles.

The "West River" estuary, which flows past the hotel and is visible if you have a "harbour view" room facing Hengqin Island on the Mainland China side of the estuary, is also heavily polluted with brownish water.

[/ QUOTE ]

My GF is from ZhengZhao on the mainland and she has told me stories about how polluted it is there. I believed her but couldn't really grasp it until earlier this year when we met her parents in HK and they brought video. Wow. The sky was filled with soot, the big river was an oily mess on the banks and all foamy just outside of that. The place was disgusting. The city is the major railroad center for China and apparently their railroads rely heavily on coal and very dirty oil.