[Matt Savage]

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Hi TheUsher,

There won't be any cash games because of how they are currently regulated in Macau. We are able to proceed with Single- and Multi-table tournaments during the 7-day event period, and they will be at a variety of stakes depending on demand. If enough players are interested in a 5K game, we'll start one.

That being said, Grand Waldo Casino recently placed a Lightning Poker table on their gaming floor. When I was there yesterday they were spreading a low-stakes Limit Hold'em game, but that will likely change during the event (to a higher stakes game, likely No-Limit). For now, there aren't any live cash games in Macau, but I've heard that will change shortly (the subject of another post).

As for why the $15K tournament won't be a 3-day event, you're right in that we don't expect a very large field. We're expecting between 200-250 players for the $2,500 Main Event (as it's only four weeks away now and we have limited time to promote the events) and between 30-60 for the High Rollers Event. If it seems like 75-100 people are going to play, as you surmise, then we'll consider alternate scheduling.

Joe Hachem and a few other Team PokerStars players are confirmed for both tournaments, and we've heard from several other top professionals who are coming. Also, in response to BlueMan's comments, we know for certain that some of our favourite high-energy action-oriented players from the region will be playing. So I certainly think there's value to be had here, more than just being part of history! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

As for your comments/suggestions about structures, I'll leave that to Matt or Danny to respond to.

Jeffrey

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Hey Jeffrey,

Just read about the Lightning Poker tables. They look pretty nice but even regular poker tables would be amazing for SNGs, etc, and probably even preferred by many people instead of the Lightning Poker ones.

Would Stars be running satellites for the $15k event? That would definitely increase turnout and guarantee seats in advance.

What about live sats into the tourneys? Do those run at the casino there in advance? The $15k high buyin would attract many high rollers in the area such as businessmen/government types but would also alienate many people there because $15k is a massive amount in that area. I'd assume that interest is very high to play it but many locals just can't afford to direct buyin whereas they might gamble a few times on smaller buyin sats, if available.

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Yes there will be Mega Satellites, One and Two Table Satellites for the $15,000 starting on the 22nd at the Grand Waldo.

Matt