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I can't imagine why I would fly half way around the planet to play in an event where the total prize pool is likely to be around half a million bucks. I'm guessing there isn't a real, functioning 24/7 poker room there--fly in, more likely than not get eliminated out of the money, then fly home? Yecch.
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As this is our first season, we want lower buy-ins to make the tournaments accessible to as many people as possible. For many of the players in Manila (who came from 30 different countries, mostly in Asia), the APPT was their first live tournament. As the APPT becomes more established, and the poker culture in the region grows, we'll increase the buy-ins while participation also grows. But for now it's definitely about the number of players more than the size of the prize pool.
And there are LOTS of reasons why you should fly half-way around the planet to play in the APPT Seoul event:<ul type="square">[*]It's the first major poker tournament in Korea and you can be part of history;[*]It's Korea! and we're organizing some very cool tourism options like trips to the DMZ and national palaces. You can also come early to enjoy this fascinating city, eat some incredible food (like *fire chicken* and bulgogi) and, if you're so inclined, shop for new technology or fashion. As well, you might consider taking a tour into North Korea to visit
Mt. Kumgang - but we're not arranging that - or spend a night in a
Buddhist temple;[*]We're producing the event for television and it will be broadcast *everywhere* so you might become a superstar and create your own spin-off businesses that exploit your celebrity for even more fame and fortune like P-Diddy;[*]A prize pool of slightly more than $500,000 is STILL half a million dollars; and[*]Having had the pleasure of a night out with Rekrul and his crew in Seoul, I can tell you that's it's worth going just for that![/list]Finally, in regards to cash games, there will be action 24/7 from Thursday through Sunday at many different stakes. They spread HE, OH, OH8, 7S and Chinese Poker. And based on what I saw in Manila and expect in Seoul, a lot of high-limit online players from North America who now live in Asia will be there for the juicy side action moreso than for the tournament.
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I'll wait for the one in Sydney. That's at least a real poker room in a real casino, in a part of the world I've always wanted to visit.
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The APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney will be a spectacular event, and we're all very excited about it. It's good to know you'll be coming to that, but we also hope to see you in Seoul.
Cheers,
Jeffrey Haas
President, Asia Pacific Poker Tour
http://www.appt.com