PokerStars unveils a domestic lounge in the Philippines.
π₯ On a sweltering Sunday, December 14th, the poker community pulsed with excitement as PokerStars LIVE Manila swung open its doors in the bustling heart of Manila, the Philippines. This badass establishment marked the fourth poker room under the PokerStars umbrella, joining the elite ranks in Macau, Madrid, and London.
Nestled within the lavish new City of Dreams Manila casino, owned by the powerhouse Hong Kong company "Crown Melco", this poker room was primed to ignite the gaming and hospitality scene.
PokerStars has been no slouch when it comes to wooing Asia, having played host to major live tournaments and series like APPT, ACOP, and MPC for eons. And PokerStars LIVE Macau, with its sparkling success, is living proof. The Asian Poker Tour (APT) took flight after the launch, attracting global poker veterans like moths to a flame. And why not? With an astounding schedule in 2015.
The Philippines seemed like a prime contender for PokerStars' expansion into another Asian country. Boasting a population of over 100 million and Manila, its buzzing capital, claiming the title of one of the most densely populated cities in the world (1.7 million residents strong!), the potential was promising as sunshine after a monsoon.
On its inaugural day, PokerStars LIVE Manila set the stage with cash games at ten tables, offering limits of $0.50/$1 and $1/$2, as well as a smorgasbord of tournaments. A special freeroll even dangled tantalizing offers of seats for the hotly anticipated Red Dragon tournament in Macau, as part of the Macau Poker Cup (MPC). The 22nd MPC series would go down from February 27th to March 15th, 2015.
The director of the new poker room, Danny McDonagh, kept mum about the future plans for visitors. But one thing was already loud and clear: one of the APT's ninth season stops would take place in Manila at the PokerStars room, from July 31st to August 9th, 2015.
City of Dreams Manila was one of four integrated resorts planned to rise in the "Entertainment City" of Pagcor (the Philippine gambling zone). The first to see the light of day was Bloomberry Resorts Corp.'s Solaire Resort and Casino, also smack dab in Manila, with a hefty $1.2 billion investment.
πUntil recently, major tournaments and series were held at the Metro Card Club, where the APRT final stop of the previous season saw a nail-biting showdown between Vietnamese player Thanh Ha Duong and Michael Guzzardi. With Duong holding a measly 800,000 chips and Guzzardi packing a whopping 4,400,000, the odds certainly seemed to favor the latter. But luck and skill played their part, and Duong emerged as the champion, claiming a shiny new title and $77,700 in prize money.
π₯And now, the Philippines has its very own, official venue for hosting poker series. Adrenaline junkies, fetch your chips and get ready to roll!
- I'm playing poker at PokerStars LIVE Manila, a new establishment in the heart of Manila, Philippines.
- PokerStars LIVE Manila, an integrated casino-and-gambling hub, is located within City of Dreams Manila, a casino owned by Hong Kong company Crown Melco.
- With the launch of PokerStars LIVE Manila, it's likely that gambling trends in the Philippines will shift, given the room's association with poker giant PokerStars.
- The Asian Poker Tour (APT) and casino personalities from around the world are likely to flock to PokerStars LIVE Manila, with its array of casino games and poker tournaments.
- As casino culture expands in the Philippines, the integration of PokerStars LIVE Manila could potentially make Manila as significant for poker as Las Vegas is for gambling.
- With the potential for billion-dollar gambling investments in the Philippines, it seems likely that Manila's poker scene will continue to grow and evolve, much like the success of PokerStars LIVE Macau.