2014 WSOP ASIA-PACIFIC SERIES SCHEDULE SET WITH TEN BRACELETS UP FOR GRABS

MELBOURNE/LAS VEGAS. Wednesday April 23, 2014. World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific returns to Melbourne, Australia for its only international stop of 2014 from October 2-18, 2014 with 10 WSOP gold bracelets on the line – and the race for the 2014 WSOP Player of the Year still hanging in the balance.

With some brand new events planned and price points ranging from AUD$1,100-$25,000, players of all levels will be welcomed to Crown Melbourne, Australia’s leading integrated resort, to partake in a high stakes poker festival featuring plenty of side events including satellites, cash games and tournaments in the expansive and comfortable 70-plus table Crown Poker Room.

“Bigger and better is the best way to describe the 2014 WSOP Asia-Pacific,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “New events at modest price points like the Dealers Choice and Terminator No-Limit Hold’em, plus an expansion of overall events and a move to springtime in Melbourne is designed to encourage the North American and European contingent to make this a can’t miss event. Plus, we have secured the most comprehensive live television coverage in both the U.S. and Australia for both the Main Event and High Roller.”

Included in the 10-bracelet event schedule is an AUD$25,000 3-day ‘No-Limit Hold’em High Rollers’ tournament (Event #10, October 15-17), awarding a WSOP gold bracelet to its victor for the first time.

WSOP APAC will include television production for the Main Event and High Roller events. ESPN in Australia and ESPN in the United States will carry both events live (one-hour delay for integrity purposes) on October 17 and 18 in Australia. This expansive television distribution marks the first time ever a poker tournament will air the same day it occurred on Australian television. The live television window includes 6-8 hours of coverage a day, meaning nearly every hand of the Final Table of each the Main Event and High Roller will be seen by viewers around the globe.

"We are really excited that the WSOP Asia-Pacific is returning to Melbourne,” said Gus Seebeck, ESPN’s General Manager Australia/NZ. “It's a fantastic event and ESPN's expanded coverage will bring poker fans around the world even closer to the action."

WSOP APAC marks the second signature poker festival to be held at Crown Melbourne, following the highly successful Aussie Millions Poker Championship series which debuted in 2004. The inaugural WSOP APAC was held from April 4-15, 2013 and saw poker superstar Daniel Negreanu win the ‘Main Event’ bracelet and AUD$1,038,825, igniting his incredible year which ended with a WSOP Player of the Year crown. In addition, Phil Ivey won his ninth WSOP gold bracelet at the inaugural WSOP APAC, moving him into fourth place all-time on the WSOP bracelet list.

Crown Melbourne Director of Poker, Jim Preston said “Crown Melbourne is excited to be hosting the WSOP Asia Pacific for a second time and we are truly honoured to have 10 WSOP bracelets on offer. We look forward to welcoming players from all over Australia, along with the rest of the world, as we continually work very tirelessly to exceed customers’ expectations.”

An exciting mix of offerings is slated. The opening event of WSOP APAC will be ‘The Accumulator’ on Thursday, October 2 at 6:10 PM, with additional starting flights for this event on Friday, October 3 at 12:10 PM and later that evening at 6:10 PM.   The format is traditional No-Limit Hold’em, but in this variant, players have the opportunity to play any or all of three separate starting flights, each with a buy-in of AUD$1,100. All chips accumulated each flight will be bagged, tagged and returned to the player on Day 2 of the event, where they will be combined with any other chips the player has accumulated during the other opening flights. Anyone who busts in one flight still has the ability to play in the other flight(s). Any player with any chips at the end of each starting flight will make it through to Day 2 of the event, slated to begin on Saturday, October 4, at 12:30 PM.

Event #2 begins at 2:10 PM on Saturday, October 4, with a standard AUD$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em tournament on tap.

Pot-Limit Omaha enters the mix on Sunday, October 5 at 4:10 PM, with AUD$1,650 buy-in Event #3.

A new event to WSOP players, but something familiar to frequent tournament players, is Event #4 on Monday, October 6 at 2:10 PM. It’s an AUD$1,650 buy-in Terminator No-Limit Hold’em three-day event. The game is played as regular No-Limit Hold’em with one exception – every player is a bounty. All players will be given a ‘bounty chip’ known as a terminator button and if you successfully knock out a player from the tournament, the terminator button is relinquished to you. Each button is worth AUD$500 and the money comes from the prize pool. Players who successfully ‘terminate’ players from the event will continue to accrue these buttons.

These buttons are redeemable for AUD$500 each at the conclusion of the tournament. This means players do not need to cash in the event to receive some monies from the prize pool; they simply need to be in Terminator mode and eliminate their foes from the tournament. 

The other new event is an 8-game Dealers Choice event where players will choose from a list of eight variants of poker to be dealt when they are the button. The player’s game of choice is played for one orbit, and then it rotates to the next player who has the option to change to one of the other seven games offered, or keep the same game. It is officially Event #6 on the schedule, and is a three-day structured event with a buy-in of AUD$1,650 beginning on Wednesday, October 8 at 2:10 PM.

An AUD$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Event (Event #5), an AUD$2,200 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event (Event #7), an AUD$5,000 Mixed Event and the AUD$10,000 Main Event (Event #9) return to the schedule as well.

 

BRACELET SCHEDULE – 2014 WORLD SERIES OF POKER ASIA-PACIFIC

Crown Melbourne Entertainment Complex, Melbourne, Australia

October 2 – 18, 2014

Date

Day

Start

Event #

Tournament

Buy-In

10/2/2014

Thursday

6:10 PM

1

No-Limit Hold’em Accumulator - Day 1 Flight A (4 Day Event)

A$1,100

10/3/2014

Friday

12:10 PM

1

No-Limit Hold’em Accumulator – Day 1 Flight B (3 Day Event)

A$1,100

10/3/2014

Friday

6:10 PM

1

No-Limit Hold’em Accumulator – Day 1 Flight C (3 Day Event)

A$1,100

10/4/2014

Saturday

12:30 PM

1

No Limit Hold’em Accumulator – Day 2 (Combine Stacks & Fields)

 

10/4/2014

Saturday

2:10 PM

2

No-Limit Hold’em – Day 1 (3 Day Event)

A$2,200

10/5/2014

Sunday

12:10 PM

1

No Limit Hold’em Accumulator – Final Table

 

10/5/2014

Sunday

12:30 PM

2

No-Limit Hold’em – Day 2

 

10/5/2014

Sunday

4:10 PM

3

Pot-Limit Omaha – Day 1 (3 day event)

A$1,650

10/6/2014

Monday

12:10 PM

2

No-Limit Hold’em – Final Table

 

10/6/2014

Monday

12:30 PM

3

Pot Limit Omaha – Day 2

 

10/6/2014

Monday

2:10 PM

4

Terminator No Limit Hold’em (3 day event)

A$1,650

10/7/2014

Tuesday

12:10 PM

3

Pot-Limit Omaha – Final Table

 

10/7/2014

Tuesday

12:30 PM

4

Terminator No-Limit Hold’em – Day 2

 

10/7/2014

Tuesday

2:10 PM

5

Pot-Limit Omaha – Day 1 (3 day event)

A$5,000

10/8/2014

Wednesday

12:10 PM

4

Terminator No Limit Hold’em – Final Table

 

10/8/2014

Wednesday

12:30 PM

5

Pot-Limit Omaha – Day 2

 

10/8/2014

Wednesday

2:10 PM

6

Dealers Choice – 8 Game – Day 1 (3 day event)

A$1,650

10/9/2014

Thursday

12:10 PM

5

Pot-Limit Omaha – Final Table

 

10/9/2014

Thursday

12:30 PM

6

Dealers Choice – 8 Game – Day 2

 

10/9/2014

Thursday

2:10 PM

7

Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em (3 day event)

A$2,200

10/10/2014

Friday

12:10 PM

6

Dealers Choice – 8 Game – Final Table

 

10/10/2014

Friday

12:30 PM

7

Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Day 2

 

10/10/2014

Friday

2:10 PM

8

Mixed Event – Day 1 (3 day event)

A$5,000

10/11/2014

Saturday

12:10 PM

7

Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Final Table

 

10/11/2014

Saturday

12:30 PM

8

Mixed Event – Day 2

 

10/12/2014

Sunday

12:30 PM

9

WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Championship – No-Limit Hold’em – Day 1A (7 day event)

A$10,000

10/12/2014

Sunday

12:10 PM

8

Mixed Event – Final Table

 

10/13/2014

Monday

12:30 PM

9

WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Championship – No-Limit Hold’em – Day 1B (6 day event)

A$10,000

10/14/2014

Tuesday

12:30 PM

9

WSOP APAC Main Event – Day 2 (Combined Fields for 1st Time)

 

10/15/2014

Wednesday

12:30 PM

9

WSOP APAC Main Event – Day 3 (Play down to 24 players)

 

10/15/2014

Wednesday

6:10 PM

10

High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (3 day event) (Late reg. until 4:30 PM Day 2)

A$25,000

10/16/2014

Thursday

12:30 PM

9

WSOP APAC Main Event – Day 4 (Play down to final table)

 

10/16/2014

Thursday

2:30 PM

10

High Roller No-Limit Hold’em – Day 2

 

10/17/2014

Friday

2:00 PM

10

High Roller No-Limit Hold’em – Final Table (Main Event off-day) (Live on TV)

 

10/18/2014

Saturday

2:00 PM

10

WSOP APAC Main Event – Day 5 -- Final Table (Live on TV)