PokerStars Macau Set to Host Guangdong Asia Millions Tournament
In just two more weeks, poker enthusiasts worldwide will train their eyes upon the gambling mecca that is Macau as it plays hosts to one of the most talked about poker events in the history of the game. It’s called the GuangDong Asia Millions (GDAM), and it will take place in the PokerStars Live card room at the City of Dreams Casino, hosted by PokerStars Macau. Big names, big buy-ins and one of the most massive prize pools ever are on the menu.
The GDAM poker tournament isn’t for everyone. It’s being billed as a VIP tourney, not because only poker pros are permitted to enter, but because the price tag to do so isn’t exactly obliging to the casual poker player. The GuangDong Asia Million is aptly titled for it will take HKD-1,000,000 to purchase a seat. That’s the equivalent of USD-$130,000, thirteen times more expensive than a seat in the poker world’s most prestigious WSOP Main Event.
GDAM was devised by a collaboration of the GuangDong Group Ltd and PokerStars. It is slated as a 3-day event, set to kick off on June 5th and wrap up on the 7th. Anticipating about 100 entries to the very first GDAM poker tournament, the prize pool could easily be one of the largest ever seen in the history in terms of cash-to-player ratios, estimated at HKD-100 million (USD $13 million).
With numbers like these, you can rest assured the player line-up is going to be brilliant one. PokerStars Macau has already confirmed a number of renowned poker pros prepared to grace the felt, including 2008, 2010 and 2012 WSOP Main Event Champs John Juanda, Jonathan Duhamel and Greg Merson, 3x WPT titlist and WSOP bracelet holder Gus Hansen and 8x WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel.
Other renowned poker pros from around the world that have been confirmed to attend include JC Alvarado (Mexico), Joseph Cheong (USA), Aaron Lim (Australia), Igor Kurganov (Russia), Tobias Reinkemeire (Germany), Devan Tang (Hong Kong), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (Russia), Mike Watson (Canada) and Nick Wong (Hong Kong). Several more decorated pros are expected to attend, although their registration has not yet been confirmed. These include 2x WCOOP titlist Shaun Deeb (USA), WSOP bracelet winner and WPT/EPT titlist Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (England), WPT Title winner Nam Le (USA) and WSOP bracelet winner Brian Hastings (USA).
PokerStars has been running satellite and qualifiers to the GDAM poker tournament all month. Feeder satellites start as low as a few dollars, with GDAM super satellites available for $530. Every super satellite, held each Sunday, guarantees at least one seat in the Grand Final Satellite, scheduled for Monday, May 26. Qualifier tournaments can be found in the PokerStars lobby by clicking Events > PSLive > Macau.
This is the largest satellite in the history of PokerStars’ myriad promotional campaigns, coming from an online poker room known for its enormity. GDAM prize packages will include the 1,000,000 HKD ($130,000 USD) buy-in, plus travel expenses and hotel accommodations throughout. PokerStars specifically asks that players who participate in GDAM satellites have a genuine interest in attending this historic event, as any player who wins a seat in the Grand Final Satellite may be ineligible to unregister.