WSOP Asia-Pacific to Kick Off in April 2013
The World Series of Poker expanded into Europe in 2007 and the success of the WSOP Europe has prompted the company to expand yet again. Earlier this week, the WSOP announced the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, the first WSOP event to be played in Australia.
WSOP Asia-Pacific Kicks Off in April 2013.
According to the terms of the deal, the WSOP has signed a mutli-year deal with Australia’s Crown Melbourne to host the event. The first even is scheduled for April 4-15 of 2013 and will host five WSOP gold bracelet event.
According to WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, “Our goal is to establish the worldwide grand slam of poker and use our platform to elevate the game through a series of major championships.
With WSOP Las Vegas growing annually and WSOP Europe poised for long-term success after five years, the time is right to turn our attention to the dynamic poker scene in Asia and Australia. Given Crown’s success with the ‘Aussie Millions Poker Championship’, we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Crown to establish the Asia-Pacific’s definitive poker festival.”
Greg Hawkins, the CEO of Crown Melbourne talked about the new event and said that “This exciting partnership brings together two industry leaders, and two strong brands, to create a premier poker event in this region. Our agreement firmly aligns with our objective of attracting the very best local and international players, all vying for a coveted WSOP bracelet. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved with the Aussie Millions and look forward to featuring WSOP Asia Pacific on our poker calendar in April 2013.”
The event will be shown on international television and will likely be broadcast on ESPN. The 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion, Joe Hachem, is excited for the event and stated that, “It’s thrilling to think the World Series of Poker is coming to Australian soil. I know first-hand what a life-changing moment winning the WSOP gold bracelet was and how it served as a catalyst for the growth of poker in Australia and Asia. It will be a dream come true to host a worldwide poker event such as this at Crown. I can’t wait.”
Now with the WSOP Asia-Pacific, there are now three WSOP series’ that award bracelet to event winners. With the recent addition, the WSOP now covers every major poker market in the world and players do not have to travel across the globe to Vegas in order to compete for a bracelet.
