This article first appeared in the Jul/Aug 2010 issue of World Gaming magazine.
The Venetian Macau poker room held their first ever live poker tournament in late May this year. Tournaments are a great way for poker rooms to create excitement as both the room and the players love the exposure. The problem is that poker tournaments are hard work and it takes skill and expertise to run them. The World Gaming team takes a look at how the Venetian Poker Room team managed on their first attempt.
The Venetian poker room is still only in its infancy as it opened less than a year ago on November 9. The room is starting to live up to its incredible potential. Being situated right in the middle of the action in the largest gaming area in the world is something no other poker room in the world could ever compete with. The other huge advantage that the room has over some of its competitors is the sheer mass of tourists and first time players that stream through the door every day. They are interested in poker as it is a new game that they don’t understand and this keeps the regulars happy and creates an environment in which new players can learn the game.
At the moment PokerStars Macau leads the way in this part of the world when it comes to tournaments, but the other major rooms are showing interest in becoming part of this fast-growing sport. The great thing about a tournament is that everyone is created equal. Everyone pays their entry fee and sits down with the same amount of chips.
The Venetian Macau’s inaugural tournament saw over 100 players battle it out for the guaranteed HK$1 million prize pool on offer. It was a two day tournament held on May 29 and 30. Forty minute levels and a good structure had the players satisfied. Players were given plenty of time to find their feet and the cream tends to rise to the top when the format allows it. It was truly an international field with local players from Macau taking on visitors from Europe, Australia, the USA, China, Japan and Hong Kong.
Even with some stiff opposition it was a clean sweep for Hong Kong when it came to the final table with all ten players hailing from the former British colony. David Ewing just missed out on taking the cash and Fred Leung (better known for his work on the other side of the table) snuck into tenth position and pocketed HK$20,000 for his efforts.
The winner was Kenneth Leong Yuen-kiong who finally outlasted Anson Tsang Yan-shing for the title. Leong walked away with a very respectable HK$300,000 and Tsan pocketed HK$180,000.
The Venetian needs to be congratulated on their first foray into major tournament poker. They would have loved a few more runners but this takes time to achieve and hitting triple figures is certainly a good start. The room has plenty of potential and its great to see the team pushing hard to make the Venetian poker room one of the best rooms in Macau. We certainly look forward to their next tournament.
