Welcome to APT Vietnam!

This article first appeared in the May/Jun 2015 issue of WGM.

From Manila to Macau and Cebu to Jeju, tournament poker has been making steady progress across Asia ever since its first tentative steps back in 2007. The latest frontier to open its doors is Vietnam with The Ho Tram Resort Casino to host the inaugural APT Vietnam from 6 to 13 May. WGM takes a close look at what players can expect from this exciting new stop.

Poker has been steadily spreading its wings across Asia over the past eight years and with the help of WGM’s parent company, World Gaming Group (WGG), it is about to achieve another significant milestone in the shape of Vietnam’s first major international poker festival.

From 6 to 13 May, The Ho Tram Resort Casino will play host to APT Vietnam with a busy 15 event schedule culminating in the inaugural APT Vietnam Main Event from 8 May. The Asian Poker Tour has grown from just two events in Macau and the Philippines in 2008 to become one of the world’s most respected professional tours, having since held events in Mainland China, Australia, Korea, India and Cambodia as well as one-off special events further afield in England, the Czech Republic and Mauritius.

With APT Vietnam well positioned to become a regular APT stop, the opportunity to put their name in the record books as inaugural winner will be an appealing one to players. There is also the lure of The Ho Tram Resort Casino itself. Taking advantage of Vietnam’s tropical climate, the 5-star integrated resort sits right alongside a pristine beach that stretches more than two kilometres and boasts a world class 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman. There is also a spa, a nightclub, a poolside bar and nearly a dozen restaurants to choose from so players will have plenty of opportunities to kick back and relax when they’re not at the tables.

Among the distractions to look forward to are a Welcome Cocktails party at 21:00 on Wednesday 6 May and the APT Vietnam Players’ Party from 20:30 on Saturday 9 May – both free entry.

But there will be no shortage of poker, with 14 side events to be held in the space of eight days and satellites into the Main Event every day in the lead-up. The Main Event itself features two Day 1 flights with a US$1,100 buy-in and re-entry allowed until the start of Level 7. The final table is scheduled for Tuesday 12 May.

Although APT Vietnam is a first for the country, Vietnamese players have enjoyed some success on the tour in recent times with Ha Duong winning APT Cambodia in 2012 and Huy Pham winning the APT-RWM Poker Finale late last year in Manila.

We look forward to finding out who will stamp their name in the record books by being crowned inaugural APT Vietnam champion in 2015.