Sands China to host poker tournament in Macau for the first time in six years
The heavy loss for Macau’s casino industry during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be due to travel restrictions that have made it impossible for foreign tourists and mainland China and Hong Kong tourists to visit the city. With revenues growing again and tournament poker back, there is much to expect from players going forward.
New tournament in 6 years:
Sands China will host the tournament, and potential players will be able to compete in Venice and Macau.
This is the first time in six years that Macau has hosted a poker tournament. One event, called the Macau Masters, will last for four days. The purchase is 3,000 Hong Kong dollars ($384). The purchase includes three flights per day, with unlimited repurchases that can be refunded for the entire registration period.
After the flight, as officials announced, the top 30 chip stacks will have the opportunity to compete during the final day, which will take place on Thursday, March 14.
Currently, Sands China is offering cash-game poker in Macau. The company is one of a total of three offering this service in Macau, along with Wynn Macao and MGM China. However, despite its popularity, the poker tournament was almost forgotten because the last tournament in this game heaven took place in 2018.
At that time, the PokerStars Live room took place in the City of Dreams. The venue also held a large-scale event called 2018 Macau Millions in the same year, with 2,499 players participating in the main event at the time.
According to a report by Inside Asian Gaming, Andy Kobel, senior vice president of casino operations at Sands China, is positive that the tournament will help loyal customers improve their gambling experiences and grow this major Asian market at the same time. He said the local market “reacted well with Venice’s offering of poker games.”
WPT in Macau:
Sands China runs the main event alone, and Cobel hopes it will be a precursor to other events that will be held in Sands China in the future. When asked about this, he replied, “We’re always looking for new opportunities, and competitions of different sizes and frequencies are definitely some of those opportunities.”
What does it mean for the poker industry in the city? According to industry news, a lot will happen in Macau. The World Poker Tour (WPT), one of the largest poker tournaments in the world, recently announced that it would like to host a tournament in Macau, and CEO Adam Pliska confirmed this claim.
Last December, he said, “There are structural problems in Macau, especially making it difficult for dealers, but we are committed. We will arrive in Macau. We will work with the government and we will work with anyone else so that we can hold a good event.” 슬롯