fleung22, any news on cash games?

Awesome - no charity event? I run real good in that.
Various live qualifiers not yet listed I assume.
Hotel deal (Hyatt / HRock)?

Will there be hot Russian waitress's and free booze (tequila shots etc) like in the old room?

Will cash games be permanent fixtures at the City of Dreams or during MPC only?

There will be cash games running 24/7. that's both during tournament and non-tournament times.

- Fred

Hi Neuromancer,

Live qualifiers will only be available once the physical poker room is open. We'll definitely have them leading up to the Red Dragon. Some great +ev options we'll announce at a later time.

I don't have control on the hotel side but I know that player rates for the COD hotels are something we'd like to offer if possible. I can't really speculate more than that but would definitely announce if anything positive happened in that regard.

Cheers,

Fred

F&B menu is TBA.

The nationality and degrees of temperature in relation to the server's attractiveness level is beyond my control.

- Fred

I was waiting to see how you would respond to that question, very well handled

Is there gonna be online satellites for the live tournaments?

That pre travel feeling is awesome. A million thoughts go thru your head. Asia virgin?

I was in Macao two times in 2013, one week during Red Dragon in January, and 10 days during CNY.

I am a regular visitor of Macao since they opened poker for the first time at grand lisboa. While I’m not a professional poker, I believe I have good overview of the Macau poker scene from the perspective of a recreational player.

I’d like to sum up the Macao situation because I believe many guys who will read the last few pages of this threat might not get an idea of the Macao poker scene.

This post will be 100% useless for the Macao regulars, so they might as well directly skip to the next post! But I hope it will help those who are curious about Macao and are considering visiting.

Frist you guys needs to understand that poker is NOTHING in Macao. It must generate 0,01% of the casino revenue … -actually it might even be 0,001% : ) –

Which means despite it’s the biggest place in the world for high stakes, it could disappear overnight and nobody would really care in the Macao casino scene …

Second only THREE casinos in Macao have a poker room:
Wynn has 10 tables, I counted them while waiting, then I got bored and left : )
Poker King Club at StarWorld probably has around 8 tables, but I’ve never seen more than 6-7 running during week ends.
Venetian probably has around 10 tables as well.

So people need to understand that overall Macao has less than 30 tables in TOTAL!!!

Second this is a cash game only destination, NO tournament, except a few SnG during week ends at PKC there are maybe 2 SNG on Friday, and 2 on Saturday in average … Buyin is 1,100 HKD (110€) and sometimes (quite rarely) there are 2,200 HKD SnG running. Sometimes they can’t even find 10 players , so the SnG starts with only 9 Players…

About the stakes 3 years ago the most common limit was 10/25 with average stake of 3000 HKD (300€) , 2 years ago the most common limit was 25/50 with an average stake of 7500 HKD (750€) , and this year the most common limit is 50/100 with an average stake of 20,000 HKD (2,000 €).

At Wynn (my favorite poker room is Macau) there is supposedly one 25/50 running at Wynn during week days (outside of holidays period such as CNY). Needless to say the waiting list is endless so forget about it … Then there is 50/100 usually Wynn runs 2 (or 3) tables of those. But as it’s the most popular limit the waiting list can be list can be long … To put it in a nutshell, if like me you’re a 50/100 (5€/10€) buyin in at 20,000 HKD (2,000 € or 2,600 USD) at the Wynn scale you are a class A bum … (probably like a 1 / 2 USD player buying in 100 USD in Vegas)

During CNY everything ran at fully capacity and while there were immediate seating at 300/600 and 500/1000 and the waiting lists for 50/100 were endless so in full week I was unable to play at Wynn, and gave up after 1 hour + waiting …
7 or 8 tables are Wynn are devoted to 100/200 , 300/600, 500 / 1000 et even much higher limit.
Business wise it make sense, higher stake, higher rake , higher revenues … So I understand them, at the end of the quarter, they do have to show Steve that they actually earn a bit : )
If you put aside the “big game” from PKC, Wynn concentrates 100% of the high stakes action of Macao. And it’s the meeting places to some of the most skilled player in the world. A quite ironical situation is that even Chinese are being left out …
During CNY there was high stakes action with (among others) Sam Trickett (no big outing here as he talked his Macao trip on his twitter), there were 8 Caucasians at the table and only 1 asian … The Asian guy being Rui Cao, a French Asian player : )
The consequence of that, is that Wynn is aiming at higher stakes and they don’t really have room for recreational players playing middle stack like me.
The most professional Macau poker is aiming at Poker Professionals, that’s that harsh truth …

While Chinese players make up for 80-90% of the players at PKC and Venetian, they only make up maybe 40% of the Wynn players and less for the high limits.

PKC, almost had big waiting lists for 25/50 but I almost got immediate seating at 50/100 each day. That’s where I played most of my hands. If you are a recreational player with a limited bankroll, it’s a place I would recommend.

Venetian also has action at those limits, but I don’t like this place as it’s on Cotai quite far from Macao city center. Games can be OK there during week ends though.

The opening of the PokerStars room might bring some very good news for small / middle stakes cash games, and for tournament player.
Even if outside big event such as Red Dragon every 3 months, I have some doubt that they will be able to attract big fields for weekly tournaments …
A final word about restaurants, they are excellent imho (and I’m difficult being French!). I’d recommend you to buy the “Red” Guide Michelin about Hotels & Restaurants in Macao & HK.

Hotels are excellent as well, but quite expensive if you go to the good places.


Recommanded hotels in Cotai : Hyatt, 4 seasons, Banyan Tree (even though its location sucks a bit)

Recommanded hotels in Macao center : Mandarin Oriental is #1 for rooms & service imho, Wynn, MGM, Sofitel.

Hope this helps the people interested in Macao to understand the basics about Macao Poker Scene.

Cash, I am an Asia virgin. Very excited about the trip. Hopin to grind 50/100 and workin with PokerRefugees to get my PS acct reactivated (moving from Las Vegas). I'm really lookin forward to loggin some online hands again.

Seriallooser, good guide, appreciate the info. Kind of surprising to hear how few tables there are (Venetian/Las Vegas has over 30 tables running by itself right now)

As a Vegas 2/5 regular, I'm interested in seeing the difference in skill level between Vegas and Macau. Good news about Pokerstars opening the new room at COD, hopefully it will help with volume.

Overall, I'm just grateful to play a game that lets me travel places that most people will never experience. Macau/then Vegas for WSOP, then maybe Costa Rica or Columbia. Life is good.

Hi peteyy,

YES, PokerStars online satellites to the Red Dragon (that's the Macau Poker Cup main event) begins today Monday, March 4. You can find them under the 'Events' tab, then click 'PSLIVE' --> 'Macau'

They're getting loaded as I type this so you'll see them shortly.

Good luck!

- Fred

Good for you, getting across the pond to see a side of the world that most Americans never consider. If you have questions (wither now or when you arrive) feel free to post or PM. GL, enjoy yourself!

Great primer for noobs to Macau, it is hard to get some of this info due to the large number of pages in this thread so thanks a lot for the summary.

hey, i've been checking out a lot of information about macao and find that hotels are really expensive there

are there just no cheap hotels available? i dont need anything fancy, just a clean & safe hotel with a bed to sleep in, thats all i am looking for, maybe even a hostel, as i said just clean and i dont wanna worry about leaving my notebook in my room.
and then not too far away from the red dragon event

any recommodations here or any hints where i can have a look?

Seriously, with all the same annoying repetitive questions on Macau accomadation and a bunch of spamming awhile back. I think if someone has the balls to start a Macau Poker Guest Housing Biz it would have a chance to take off.

APA probably does very well as is. Can't see hotel prices dropping in the near future, a clean grinding house with affordable room rates would do well imo. The Poker Apartments that I stay in whenever I go to Macau are always packed. Last time I went, they were so full I had to sleep 2 nights in the living room sofa before my private room became vacant. Poker was kinda dying due to the table cap but now with COD having a PS Room, I think this potential business opportunity might have life again.

Too bad, I can't devote a lot of time to Macau otherwise I'd seriously consider partnering with someone and give it a shot.

**********************

Next time RTFT!!!
But I'll bite. (Haven't been back in 4months so my info is old)

True.

For ballers, they're all cheap. For us average Joe's the cheapest that I've stayed in was Ole
Kinda far but cabs are super cheap in Macau and it's a small town. Even dumps like Metropark aren't worth it for that price.


Honestly, depends how long you are planning to stay. If it's just for a few days, Spa's are the nuts. Comfy, clean, good service, decent food, free wifi, and it's cheap (without add ons)

Most popular is Grand Waldo Spa. I go there all the time, it's great. It's also a place I go to cure my tilt from a bad session. Went off on a 10hr massage one time lol. Yes, had a nightmare terrible poker session.

What is the maximum you can cashout from the ATM machines at Macau per day?

It's 10k HKD per transaction, and I think it's 100k HKD per 24/hr. I will check for you next time.

Why not just send a bank wire, then you can wire if back when you're leaving (the original amount that is)?

In the casino, the ATM is at 10K HKD per transaction or, in some cases, lower.

If you're outside of the casino it's at least 20k per transaction and I want to say it's higher (like 60K).

The daily limit and per transaction number is usually a result of your bank details than the machine itself.

As Bo and Fred have just ably demonstrated, ATM transaction restrictions vary substantially depending on your location, bank which owns the ATM you are using, and the bank which issued your ATM card. The two local banks I use for example will only issue 10K per transaction with a 20 or 30K per day max as a standard, I haven't asked for an upgrade. I rarely use an ATM 'out in the wild' so to speak so Fred's descriptions of Maximums may be accurate but his statement that "I want to say it's higher" doesn't exactly fill me with confidence (no offence Fred!)

Many tourists I have met have been restricted to $2,000 per transaction on foreign ATM cards (using ATM inside some Casinos) meaning the fees racked up are not worth the cost. Not sure what they have been able to get as a max transaction outside the casinos.

The key takeaway for BrazillianEye is probably to get this sorted out with his bank well in advance of arriving in Macau, and I would recommend Bo's advice to wire some money over if possible. Look for as many alternatives as you can because while Macau is pretty loose with money controls, when it comes time to take that wad of cash back to your own country you will need to have a clear idea of how to do it legally. Or just donk it off to the locals

Anyone know if i can get a prepaid simcard when in Macua for my galaxys3? I mainly need it so that I can have access to the internet on my phone when at the tables...

If so, where from and how much usually does it cost? thanks heaps guys!

Assuming it's the standard size SIM, then yes, they are available everywhere. If you're coming from HK, you can buy one at the ferry terminal once you clear immigration. I believe they start around 200 HKD and then the reload minutes are 100-500 HKD.

It's the smaller size sim. Do you know how much internet data is generally given for a 200HKD pre paid card?

Also, is there a specific brand name to ask for? Last time I was in Macau I found it hard to explain to shop assistants what I wanted....

I find that hard to believe, unless you were speaking in rapid fire heavily accented english.

Just take out your phone, point to it and then say "sim card? sim card? How much?"