Just called the Waldo and they're all booked, dammit. So unless I get a hotel/entry package from Stars, looks like I'm sleeping in the players' lounge.

Anyone know a good place to stay? I guess if I have to I'll stay at the Venetian (which is nearby) or the Lisboa, but I really like the Waldo.

I'll be arriving on the 29th, so if there's us couple of guys in the same boat perhaps we could get a short stay apartment or something. I'm leaving on the 9th.

From what I understand, even some of the players who won a package from Stars might be staying somewhere other than the Waldo.

I could be wrong though but I remember reading that somewhere and when I emailed Stars to verify whether I'm staying at Waldo or not, I got a reply saying that I was in luck and managed to gaff a room at the casino.

My advice would be for people who haven't registered to do so sooner rather than later!

cheers
Max

anyone know anything about the sofitel Macau at pointe 16 or the Pousada de Mong-Ha? They both seem like really good deals.

People had hand ranking charts two weeks ago.

Do they allow you to listen to music (iPod) while playing?

im pretty sure you can use ipods

im so pumped for this i hope the 30 day passport rule doesn't apply.

Just got my passport, getting excited but should realise that this will end with inevitable disappointment

if you wanna stay at waldo use the spa. seriously, the place is sick. can't remember how much (i posted it somewhere) but it was cheap.

Has anyone heard of this new hotel the Sofitel Macau at Pointe 16? It looks like a really nice new hotel and it's pretty ****in cheap.

Ill be there... My first real live tourney.

Can't wait... Any of you wanna tear up the town there?

Won't know ne1 but Ill have to leave the tables atleast once to enjoy the nightlife.

Oh yeh and ppl needing accommodation... I am happy to help out if you will pay a nominal ammount so I can play some more donkements.

any of you guys know if its possible to connect to online pokersites?
from macau or from hongkong

pokerstars of course and also fulltilt or partypoker

anyone has that information?

i played a full sunday session over all the sites, inc euro sites from hong kong, and macau is the fine too.

We have just received approval for all our preliminary and side events from the DICJ (Macau Government). Schedule is as follows:

Day/Date Time Tournament Buy-in HKD
Sun 24 Aug 15:30 $100 Rebuy 10K Guarantee $100
Sun 24 Aug 18:00 Mega Satellite Main Event Phase 1 $600
Sun 24 Aug 20:00 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 1 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700

Mon 25-Aug 15:30 No Limit Holdem 6 handed $4,000
Mon 25-Aug 20:00 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 1 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700

Tue 26-Aug 15:30 No Limit Holdem $4,000
Tue 26-Aug 20:00 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 1 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700

Wed 27-Aug 15:30 No Limit Holdem Deep Stack $4,000
Wed 27-Aug 20:00 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 1 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700

Thu 28-Aug 15:30 No Limit Holdem $4,000
Thu 28-Aug 20:00 APPT Macau Freeroll $0
Thu 28-Aug 23:00 No Limit Holdem $1,000

Fri 29-Aug 15:30 No Limit Holdem Feature Event $4,000
Fri 29-Aug 20:00 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 1 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700
Fri 29-Aug 23:00 No Limit Holdem $1,000

Sat 30-Aug 13:00 HKPL Finals (invite only) $300
Sat 30-Aug 15:00 Mega Satellite Main Event Phase 1 $600
Sat 30-Aug 16:00 High Rollers Challenge $250,000
Sat 30-Aug 17:30 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 3 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700
Sat 30-Aug 20:00 No Limit Holdem Red Dragon Day 1 $10,000

Sun 31-Aug 12:30 Team Pokerstars Bounty Event $5,000
Sun 31-Aug 14:00 No Limit Holdem Red Dragon Day 2
Sun 31-Aug 14:00 CPF Event (invite only) $1,000
Sun 31-Aug 15:30 Satellite Main Event Phase 2 3 SEAT GUARANTEE $2,700
Sun 31-Aug 16:00 Ladies Event No Limit Holdem $1,000
Sun 31-Aug 21:00 APPT Macau Welcome Party

Mon 1-Sep 11:00 Press Conference
Mon 1-Sep 13:30 Main Event Day 1 Flight 1 $25,000
Mon 1-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem $4,000
Mon 1-Sep 17:00 Turbo Satellite to High Roller Mega $1,650
Mon 1-Sep 20:00 Mega Satellite to High Roller Event $15,500

Tue 2-Sep 13:30 Main Event Day 1 Flight 2
Tue 2-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem $4,000
Tue 2-Sep 17:00 Turbo Satellite to High Roller Mega $1,650
Tue 2-Sep 20:00 Mega Satellite to High Roller Event $15,500

Wed 3-Sep 13:30 Main Event Day 1 Flight 3
Wed 3-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem $4,000
Wed 3-Sep 17:00 Turbo Satellite to High Roller Mega $1,650
Wed 3-Sep 20:00 Mega Satellite to High Roller Event $15,500

Thu 4-Sep 13:30 Main Event Day 2
Thu 4-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem Teams Event $5,000
Thu 4-Sep 17:00 Turbo Satellite to High Roller Mega $1,650
Thu 4-Sep 20:00 Media Event (invite only) $0
Thu 4-Sep 20:00 Mega Satellite to High Roller Event $15,500

Fri 5-Sep 13:30 Main Event Day 3
Fri 5-Sep 15:30 Mega Satellite to APPT Seoul $3,500
Fri 5-Sep 17:00 No Limit Holdem $1,000
Fri 5-Sep 20:00 No Limit Holdem 6-Handed (2 day if req) $10,000

Sat 6-Sep 13:00 Lee Nelson Book Signing
Sat 6-Sep 13:30 Main Event Final Table
Sat 6-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem Deep Stack $1,000
Sat 6-Sep 18:00 Mega Satellite to High Roller Event $15,500
Sat 6-Sep 20:00 No Limit Holdem - 200k Guarantee $2,500

Sun 7-Sep 13:30 High Rollers Event Day 1 $150,000
Sun 7-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem $500
Sun 7-Sep 17:00 Mega Satellite to APPT Seoul $3,500

Mon 8-Sep 13:30 High Rollers Event Day 2
Mon 8-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem $1,000
Mon 8-Sep 20:00 No Limit Holdem $4,000

Tue 9-Sep 13:30 High Rollers Event Final Table
Tue 9-Sep 15:30 No Limit Holdem $1,000


EVERY DAY Single Table Cash Tournaments from $750
Single Table Satellites from $600

I intend to play tonnes of poker when I get there but I think it would be a shame to travel halfway round the world not to get around and see some sites and whatnot. Is there anything in particular worth checking out - from amazing buildings, great restaurants and bars. Is it easy to get into Mainland China - any special Visa needed etc?

Yeah I'm pretty sure you need a visa to get into mainland China. I don't really know about tourist sites in Macau - I figured it was just a casino/nightclub/prostitute haven. So yeah, I basically spent my time eating club sandwiches at 5am in poker rooms then hitting the past-dawn clubs from 6 till close.

Get up around 5pm ish, rinse, repeat. Good times.

For those of you who didn't catch this press release:
- - -
POKERSTARS.NET ASIA PACIFIC POKER TOUR ANNOUNCES LINE UP OF CHAMPIONS FOR MACAU

Macau, 22 August 2008 - PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, today announced an unprecedented line-up of champion poker players who will be bringing world-class poker action to Macau in the People’s Republic of China on 1st September for the launch of Season 2 of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (PokerStars.net APPT).

Joining the field of 20 world class champions in a tournament that is destined to become the largest-ever in Asia with 500+ participants, is poker legend Johnny ‘The Orient Express’ Chan. There are few players on the planet who can rival his poker record, with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets to his name and more than $6.7million USD in tournament earnings during his career. Johnny Chan first shot to fame in the late 1980s, winning the championship event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in two consecutive years (1987 and 1988) and was also featured as one of the greatest poker players ever in the 1998 movie Rounders with Matt Damon and Edward Norton. “It’s great for Poker in Asia that there’s a major tournament like this here in Macau,” says Chan. “It’s bringing in top players like myself, and letting the world know that there is real poker here, and real poker players here, and that anybody can win millions of dollars.”

Chan also says: “Good luck to all the players!”

Jeffrey Haas, President of the PokerStars.net APPT, said: “We are excited to have so many of the world’s top players coming to the Grand Waldo Casino in Macau this year and it’s a testament to our initial success that champions such as Johnny Chan, Joe Hachem, Scotty Nguyen, Men 'The Master' Nguyen, Liz Lieu, JJ Liu, Isabelle Mercier, Elky and Barry Greenstein are eager to compete on the felt during our second season. We’re privileged to continue leading the growth of poker and poker culture in Asia, and expect local and regional player participation to at least double during this year’s events. The PokerStars.net APPT is taking poker to a new level in Asia Pacific, and when this Macau tournament is broadcast on TV around the world we expect this growth to continue.”

Joining the professionals will be a host of players from across Asia Pacific, and the world, who have won their way to the event via free online tournaments at PokerStars.net, in addition to those who will win their entries through live mega satellites still to take place throughout next week (Sunday 24th Aug – Sunday 31st Aug) at the PokerStars Macau poker room at Grand Waldo Casino. Players can also buy-in directly on-site.

The PokerStars.net APPT Season 2 in Macau from September 1-9, will include the $25,000 HKD buy-in Main Event (approximately $3,200 USD) September 1-6 and the return of the prestigious “high roller” event with a buy-in of $150,000 HKD (approximately $19,250 USD) September 7-9. Both televised events guarantee a minimum prize pool of $10M HKD and with more than 500 players expected to start in the Main Event it is likely to set a new record for poker tournaments in Asia, both in player numbers and prize pool.

The Champions from around the world that will participate in the PokerStars.net APPT Macau event include:

• Joe Hachem, Australia (2005 WSOP Main Event Champion)
• Johnny Chan, Hong Kong (1987 & 1988 WSOP Main Event Champion)
• Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, France (2008 PCA Champion)
• Scotty Nguyen, Vietnam (2008 WSOP HORSE Champion)
• Lee Nelson, New Zealand (2006 Aussie Millions Champion)
• Isabelle Mercier, Canada (2004 WPT Ladies Event Champion)
• Van Tuyet Nguyen, Vietnam (2008 WPT Celebrity Invitational Champion)
• Barry Greenstein, USA (2008 WSOP Razz Champion)
• Dinh Le, Vietnam (2007 APPT Macau Main Event Champion)
• Eric Assadourian, Australia (2007 APPT Macau High Roller Event Champion)
• Neil Arce, Philippines (2008 FPT Manila Champion)
• Mike "Timex" McDonald, Canada (2008 EPT German Open Champion)
• Ziv Bachar, Israel (2007 APPT Seoul Champion)
• Grant Levy, Australia (2007 APPT Sydney Champion)
• Mel Judah, England (2003 WPT Legends of Poker Champion)
• Daniel "Rekrul" Schrieber, USA (2007 WSOP Heads Up Champion)
• Men "The Master" Nguyen (2005 Player of the Year)
• Harry "Wise Owl" Demetriou, England (2004 Victor Poker Cup Champion)
• Anthony Rivera, USA (2008 WSOP Mixed Events Champion)
• Isaac Galazan, USA (2005 WSOP Short-Handed Champion)

For more information on the PokerStars.net APPT and how to qualify for the tournaments, go to: http://www.appt.com

- - -

For those thinking of qualifying on PS, note that this weekend is your last chance with:

1. Saturday August 23 - $320 Saturday Special with 20 Packages Guaranteed!
2. Saturday August 23 - 8K FPP with estimated 5 Packages
3. Saturday August 24 - $475 Last Chance Qualifier - One Package Guaranteed
4. Steps Tournaments

And if you want to qualify live, there are still lots of options:

1. Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia, has a satellite on Thursday 28 August @ 6:00 PM - DETAILS HERE
2. Metro Card Club in Manila, Philippines, is holding a satellite qualifier on Saturday August 30 with three packages guaranteed - DETAILS HERE
3. PokerStars Macau at Grand Waldo Casino in Macau is holding 2-stage qualifiers this Sunday August 24, with a $600 HKD Phase 1 running at 1800 and a $2,700 HKD Phase 2 running at 2000
4. PokerStars Macau will also be running daily qualifiers during the week leading-up to the event. Our Tournament Director Danny McDonagh posted the schedule for download HERE

I look forward to meeting all of you in Macau.

Cheers,

Jeffrey

This is bull****, i emailed appt ages ago to get them to confirm to me that if i buy a package though stars i will have a room at the grand waldo, otherwise i would stay at galaxy starworld for the apt event. They tell me yes i will have a room, so i go ahead buy my package and register. I send them an email about a week ago asking them to tell confirm that i have a room with the dates / specifications that i requested and no response. I am repeated emailing them and getting nothing back. I am arriving in 4 days! Please can u get back to me to let me know what i'm doing.

All the events are now in the Stars client, go to Events tab then PSM. Main + High Roller events are restricted at the moment, but all the prelims and the side events are there

PM me with your PS User ID and I'll check it for you now.

Leaving for the airport now, looking forward to this a lot

Just arrived, staying at the Grand Waldo.

For those of you who get to the airport and there is a roughly 90 min line for the taxi queue as there was tonight, go upstairs to the departures area and wave down a cab after it drops someone off.

Took me 5 minutes to get a cab, boo yah.

You flew into Macau or are you talking about HK?

Anyone know what the name of the hotel next door to the Waldo is? (Not the Waldo hotel, another one...)

Posuada Marina Infante Hotel Macau - we have a few rooms secured there - email robinl@appt.com for details

For everyone thats wondering how on earth we will get our money to Macau, I just got off the phone with Danny (I believe? Aussie guy?) and he said he will get back to a bunch of us this afternoon.

Says there is a possibility of a wire transfer option.