Nonstop poker action in Manila this August

There is no doubt that poker is truly booming in the Philippines with two heavy weight poker festivals heading up the latter half of July, the APT Philippines II and the APPT 10 Manila. With many players, both locally and internationally, expected to attend, Manila is surely shaping up to be the hub for exciting poker action in Southeast Asia. But wait, there’s more. Immediately after the conclusion of the APPT, three poker events will sizzle up the month of August with the APT Poker Weekend Series 2016, Mike’s Millionaire Maker 3M for 3K, and the Metro Card Club’s 2M Guaranteed.

APT Poker Weekend Series 2016 extended to August 9th-17th

No rest for the mighty, that should be the motto for the Asian Poker Tour because less than two weeks after the APT Philippines II wraps up, the APT Poker Weekend Series 2016 gets rolling. Originally advertised as a six day event, they have now extended the schedule to a full blown nine-day festival running from August 9th-17th at the APT Poker Room located inside the Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino. With fifteen side events on the roster, the festival is flanked by two must-attend tournaments, the Opening Event P1,000,000 Guaranteed ($21,414), and the P500K ($10,707) Guaranteed event on closing day. The highlight of the festival is of course the P27,500 Main Event ($588) which will be running its qualifying flights on the weekend, Day 1a is on Friday, Day 1b on Saturday, and then Day 2 on Sunday, and the final day on Monday. For all those weekend warriors, this is a perfect schedule to come in and play, then jet out hopefully with a big wad of cash and the championship trophy.

Mike’s Millionaire Maker 3M for 3K

Immediately after the APT Poker Weekend Series 2016, the poker spotlight moves to Mike’s Room at the Midas Hotel & Casino for Mike’s Millionaire Maker 3M for 3K. Having opened its doors less than two months ago, Mike’s Room is already buzzing up the local poker community with the best valued event for one’s money. Last month witnessed the launch of Mike’s Room’s first big tournament, the 2M for 2K event, instantly making a millionaire of Filipino player Boyet Drilon who bested a record-breaking field of 1,403 entries.

In August, the stakes have gone up to a P3M guaranteed prize pool ($64,243) with the winner bringing home P1,000,000 ($21,414) in cold hard cash and a brand new car. The 3M for 3K runs from August 18th-22nd with three days of Main Event qualifying flights followed by two side events, the No Limit Hold ‘em KO bounty and the Open Face Chinese Pineapple event. There will also be offsite qualifying flights in Cebu and Pampanga, details on those will be announced soon.

Metro Card Club 2M Guaranteed

At the tail end of August, poker shifts to the largest poker room in the Philippines, the Metro Card Club, for the 2M Guaranteed Event. Located in the bustling Ortigas Center at the Metrowalk Commercial Complex, this festival runs from August 31st- September 5th. Buy-in for the Main Event is P4,000 ($85.66) Recognized as pioneers of the poker industry in the country, the Metro Card Club has consistently held several big events per year, attracting many local and international players. The poker room has 30 poker tables and even a pool table. This year the Metro has already staged three poker festivals with Filipino poker pro Lester Edoc dominating the scene winning two of the three seven-digit events, and Korea’s poker pro Jae Wook Shin claiming his first-ever championship trophy.

With all this nonstop poker action happening in the Philippines, there’s a very famous 70’s Filipino pop song that truly says it all, “Manila, Manila, I keep coming back to Manila, simply no place like Manila…”.