PokerStars brings the Red Dragon to Jeju; Macau and Philippines on standby
Big announcement has just come out of the PokerStars dugout, the highly popular Red Dragon festival will hit the felt before the year ends. The distinctive event is slated for November 30 to December 9 at Jeju Shinhwa World – Landing Casino – in Jeju, Korea. This is the first update on The Stars Group’s plans in the region since its departure from City of Dreams Macau and partnership with Stanley Choi’s group, Lucky Genius Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the IEC).
Jeju Red Dragon 2018
PokerStars Jeju Red Dragon 2018 will see 20 events take place across ten days with a massive ₩2.6 Billion (~US$2.3 Million) in guaranteed prizes. Buy-ins range from ₩220,000 (~US$196) to ₩60,000,000 (~US$53,420,000). The highlight tournament, the Red Dragon event runs from December 5 to 9 with a ₩1 Billion (~US$890,000) guarantee.
Guaranteed Events:
- Super High Roller – November 30 to December 2 – ₩1 Billion guaranteed
- Baby Dragon – December 1 – ₩100 Million guaranteed
- NLH – December 2 to 8 – ₩200 Million guaranteed
- High Roller – December 3 to 4 – ₩300 Million guaranteed
- Red Dragon – December 5 to 9 – ₩1 Billion guaranteed
Unlike most major tournaments in Asia, the Red Dragon stands apart as it is the only main event extending a freezeout format. The event itself has come a long way since its inception in 2008. Starting with only 33 attendees and a guaranteed prize pool of HK$500,000, it has grown to see 1,308 players and over HK$17 Million (US$2.1 Million) last year. It is undoubtedly the largest freezeout tournament in the region.
The event has also moved venues a few times however this is the first time in history where it will be held outside of Macau. How this matches up in numbers has yet to be seen especially that it overlaps with the APT Finale Philippines 2018.
More: Red Dragon Jeju Schedule
Macau and Philippines on standby
The upcoming event is certainly welcoming news for the Asian community that has been in the dark since the closure of City of Dreams Macau. The last PokerStars event in Macau was over six months ago. Since then, no word on a new location other than a partnership was forged with the IEC (International Entertainment Corporation).
In a statement made in May by IEC Chairman, Stanley Choi, he assured that they were very close to securing a new venue in Macau. To date, players still await that news. Choi also expressed expansion to many countries in Asia with Korea as the next target.
“Besides Macau, we are also exploring Korea,” he said. “That will be our next target. There’s a big casino there with 3,000 rooms that’s opened up last month. There’s another one opening in Vietnam, opening in 2019, that I’m looking at.”
“So there are a lot of options in Asia, and we’re looking at several opportunities in several Asian countries.”
As for the Philippines, the PokerStars Live room in City of Dreams Manila also closed down. The last event was held in early October. Alike Macau, players await the announcement of a new venue. The PokerStars Live room in Manila remains to be the only room solely managed by The Stars Group in Asia.
Article by Tricia David
