WSOP ASIA-PACIFIC ANNOUNCES 2013 SCHEDULE

Players will be welcomed into the world-class Crown Melbourne Integrated Resort for the twelve day event slated to commence on Thursday April 4 until Monday April 15, 2013 when the WSOP APAC ‘Main Event’ Champion will be crowned. 

The 2013 WSOP APAC is expected to feature five, highly anticipated bracelet tournaments – the first-time WSOP gold bracelets have ever been offered in Australia, plus a High Rollers event, a Caesars Cup Invitational event pitting notable Asia-Pacific players against a team from The Americas, in addition to a full-slate of satellites, cash games and ancillary tournaments. 

“Ever since Australian Joe Hachem won the WSOP Main Event in 2005, we dreamed of the day we could hear Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi Oi, Oi on native soil,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “We can’t wait for the first WSOP Asia-Pacific to begin, and we hope with a solidified schedule, players from around the globe will plan their trip to Melbourne in April as we make WSOP history awarding the first bracelets in the Southern Hemisphere.” 

WSOP APAC marks the second esteemed poker festival to be held at Crown Melbourne, following the highly successful Aussie Millions Poker Championship series which debuted in 2004, and starts on Thursday January 17, 2013. 

“Most of the top players take multiple trips to European tournaments these days,” notes Stewart. “The travel time to Melbourne is essentially the same as venues in Europe, and everyone who visits Crown can’t wait to return.” 

Crown Melbourne’s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Hawkins said “Crown is thrilled to have partnered with the biggest poker brand in the world, the World Series of Poker. Players from all over the globe will descend on Crown Melbourne in April, all vying for one of the five coveted bracelets on offer. The ‘bracelet’ events will range from the AUD$1100 - AUD$10,000 which will ensure players are well catered for in terms of choice. The five WSOP APAC ‘bracelet’ winners will etch their names in the long and coveted history that is the World Series of Poker.” 

An exciting mix of offerings is slated. The Opening Event of WSOP APAC will be a brand new offering, dubbed ‘The Accumulator’ on Thursday April 4, 2013 at 6:00PM, with additional starting flights for this event on Friday April 5, 2013 at 12 noon and Saturday April 6, 2013 at 12 noon. 

The format will be traditional No-Limit Hold’em, but in this variant, players will have the opportunity to play any or all of three separate starting flights, each with a buy-in of AUD$1,100. All chips accumulated each day, will then be bagged, tagged and returned to the player on Day 2 of the event, where they will be combined with any other chips the player has accumulated during the other opening flights. Anyone who busts in one flight still has the ability to play in the other flight(s).  Any player with any chips at the end of each starting flight will make it through to Day 2 of the event, to begin on Sunday April 7, 2013 at 12 noon. 

Event #2 begins at 4:00PM on Sunday April 7, 2013, with an AUD$1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament on offer. 

An AUD$2,200 Mixed Event, an AUD$5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event, and the AUD$10,000 Main Event complete the bracelet portion of the schedule. 

Due to the expected demand and presence of many of Macau’s poker players, a AUD$50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Rollers event with re-buys is also on the schedule, beginning on Saturday April 13, 2013 at 4:00PM and will play out as a two-day event. 

WSOP APAC also marks the return of the televised Caesars Cup, expanded to correspond with the new calendar of WSOP Championships. In the preliminary heat, a team of players from the Asia-Pacific region, captained by Crown ambassador and 2005 WSOP Champion Joe Hachem, will square off against a team of European players. The winning team will then play against the reigning champion America’s team for the Caesars Cup trophy. Captains and team members will be announced in a subsequent release.

Video coverage of WSOP APAC will be widespread, with each of the first four WSOP gold bracelet events live-streamed globally. Television production from the Main Event, Caesars Cup and High Rollers event will be planned. 

BRACELET SCHEDULE 2013 WORLD SERIES OF POKER ASIA-PACIFIC 2013

WSOP APAC Set for April 4-15 at Crown Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia 

*Schedule subject to change without notice.

ABOUT THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER®

The World Series of Poker (WSOP®) was founded in 1970 and is the largest gaming event in the world. For 43 years, the WSOP® has awarded over $1.6 billion in prize money. This summer, the WSOP® will put on 60 live poker tournaments spread over 50 consecutive days in Las Vegas.  In 2012, the WSOP® attracted 74,766 entrants from 101 different countries and awarded over $222 million in prize money. The winner of each tournament wins a bracelet – globally recognized as the sport’s top prize – plus prize winnings fixed by the number of participants. In 2007, the WSOP created its first international event, WSOP Europe, which takes place each October, now in Paris.  In 2013, the WSOP adds WSOP Asia-Pacific in Melbourne, Australia.  

ABOUT CAESARS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT, INC. (CIE)

Caesars Interactive Entertainment (a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment, the world’s largest gaming company) is the largest online, mobile and social gaming company focused on casino.  CIE owns the World Series of Poker, Playtika, a social games developer of popular titles including Slotomania, Bingo Blitz and Caesars Casino, and also licenses its brands in legal real money gaming jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, France and Italy. For more information, visit www.caesarsinteractive.com 

ABOUT CROWN MELBOURNE

Crown Melbourne is Australia’s leading integrated entertainment resort attracting approximately 18 million local, interstate and international visitors each year to its 560,000 square meter entertainment complex. The property features 1,600 guest rooms across the complex’s three hotels - Crown Towers, Crown Metropol and Crown Promenade Hotel, the Palladium, Australia’s largest ballroom, a world-class convention centre, a broad selection of restaurants and bars are provided in the complex, many of which are Melbourne’s finest, international designer boutiques, 14 cinemas, two nightclubs and a live entertainment theatre. Crown Melbourne is one of Victoria’s leading tourism icons.For more information on Crown Melbourne, please visit our website at www.crownmelbourne.com.au 

This press release includes “forward-looking statements.”  You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements contain words such as “may,” “will,” “project,” “might,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “continue,” “pursue,” or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, the dates of when WSOP APAC will be held, the number and type of tournaments to be held, the demand and presence of Macau’s poker players, and the television coverage of the events. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events. 

*Schedule subject to change without notice.