MELBOURNE/LAS VEGAS. Wednesday April 23, 2014. World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific returns to Melbourne, Australia for its only international stop of 2014 from October 2-18, 2014 with 10 WSOP gold bracelets on the line – and the race for the 2014 WSOP Player of the Year still hanging in the balance.

With some brand new events planned and price points ranging from AUD$1,100-$25,000, players of all levels will be welcomed to Crown Melbourne, Australia’s leading integrated resort, to partake in a high stakes poker festival featuring plenty of side events including satellites, cash games and tournaments in the expansive and comfortable 70-plus table Crown Poker Room.

“Bigger and better is the best way to describe the 2014 WSOP Asia-Pacific,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “New events at modest price points like the Dealers Choice and Terminator No-Limit Hold’em, plus an expansion of overall events and a move to springtime in Melbourne is designed to encourage the North American and European contingent to make this a can’t miss event. Plus, we have secured the most comprehensive live television coverage in both the U.S. and Australia for both the Main Event and High Roller.”

Included in the 10-bracelet event schedule is an AUD$25,000 3-day ‘No-Limit Hold’em High Rollers’ tournament (Event #10, October 15-17), awarding a WSOP gold bracelet to its victor for the first time.

WSOP APAC will include television production for the Main Event and High Roller events. ESPN in Australia and ESPN in the United States will carry both events live (one-hour delay for integrity purposes) on October 17 and 18 in Australia. This expansive television distribution marks the first time ever a poker tournament will air the same day it occurred on Australian television. The live television window includes 6-8 hours of coverage a day, meaning nearly every hand of the Final Table of each the Main Event and High Roller will be seen by viewers around the globe.

"We are really excited that the WSOP Asia-Pacific is returning to Melbourne,” said Gus Seebeck, ESPN’s General Manager Australia/NZ. “It's a fantastic event and ESPN's expanded coverage will bring poker fans around the world even closer to the action."

WSOP APAC marks the second signature poker festival to be held at Crown Melbourne, following the highly successful Aussie Millions Poker Championship series which debuted in 2004. The inaugural WSOP APAC was held from April 4-15, 2013 and saw poker superstar Daniel Negreanu win the ‘Main Event’ bracelet and AUD$1,038,825, igniting his incredible year which ended with a WSOP Player of the Year crown. In addition, Phil Ivey won his ninth WSOP gold bracelet at the inaugural WSOP APAC, moving him into fourth place all-time on the WSOP bracelet list.

Crown Melbourne Director of Poker, Jim Preston said “Crown Melbourne is excited to be hosting the WSOP Asia Pacific for a second time and we are truly honoured to have 10 WSOP bracelets on offer. We look forward to welcoming players from all over Australia, along with the rest of the world, as we continually work very tirelessly to exceed customers’ expectations.”

An exciting mix of offerings is slated. The opening event of WSOP APAC will be ‘The Accumulator’ on Thursday, October 2 at 6:10 PM, with additional starting flights for this event on Friday, October 3 at 12:10 PM and later that evening at 6:10 PM.   The format is traditional No-Limit Hold’em, but in this variant, players 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 flight will 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, slated to begin on Saturday, October 4, at 12:30 PM.