PokerStars Announces APPT Events at Okada Manila

Prestigious online poker operator and organizer of land-based poker tournaments, PokerStars, has announced two events as part of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) in 2024: the APPT Manila Championship and the APPT Manila 2024. 

Okada Manila to Host the APPT

The APPT will be held at the iconic casino resort Okada Manila in the capital city of the Philippines.

The location features a one-of-a-kind Dome nightclub as well as an exclusive beach club, a shopping esplanade, an extravagant dancing water display and light show, deluxe accommodation, casual and signature dining restaurants, and “the largest and most luxurious gaming floors in the Philippines,” among others.

The two flagged events will take place from July 24 to August 5. The APPT Manila Championship will be held between October 18 and October 27.

$2M+ Guaranteed Prize Pools for Each Event

APPT Manila 2024, which will be hosted at Okada Manila’s Cove Manila, Asia’s largest indoor beach club, will feature a guaranteed prize pool of PHP119 million ($2.15 million).

The APPT Manila Championship, which is an inaugural event, will feature a guaranteed prize pool of PHP140 million ($2.52 million) and it will go down at the casino resort’s Coral Lounge.

The resort’s president and chief operating officer, Byron Yip, highlighted the fact that their partnership with PokerStars “underscores” their position as one of the premier gaming and entertainment venues on the continent, as well as proof of their continuous initiatives to see Manila become a leading entertainment destination.

PokerStars’ associate director of live events, Cedric Billot, also took the opportunity to praise Asia’s “amazing venues“ and top organizations that have helped the 2007-established APPT circuit quickly turn into their “reference tour” there.  

Billot further added that, by organizing the 2024 APPT Manila, which is “one of the largest APPT (gatherings) ever,” in a new conference space at the Okada Manila casino, the experience should be “nothing but spectacular.”

The 2023 APPT Manila Main Event established a new standard with a record prize pool of PHP 76,83 million ($1,38 million) that was shared among all 1,354 participants.

The event was won by Yuanning Wu of China. The player managed to secure a personal career-high payout. He was followed by runner-up Christopher Mateo from the Philippines who scooped up PHP 10,650,028 (close to $190,000).

At the start of the year, PokerStars revealed a series of revolutionary changes to its Rewards Program while saying goodbye to the Weekly Poker Challenges. During the same month of January, PokerStars and Playson inked an iGaming content deal.