By Sean Callander

Some players had a quiet night and a lazy breakfast to prepare for day two of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asian Poker Open main event.

Not the fearless members of Team PokerStars – they jump off buildings! Joe Hachem, Isabelle Mercier, Emad Tahtouh and Terrance Chan skipped their Corn Flakes for the short trip to Macau Tower, which measures a dizzying 338m in height from ground level to the highest point.

The views across Macau and the Pearl River Delta are stunning, but the attraction of Macau Tower for thrillseekers is the AJ Hackett bungy jump. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" from the tower's outer rim is the highest in the world.

Despite some stomach jitters, Team PokerStars took it all in their stride – indeed, the voice of Isabelle could be heard as she rebounded back into the sky shrieking “too easy”.

But the highs of Macau Tower have quickly been forgotten as Hachem and Mercier rushed back to the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino for the opening hand of day two to join the 77 players chasing the inaugural APPT Macau title.

The draw has thrown up some intriguing tables, with Mercier finding herself at the same table as Masa Kagawa, chip leader Tobias Schulze (179,000) and top Aussie pro Gary Benson.

Meanwhile, Hachem occupies the same table as Hevad Khan, Guillaume Patry and Vietnamese player Dinh Le (second in chips with 169,000).

Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier is leading the Team PokerStars charge – looking gaunt and vampish thanks to a bleach-blonde dye job (think Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and a prop bet to lose 24 kgs, ElkY is playing some inspired poker and is well placed for a shot at the final table.

Other big names still in the hunt are Scotty Nguyen (who’s current stack of 30,000 is by far the largest he’s held so far in this tournament), while Liz Lieu is charging early on day two and has propelled his stack above 50,000.

Keep an eye on www.pokerstarsblog.com for regular updates through out the day as we continue to celebrate the first No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

Current chip count (approximate):

1. Tobias Schulze (Germany) 179,100



2. Dinh Le (Vietnam) 169,100



3. Carlone Luca (Italy) 150,800



4. Bertrand Grospellier (France) 112,300



5. Hosung Kim (Korea) 109,100