But first...

Here's the results from last week's Super Tuesday:

12/6/11 Super Tuesday final table:

1st: joeyspanne88 ($72,175.50)
2nd: rizih ($54,085.00)
3rd: mcnallyville ($41,030.00)
4th: Gasnjep ($30,772.50)
5th: proggrezive ($21,261.00)
6th: dagggggggg ($16,412.00)
7th: pampa27 ($12,682.00)
8th: kleath ($8,952.00)
9th: SHANI ($6,527.50)

Notables: guillet76 (11th, $5,595), WhEADa (13th, $4,662.50), Richard "nutsinho" Lyndaker (17th, $3,730), Athanasios "Athanasios 9" Polychronopoulos (20th, $2,797.50), Jordan "Jymaster11" Young (22nd, $2,797.50), zwacke (25th, $2,797.50), Fabrizio "SixthSenSe19" Gonzalez (36th, $2,424.50), and Dan "Danny98765" Smith (40th, $2,238).

Now back to your regularly scheduled Super Tuesday recap.

Three Team PokerStars players entered this week's event, but none made the money as Team Canada Pro Pat Pezzin was the highest placed finisher in 110th place. Pezzin finished well ahead of Team Online player Kevin "WizardOfAhhs" Thurman (139th) and Team Russia Pro Maxim Lykov (265th).

Notables to make the money included Nick "FU_15" Maimone (18th) and Caio Pimenta (53rd). Two notables would make the final table: Mario "Pokerccini" Puccini and J.C. "PrtyPSux" Alvarado (below).

This week's Super Tuesday field was larger than previous weeks, but still got down to the final table in the eighth hour of play. UK player Se7enTr3y helped move along the action by having more than twice the chips as the second place stack of Alvarado. The chip leader went on a tear would take care of the hand for hand bubble with ten players remaining. The blinds were at 1,600/3,200 with a running ante of 400 as badboypony opened with a raise to 7,100. The short-stacked tupacmn moved in for 58,674 chips with [ac][8c] in the small blind as Se7enTr3y called with [Ad][Td] in the big blind as badboypony stepped asided. Although they were dominated, tupacmn was hoping for a resurrection worthy of Tupac Shakur. However, the flop of [tc][ts]3h] left tupacmn fighting for their tournament life. When the [9h] hit the turn, tupacmn was no longer bulletproof as the [6s] made their 10th place finish official, good for $5,369.00 and set up the final table.

Seat 1: Se7enTr3y (771,032 in chips)
Seat 2: gurbe1 (271,481 in chips)
Seat 3: RLOG (49,652 in chips)
Seat 4: J.C. "PrtyPsux" Alvarado (398,585 in chips)
Seat 5: tunnny (49,670 in chips)
Seat 6: danger0us (227,594 in chips)
Seat 7: The_child2 (35,520 in chips)
Seat 8: Mario "Pokerccini" Puccini (163,353 in chips)
Seat 9: badboypony (98,113 in chips)

The first player ousted from the final table was tunnny. The Canadian open-shoved for 46,070 chips with [Ad][Kc] as badboypony called from the small blind with [Ah][Td]. The board ran out [8s][7s][6h][7d][9d] as badboypony made a straight on the river. That wasn't very funny for tunnny, earning $6,855.80 for their 9th place finish.

RLOG was the next player ejected from their seat, earning $9,292.50. Facing a min-raise from gurbe1, RLOG chucked in their 43,252 chips from the small blind with [Kh][qs]. Since gurbe1 held [ac][qc], they quickly called and no help came to RLOG as the board came down [qd] [tc][8h][4s][9s], as seven remained.

Play would continue seven-handed for a while as the blinds moved up to 1,800/3,600 with an ante of 450. It was during this level that gurbe1 doubled up twice to move from 6th place into the chip lead. The first hand featured gurbe1 getting dealt [as][ad] as danger0us moved in on the short stack with [7d][7s]. One snapcall and a flopped ace later, gurbe1 had a comfortable stack. Three hands later, gurbe1 would find good fortune against the chip leader:

The lead would briefly go back to Se7enTr3y before gurbe1 reclaimed command of the lead, crippling danger0us down to a single chip as the blinds were at 2,000/4,000 with a 500 ante. Although danger0us was able to take their one chip up to 49 over the next two hands, badboypony would collect the microstack on the third hand as their [As][Js] flopped an ace against the [Qh][4d] of danger0us, earning $13,422.50.

Swedish player The_child2 started the final table with barely 10 big blinds, climbed into 6th place for a $17,552.50 payday. From the cutoff, The_child2 shoved for 57,684 with [jd][td], Mario "Pokerccini" Puccini re-raised all-in with [as][th] to isolate and get the blinds to fold. The_child2 picked up an open-ended straight draw on the [qh][9s][5h] flop, but the [ts] turn and [9c] river could not get them over the hump, leaving a quintet of contenders going into the break at the end of hour eight.

Nearly an hour after the elimination of The_child2, the next player dropped out of contention as the stacks started to tighten up. The blinds had now increased to 3,200/6,400 with an ante of 800 when badboypony earned 5th place, good for $23,128.00. The hand started with gurbe1 min-raising from UTG with [8s][8c]. Pokerccini flatted from the button as badboypony shipped it for 174,121 from the small blind with [ac][jc] as gurbe1 called and Pokerccini laid it down. Unfortunately for badboypony, the coinflip wouldn't go their way as the five cards on the board were the [ks][3h][2d][7c][4c] leaving a gang of four.

The next two eliminations would come about a bit quicker. Next to get an email from PokerStars about their winnings was J.C. "PrtyPSux" Alvarado, earning $33,040 in 4th place. Blinds were now at 3,600/7,200 with an ante of 900 as Alvarado opened with a raise out of the small blind to 21,600. Mario "Pokerccini" Puccini three-bet from the big blind to 51,785. Alvarado four-bet all-in for 292,309 as Puccini called and it was another race situation. Alvarado started in front with [7c][7h] as Puccini held [ah][th]. This time the flop flipped in Puccini's favor: [ad][8h][4c]. The [4h] turn and [6s] river and then there were three.

Puccini and gurbe1 were well out in front of Se7enTr3y, desperate to double up. Holding [6h][6s], Se7enTr3y min-raised to 14,400 as gurbe1 clicked it back to 28,800. Se7enTr3y four-bet to 59,425 as gurbe1 five-bet to 90,050. A six-bet all-in to 344,960 by Se7enTr3y was followed by a call from gurbe1 with [jh][jd]. No help came on the board of [ks][qs][8d][5h][8c] as just two remained.

Both players quickly agreed to take a look at the numbers and make a chip chop deal. Here's how the numbers looked and the adjusted payouts, with $3,000.00 going to the eventual winner:

gurbe1 - 1,163,085 ($68,654.07)
Pokerccini - 901,915 ($66,453.13)

Both players agreed to those figures as play continued.

Pokerccini grabbed the lead in the early hands of the heads-up battle but that would quickly change as gurbe1 would take the lead for good after this hand. Gurbe1 was dominated, but the flop was gin:

Pokerccini was able to double up to take the deficit down to 3-1, but that was as close as he would get to victory. The final hand of the tournament featured Pokerccini min-raising with [kd][3d] as gurbe1 reraised to 36,000 with [2h][2s] as Pokerccini called. Both players caught a huge piece of the board on the [tc][6d][2d] flop. Pokerccini held a flush draw as gurbe1 flopped a set of deuces, hoping they wouldn't get cracked by another diamond. Gurbe1 led out with a bet to 38,376 as Pokerccini min-raised to 76,752. Gurbe1 clicked back to 115,128 and Pokerccini decided to pounce, going all in for all of their chips as gurbe1 called. The turn was the [8c] as Pokerccini needed a diamond that didn't pair the board to win. The river was the [4s], not good enough for Pokerccini as gurbe1 earned the victory and over $71,000. Pokerccini settles for over $66,000 in a hard fought Super Tuesday.

Dec. 13, 2011 Super Tuesday final table results:

*1st: gurbe1 - $71,654.07
*2nd:Mario "Pokerccini" Puccini - $66,453.13
3rd: Se7enTr3y - $43,365.00
4th: J.C. "PrtyPSux" Alvarado - $33,040.00
5th: badboypony - $23,128.00
6th: The_child2 - $17,552.50
7th: danger0us - $13,422.50
8th: RLOG - $9,292.50
9th: tunnny - $6,855.80

*Reflects a deal made heads-up

The PokerStars 10th Anniversary celebration concludes this Sunday with a special edition of the Sunday Million. The prize pool is guaranteed at $10,000,000 with $2,000,000 going to first. Satellite your way in for as little as $1 or 1 FPP.! Details here.

Looking to play some live poker? Plenty of time to play in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a list of satellites taking place this week found here on the PokerStars blog.

Back in 2004 though, this reporter only knew Danny McDonagh as a pit boss whilst employed as a croupier at Crown Casino in Melbourne. Seven years later, we now find ourselves relaxing fireside at a casino in Queenstown, New Zealand, discussing his poker career, but it's clear that when he talks about his role in the industry, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I get a kick out of managing events," he said. "I've got a real interest in poker, but would I class myself as a great player? Definitely not. I think to be a good administrator, you've got to be a little bit removed from the love of playing the game to focus on running it."

Working in finance before starting as a croupier at Crown in 1994, McDonagh's career in the gaming industry has seen him rise rapidly through the ranks. By 1997 he was promoted to Poker Tournament Director, running regular games in the original Crown Poker Room, which compared to how it looks today, was miniscule.

"We originally had 20 tables and went as low as 12, but now there's over 60 permanent tables at the moment," McDonagh recalls. "It was June 30 when we opened up and we started tournaments in September, which at that stage, was just a $50 tournament on a Sunday and a Manila tournament on a Monday night."

Over the next 10 years, McDonagh was a key player in not just Crown's poker operations, but the entire "Great Australian Poker Boom", after a former chiropractor from Melbourne by the name of Joseph Hachem won USD$7.5 million in the 2005 WSOP Main Event. McDonagh, however, doesn't credit the Team PokerStars Pro's victory as the sole reason for the new Aussie love affair with America's favourite card game.

"In 2003, the World Poker Tour started on television and we had all these young guys coming in, desperately wanting to play the game that they saw on TV [No Limit Hold'em]," he said. "And then Joe went in a year-and-a-half-later to the World Series and that was that second explosion."

The effect that Hachem's victory had on the country was profound: from just 74 players in a $1000 buy-in Main Event in the Crown Australasian Poker Championships in 1998, the series evolved into the multi-million dollar extravaganza that we know today as the Aussie Millions. And in 2008, a record field of 780 players took part in the $10,000 Main Event - something which McDonagh considers "his proudest achievement". That's not to say that there's been just as many challenges.

"It took something like the Aussie Millions for Crown to realise and begin to appreciate true the value of poker. With these major events, you're getting all the cross-over action - food and beverage, hotel bookings, shopping and playing the other offerings that they have in the casino. And poker is always pro-press."

Now based in Macau, McDonagh is once again playing a role in the development of the burgeoning Asian poker market, which includes the day-to-day operations of PokerStars Macau, PokerStars' live poker room at the Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino. While McDonagh admits that they've only begun to "scratch the surface" of poker in Asia, the popularity of the game is beginning to take off, with reports of 60-70% increases in their special events like the Macau Millions, the Macau Poker Cup Championship and the APPT Macau series every year.

However, some concepts that were developed for the Australian poker market haven't been so well received in Macau: "It's interesting ... the three stages of satellites that they run for the Aussie Millions Main Event ... players in Asia aren't interested in satellites until the week of the event," he said. "We've also found that we've had to start tournaments later in the day. Early starts in the morning doesn't work here in Asia, except if it's for a championship event. It's just a different mindset, I guess."

Nevertheless, McDonagh's contribution to the Australasian poker industry has been profound, so much so that it's earned him a place in the Australian Poker Hall of Fame, and he'll be inducted alongside one of his lifelong friends next year - 2011 APPT Melbourne Main Event champion, Leo Boxell.

"I'm happy that I'm being inducted at the same time as Leo," he said. "He goes back to my early days and he had a huge run back in 2000 and 2001 with the Australian Championships, the Aussie Millions and the New Zealand Poker Championships, but he went missing for a few years after that. Now, he's come back and confirmed his place as a Hall of Famer. Still, it's something that I'm obviously very proud of."

The 2011 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event from November 23-29 at the Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino. For more information on this or other events at the PokerStars Macau poker room, visit their website: www.pokerstarsmacau.com.

Day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event delivered that craziness in spades. Right from the starter's orders, the 71 players remaining in the field went hammer-and-tongs, with Australia's Tom Grigg chipping up early from a double KO before Kiwi maverick Koray Turker took out fellow New Zealander Richard Docherty and Canadian PokerStars Qualifier Amichai Barer to move to almost 150,000 in chips.

Australian PokerStars Qualifier Jonathan Karamalikis then shot up past the 100,000-chip mark when he took a sizeable pot from PokerStars Team Online's Dale Philip. It marked the beginning of the end for the Thailand-based Scott, who was eliminated late in the day when he moved the last of his chips in with [Ks][2s] but lost out to New Zealand PokerStars Qualifier Jackson Zheng, who made two pair on the board of [8c][2h][5d][6h][6d]. Philip's time here in Queenstown hasn't been all bad though, as he took down the NZD$550 Pot Limit Omaha event the night before, defeating 11 players to a tidy sum of cash and a brand new PokerStars snowboard!

Speaking of side events and snowboards, we can't forget about Alicia Sale, who took the overall chip lead into Day 2 after a stunning performance on Day 1c. Having said that, today might have been a day she would rather forget. Unable to continue her form from yesterday, she was eventually , taken out by Jonathan Karamalikis when his [Qs][Jc] improved to a flush on the [Ts][9s][8s][Qd][7s] board against Sale's [Ad][Jd].

Which leads us to fellow New Zealander, Koray Turker. As was the case in the APPT Melbourne Main Event a month ago, Turker's relentless aggression and bravado brought him undone. This time, he surrendered most of his chips to Tom Grigg, six-bet-shoving and trash-talking with [Ac][5s], but ran straight into Grigg's [Kh][Kc], which improved to a set on the turn, crippling Turker down to just 60,000 in chips, most of which went the way of Marcel Schreiner before being eliminated at the hands of Jamie Lunt.

It would then lead up to the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny between Grigg and Schreiner in one of the final hands of the night. Schreiner called Grigg's four-bet before the flop then called him after the flop of [Kc][4h][5d], then both players checked the turn of the [6h] before Grigg opened again on the river of the [7c] and after what seemed like forever and a day in hell, Schreiner made the call of his life; his [As][Qh] best against Grigg's [Ad][9h] to take the chip lead into Day 3, bagging up a whopping 453,800 in chips.

Grigg is still nipping at his heels though, returning second overall with 220,500, while Jonathan Karamalikis (192,800) is not far behind. Ben Paurini (180,100) and Carl Knox (148,100) were the best for the locals, finishing in fourth and fifth in chips respectively, but we'll also be keeping a close eye out on Australian PokerStars Qualifier Hugh Cohen, who could well emulate his brother Julian's efforts in the same event last year, returning to Day 3 with 143,900.

In all, 21 players will continue tomorrow from 4pm local time (GMT +12), which gives them (and us) a much-needed opportunity to rest up and recharge the batteries in the fresh mountain air - assuming this rain holds off.

Click here for the Day 3 seating draw.

Be sure to join myself and my esteemed blogging partner Heath "TassieDevil" Chick once again when we bring you all the action of Day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event from the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino. Until then, remember to check out the Final Four video with PokerStars.tv's Lynn Gilmartin. And of course, ciao for now!

Photography © Joe Giron | Joe Giron Photography | PokerStars.net

Several members of Team PokerStars turned up this evening, headlined by Team Nordics Pro Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, getting ready for for this weekend's SuperStar Showdown against online qualifier Mastermixus. At one point he held a chip lead more than double the player in second second place, but he ran into some bad luck to finish just out of the money in 31st. Team Argentina Pro Jose Ignacio "nachobarbero" Barbero finished 22nd, Team Belgium Pro Matthias "mattidm" de Meulder wound up in 17th, while the Team PokerStars Pro earning bragging rights this week is Team Canada's Pat Pezzin (below), in 11th place, continuing a string of deep finishes in the Sunday Million.

With the elimination of Pezzin, the final ten players began hand-for-hand play. Each player was anxious to make the final table for a chance at the top prize of $42,570. As the blinds were 1,000/2,000 with an ante of 250, several short stacks hoped to make the top nine. Their patience was rewarded when wizowizo min-raised from UTG with [7c][7d] followed by a raise to 11,111 from AELISTAS1987, holding [kc][kh]. Action folded back to wizowizo, making the four-bet shove for 75,513 total as AELISTAS1987 insta-called. The board ran out [5s] [8d] [Jd] [Ah] [4s], and wizowizo cashed in for $3,465, setting up the final table, seated as follows:

Seat 1: gerd85 (113,622 in chips)
Seat 2: Mr Nikabrik (15,014 in chips)
Seat 3: Gregory "gregior" Howard (32,494 in chips)
Seat 4: BriDge2PaiN (270,156 in chips)
Seat 5: jektiss (69,034 in chips)
Seat 6: B4d3m3!st3r (179,990 in chips)
Seat 7: AELISTAS1987 (237,097 in chips)
Seat 8: Catafract80 (40,106 in chips)
Seat 9: Achiles12 (32,487 in chips)

The first player to suffer post-bustout depression was Gregory "gregoir" Howard, earning $3,960 in ninth place. The blinds had climbed to 1,400/2,800 with a 350 ante as B4d3m3!st3r min-raised from UTG+1, holding [5c][5s]. Action folded around to Howard in the small blind as he re-raised to 33,600, leaving just 594 chips behind. B4d3m3!st3r re-raised to put Howard to the test as he called with [as][kh]. The five cards on the board showed [6h] [Jd] [4d] [Js] [7s], leaving Howard to question the meaning of life, or maybe wombats playing poker.

On the next hand, Mr Nikabrik raised all-in for 7,528 from the cut-off with [ts][9s] as Marko "BriDge2PaiN" Neumann re-raised to isolate from the button with [ad][9d]. The hopes of Mr Nikabrik to double up nearly disappeared when the flop revealed [5s] [6c] [Ac]. The [6d] on the turn left Mr Nikabrik drawing dead as the [3c] finished the hand for the record as Mr Nikabrik earned $5,940, leaving a septet of players to battle it out.

Neumann handled the next elimination at the final table as Achiles12 took the short click to the cashiers window to see an additional $7,920 appear in their account. From the cutoff, Achiles12 open-shoved for 31,237 with [qh][jc]. Neumann continued to bring the pain, re-raising all in with a different A-9, this time [as][9s] to eliminate any other player's idea of playing in the hand. Five cards later Neumann stack grew once again: [7d] [5d] [5c] [Kc] [9s] , leaving a six-pack of players after Achilles12 was heeled.

Continuing to bring the pain, Neumann earned a third scalp at the final table. Blinds had jumped to 1,600/3,200 with an ante of 400 when Catafract80 open-shoved from the button holding [2c][2s]. In the big blind, Neumann called with [ad][4s]. Click below to see how the hand played out:

Catafract80 collects $9,900 for his sixth place finish.

Another coinflip ended the tournament for jektiss in fifth place, cashing in for $11,880. On the button gerd85 min-raised to 6,400, then jektiss re-raised all-in from the small blind for their remaining 69,729 holding [ah][js] as gerd85 called. On the felt, the cards were dealt [Qs] [8d] [Td] [2h] [3d] as the pocket pair held up this time leaving a quartet of hopefuls.

Marko "BriDge2PaiN" Neumann gave some pain to gerd85 on the river, leaving the consolation of scoring $17,325 in fourth place. The blinds jumped to 2,000/4,000 with an ante of 500 as gerd85 raised from the small blind to 8,800 holding [kc][2c] as Neumann called with [qc][jc]. Neumann would like to flop quad jacks here, but instead the flop was [tc][6c][2d], giving both players straight draws. Leading out with a bet to 7,840, gerd85 flopped bottom pair and the better flush draw as BriDge2PaiN re-raised to 19,345 in chips. Confident they had the lead, gerd85 called their remaining 119,908 feeling upbeat about doubling up. The [9h] on the turn gives BriDge2PaiN an open-ended straight draw for a few more outs. The [ks] on the river was a direct hit to gerd85's stack, left with nothing but some memories and awarded $17,325.00

AELISTAS1987 started three-handed play as the shortest stack but got into contention quickly by doubling through B4d3m3!st3r. Those two took several pots from Marko "BriDge2PaiN" Neumann, leaving him as a short stack. Neumann's attempt to level the field were dismantled by AELISTAS1987, sending the German wishing for some better luck as he wondered what he could buy with his $23,265 for third place. Neumann's min-raise with [as][7h] was met by a shove from AELISTAS1987 wielding [4d][4s]. The next five cards to appear were the [Kd] [9s] [8d] [6h] [Kh] as the pocket fours held as AELISTAS1987 held a slight chip lead.

The duel between AELISTAS1987 and B4d3m3!st3r was a one-sided affair as AELISTAS1987 won all but two of the hands heads-up. Blinds of 2,800/5,600 with an ante of 700 welcomed the players in the final hand as a min-raise by AELISTAS holding [kc][9s] was followed by B4d3m3!st3r putting their remaining 90,937 chips into the middle holding a leading [ad][jh] as AELISTAS1987 looked him up, wanting a gamble. The gamble paid off as the flop revealed to the players and interested observers [4h] [9s] [Tc], giving AELISTAS1987 the lead. The [9c] on the turn left B4d3m3!st3r resigned to earning $30,690.00 as Germany represents in this week's Super Tuesday with four of the top five finishers. The problem is that it was a golden day for the Greek AELISTAS1987, winning $42,570 after the [6c] on the river put a bow on tonight's events.

Next week, tournament players descend on EPT San Remo as the tour nears their conclusion. Be sure to check out www.pokerstarsblog.com and www.pokerstars.tv for more reporting than you could ever handle!

April 19, 2011 Super Tuesday Final Table Results:

1st: AELISTAS1987 - $42,570.00
2nd: B4d3m3!st3r - $30,690.00
3rd: "Marko "BriDge2PaiN" Neumann - $23,265.00
4th: gerd85- $17,325.00
5th: jektiss - $11,880.00
6th: Catafract80 - $9,900.00
7th: Achiles12 - $7,920.00
8th: Mr Nikabrik - $5,940.00
9th: Gregory "gregior" Howard - $3,960.00

By Landon Blackhall and Sean Callander

Amid the rapid growth of poker in Asia, Taiwan counts as a newcomer on the scene. However, it's widely recognised as one of the boom markets in Asian poker, as reflected by a sizeable delegation from the island, which lies off the south-east coast of mainland China.

One of the chip leaders in the early going today is Jonathan Lin (holding just under 50,000). He started playing poker while studying abroad - small stakes to start before moving on to more serious money.

Lin has been a regular tournament and cash game player at the PokerStars Macau Poker Room, since it launched in 2008. Besides crushing the cash games regularly at the Macau poker rooms he has made his mark as a talented tournament player, featuring in the celebrity poker TV show Let's All-in in Taiwan as a celebrity player and tournament director.

Other Taiwanese players in today's field include Lin's PokerStars.net teammate Raymond Wu, PokerStars qualifier Carlos Chang, Jung Chou Lee and Peter Wang.

Lin's tournament is off to a promising start, but it's already over for Australian online young gun Jay SEABEAST Kinkade. On a board that read [8s] [6c] [9s] [2h] [9h], the all-in plaque was in front of French player Bernard Vu who had tabled [ah] [ac] for the winning hand. After all the chips were cut down, it was Kinkade that came up short.

Kinkade looked clearly miffed as he picked up his bag to exit the poker room - it didn't help that Vu was showing off to a nearby cameraman, happily waving and smiling as he stacked up his newly acquired chips.

But his celebratory mood didn't last long. Holding pocket eights, Aussie Sean Keeton was in a race against Vu's A-K and found himself behind on the flop and turn of [10d] [2h] [kh] [7s]. However, as Chinese luck would have it, the [8h] sailed down the river!

Nearby on table two, Charles Lam came unstuck in a big hand against PokerStars Macau satellite winner Jao Tin. Lam called Tin's raise of 700 to see a flop of [ad] [ks] [kh]. Tin checked to Lam who fired out 1,500. Tin called, then led out for 2,300 on the turn of the [as].

Lam flat-called and checked after Tin on the river [qh]. Tin turned up [ac] [10h] for a full house; Lam slammed the table with his hand and flashed a king before throwing his cards into the muck. Tin moved back up to around 18,500 in chips whilst Lam went back down to 47,500.

It's also been a tough day at the office for David Steicke, but he managed to double up to 26,500 after moving all-in preflop holding [kh] [kc]. He found himself ahead of the [as] [qd] of Swedish PokerStars Qualifier Rasmus Åkerblom. The flop of [6h] [ks] [10h] put Steicke further ahead and the turn and river would run out [9d] [qs].

We're coming up to the second break of the day, with 93 of the 119 starters set to return for level five. Japan's Kazuki Ikeuchi (52,000) holds a narrow chip lead from US PokerStars Player Brandon Demes (50,000) with Jonathan Lin, Mike Kim, James Akenhead and Wally Sombero all close behind.

Poker players who travel the world become accustomed to the quirks of playing in different countries, where the rules are mostly the same with the odd local variant. Here at the Grand Lisboa, players are warned to be extremely careful about betting out of turn, as any chips that are placed in the pot at any point (even out of turn) must remain in the pot.

There's also one other aspect of playing here to which westerners must readjust - smoking is permitted in the casino, well, basically anywhere. During the APPT Macau Main Event, it has been deemed that smoking is only allowed outside the tournament area, but the haze inside is reminiscent of the smog outside. Note to self: check tobacco shares on Hang Seng Index!

The internationals are also having a hard time adjusting to a local contingent that have an extra 12 months of experience thanks to the regular events at PokerStars Macau. Normally a tournament is tight for the first two or three levels - that's not the case here and it's caught the foreigners off guard.

One of those local players, Hong Kong's Charles "Spring" Lam, is dominating on table two after increasing to 55,000 in chips by eliminating well-known local player (and Late Night Poker pioneer) Jin Cailin, who finished 10th in the APPT Macau Main Event last year.

The money was all-in the middle on a flop that read [ah] [qs] [4s] - Jin was severely short stacked and was in bad shape, holding [as] [8s] against Lam's [ac] [jc]. There would be no hope for Jin when the turn and river bricked out [5h] [2h], sending Jin to the bar (he'll need something strong).

The Asian contingent isn't limited to those from Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Representing Japan is Kazuki Ikeuchi, from Tokyo. Two years ago he made an appearance at the first ever APPT Macau and finished seventh in a side event.

Months later he went on to cash in four events in the 2008 World Series of Poker, including 36th place in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em World Championship. As the only Japanese player in Day 1A and with such an impressive career so far, he's only too happy to shoulder the nation's hopes today.

By Landon Blackhall, level 1 update

Though the locals have come out in force this year for the PokerStars.net APPT day one flight, the internationals are getting involved in some heavy action in the early going.

In particular, table seven is bound to offer some of the best play today, which sees Hong Kong-based Australian poker icon David Steicke (fresh from his APT High Roller triumph), PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Grant Levy and two-time WSOP Main Event champion Johnny Chan. Forget Ali versus Frazier, this is the ultimate battle of poker heavyweights.

In one hand we encountered, Levy raised it up pre-flop to 275 from under the gun. The action folded around to young online poker pro Joel Dodds who called from the button.
On a flop of [8h] [7c] [6s], Levy opened for 525 and Dodds called, then check-called Dodds' bet of 1,025 on the turn of the [4h]. Both players checked the river [10c]; Levy rolled up [10s] [8s] for two pair and Dodds nodded at him to signify that it was good enough as he mucked his hand.

The Australians are already off to a flying start, but Sydneysider Mark Cornwall has had a little bit of Chinese luck fall his way; we caught him turning over [2s] [2c] after the action was complete on a board that read [2h] [as] [qc] [2d] [3c]. Two multiplied by four is eight, which is considered a very lucky number in Eastern culture. As a result he's up to 43,000 in chips.

Some of the other notables we've spotted include Emad Tahtouh, who arrived late but according to the PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro: "I'm looking forward to getting in on the action!"

ANZPT Melbourne final table participant Ben Savage and 2005 WSOP Six-handed bracelet winner Isaac Galazan, Will Ma (sixth in the 2008 APPT Macau High Roller event) and Sean Keeton, who was fourth in the $5000 WSOP six-handed event at the 2009 WSOP, are also in action today.

The atmosphere is tense in the Grand Lisboa Poker Room. With 119 starters confirmed in today's day one flight, the action has been extremely tight; as such, we have only lost one player in the first level: PokerStars Qualifier Aleksei Rostunov.

The "all-in" disc was pointing from Rostunov towards his opponent, PokerStars Player Stephen Costello. He could only shrug his shoulders and watch as the chips were shipped in Costello's direction. Midway through level two, six players have already been eliminated.

The ceremonial duties have been completed, the mask has been changed, handshakes have been exchanged and the cards are in the air for season three of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

The buzz is electric in the PokerStars Macau room at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino where more than 100 players have taken their seats for the first of three day one flights in the HKD $40,000 buy-in APPT Macau Main Event.

The day started with the official media conference, with dignitaries including Grand Lisboa Director of Table Games Michael Au, Grand Lisboa Vice-president of Table Games Timothy Gilbert, APPT President Jeffrey Haas, PokerStars Asia Regional Director David Jung, Team PokerStars Pros and former world champions Chris Moneymaker and Joe Hachem, PokerStars.net Team Asia Pros Celina Lin and Bryan Huang plus Bertrand ElkY Grospellier, who spoke fondly of his time living in Asia.

After some words of thanks for the Grand Lisboa and the people of Macau who've embraced the arrival of poker, it was down to the poker room for the official opening, with Bryan Huang giving the order to "shuffle up and deal".

It's become tradition for each APPT event to start with a slice of local culture - here, players were treated to a mask changing ceremony or "Bian Lian". Originally part of the Sichuan Opera, it is considered one of China's most elusive performing arts. In fact, it was even considered by the Chinese government as a national secret.

But it's no secret that we'll be playing a maximum of eight 60-minute levels today, with all players starting with 20,000 in chips and a pile of PokerStars merchandise. APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh has also announced that players with holding the top 10 chip stacks after day one will be placed on separate tables for day two.

Players in action today include PokerStars.net Team Australia pros Eric Assadourian (High Roller champ here two years ago), 2007 APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, WSOP Main Event winners Johnny Chan and Mansour Matloubi, 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Stewart Scott, 2008 WPT Championship winner David Chiu, member of the 2009 "November Nine" James Akenhead, number one ranked Australian online player Jay SEABEAST Kinkade, 2008 WPT Borgata Open winner Vivek psyduck Rajkumar and Filipino poker icon Wally Sombero.

PokerStars.net Team Asia trio Dan Schreiber, Jonathan Lin and Raymond Wu are also in action today, as is Joel strongplay Dodds, who is chasing the unusual record of three successive 14th-place finishes in the APPT Macau Main Event.

The structure for today's play is:

Level 1: 50/100
Level 2: 100/200
Level 3: 100/200 (ante 25)
Level 4: 150/300 (ante 25)
Level 5: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 6: 300/600 (ante 75)
Level 7: 400/800 (ante 75)
Level 8: 500/1000 (ante 100)

Less than four years, it was almost unthinkable to envisage an international poker calendar that included stops such as Kyiv and Macau.

But just days after the opening event on season six of the PokerStars.net EPT wrapped up in the Ukrainian capital, the eyes of the poker world turn east for the first tournament on season three of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

Welcome to the world's gaming capital, Macau and the stunning Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino for the next gripping chapter in the growth of poker in this fledgling poker region.
Macau is one of the two special administrative regions in the People's Republic of China - the other, Hong Kong, is about a 40km trip on one of the many high-speed ferry services that operate across this expanse of the South China Sea.

Home to 550,000 people, Macau is the world's most densely populated enclave and among the wealthiest cities on the planet, thanks to its 30 casinos which generate a staggering USD $17 billion each year.

So much has changed since we were here last year. This year's tournament is being held in the new "PokerStars Macau at the Grand Lisboa" live poker room, right in the heart of Macau's casino row.

The design of the stunning 58-floor Grand Lisboa building is based on a bright yellow lotus leaf, making it the instantly identifiable in Macau and one of the most striking buildings anywhere in the world.

PokerStars Macau is the largest poker room in continental Asia with 33 tables and 24-hour cash games. The room has been packed to capacity every night throughout the APPT Macau Poker Festival, which started on August 15.

Last year's tournament was played against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, with Macau, and its heavy reliance on gaming revenue, in the direct firing line. Twelve months on, and the signs of recovery are everywhere. The cranes are again on the move across the city's skyline while the casinos are turning over more patacas/dollars/yuan than ever.

The first and last European colony in China, Macau returned to Chinese control on December 20, 1999 after more than 110 years under Portuguese control. Preparations are well underway for 10th birthday celebrations, which are already creating a buzz around town.

Three years since poker arrived in Macau thanks to the APPT, the game is establishing a firm foothold with terrific cash action at PokerStars Macau along with great fields in the preliminary events played last weekend, which included the first Limit Hold'em tournament ever played in Asia (and hosted by PokerStars Player Terrence Chan).

Players had a chance to let off some steam before the APPT Macau Main Event starts with hundreds packing The Grand Buffet at the Grand Lisboa for the traditional Welcome Party.

After an introduction from APPT President Jeffrey Haas, PokerStars qualifiers and scores of other players swarmed the buffet for a taste of the region's finest cuisine before rubbing shoulders with Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Bertrand ElkY Grospellier, members of PokerStars Team Australia and Team Asia and a gaggle of glamourous girls from FTV, who were in great demand for a quick pic.

But the last glass of champagne has been drained, the last piece of dim sum consumed and it's down to business - day 1A of the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event starts at 12.15pm (GMT +8hrs) at PokerStars Macau in the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino.

And don't forget that you call follow all the APPT action at our Chinese (click here) and Japanese (click here) language blogs.

Each week they put together The Online Poker Show, allowing you to watch the thrills and spills of the Sunday Million final table, complete with hole cards showing and expert commentary so you can see just how the winner plays on his way to the best weekly online poker prize on the planet.

This week that prize - a rather pleasant $163,430.56 - went to NORCALonica after a four-way deal. Now settle back in your chair and watch the action below by clicking on the little white triangle thingy in the video. If you'd like to read about his victory first, then by all means take a look back at our Sunday Million final table report.

Well, that's where we and the good folks at PokerStars.tv come in. Once again, we're happy to bring you another two episodes of The Online Poker Show

We're not going to spoil the outcome for you, but if you'd like to read along with the action, you can do it at either of the reports below.

3-29-09 Sunday Million final table report
3-29-09 Sunday Warm-Up final table report

Or, if you'd prefer to jump right in, we've got the videos right here for you.

Enjoy!

Watch Online Poker Show P1: Sunday Million - Mar 29, 2009 on PokerStars.tv

One of the beauties of making the place look a little nicer is the ability to see videos all over the place here. We encourage you to take a look at our PokerStars Blog Media Gallery as you tool around the joint.

Now, for the real reason we brought you here today. PokerStars.tv has just released two more fine versions of their Online Poker Show. Once again, you can catch all the highlights for this week's Sunday Warm-Up and Sunday Million.

If you'd like to read along with our reports, check out:

3-22-09 Sunday Million report

3-22-09 Sunday Warm-Up report

Now, for the videos. Enjoy!

Yet while PokerStars' live tournaments continue to push the poker boundaries, our online Sunday majors remain the staple of every serious player's diet.

Many will be happy they feasted at our tables this weekend, none more so than Iceman1278 who topped exactly 8,000 others to win the Sunday Million and take home just under $200,000.

Also celebrating a great result is icallseat3, who scooped the Sunday Warm-Up, pocketing $111,249.60.

Congratulations to everyone who finished in the money this weekend.