13/09/2015
Team APL Macau have arrived back in Perth.
After 4 awesome days in Macau, experiencing one of the biggest tournaments in Asia the team has arrived back in Perth with a host of stories, bad beats and other interesting tidbits to tell.
Monday saw us arrive at approximately 7pm to check-in at the Sheraton Macau for the duration of our stay. After a quick freshen up it was off to a lounge bar for a few quiet drinks (sans Karen and Blair who were in desperate need of some sleep), and then on to the Hard Rock Cafe at the City of Dreams for some much needed fuel for the coming days. As it turns out Mark and Andrew's eyes were considerably larger than their bellies, ordering enough food to feed the entire team!
From here we made our way over for our first look at the poker room, and to ensure everything was in place for registration for the Main Event the next day. Once the plan for the following day, day 1D, was established it was time for some of us to hit the hay while others continued to explore the casino's.
Tuesday was the day where all 7 of Team APL would take their place among some of Asia's best established and up and coming poker stars for their shot at the Macau Poker Cup #23 Red Dragon title.
At the completion of Day 1D, we were left with two Team APL members standing, David Thompson and Andrew Nelson. From a field of 945 entrants these two would go forth to the second day with 211 others and a tilt at the $HKD9.9m in prize money.
Unfortunately for Team APL we lost Andrew after a couple of levels of Day 2, but David went on to fall just 20 minutes short of making day 3, busting in 51st place for a very nice $HKD33,500 (~ $AUD 6,700).
The players party immediately followed the close of day 2, with free shuttle buses ensuring the players had little trouble getting to the D2 Nightclub where Pokerstars had put on a small buffet and an open bar between 10pm and 1am. Team APL were some of the first to arrive and continued to have a great time well into the night. It was also decided here that Thursday would be the day we would head in to Macau proper to do some sightseeing.
Breakfast the following morning saw all bar David Thompson arrive to determine the course of the day. Blair however had enjoyed the previous night immensely and was escorted back to his hotel room for further recovery by Karen.
The rest of the day was spent exploring Macau and some of it's tourist attractions and playing "Where's Andrew?", before arriving back at our hotel. Some of the team opted to partake of a top Steak house for dinner, which by all reports was outstanding.
That evening several of the team decided to take in the "House of the Dancing Water" show at the City of Dreams. What an awesome show, with everyone agreeing that whilst the story line may have been hard to follow, the performance was fantastic!
Friday was left for the team members to fill however they wanted, with some taking in the gondola ride at the Venetian (yes, gondola rides INSIDE!), some taking in the golf links at the Macau Country Club, and others playing cash games at either the Pokerstars room, the Venetian, or the Wynn.
Saturday morning it was time to bid Adieu to Macau, and begin the long trek back to Perth (whilst also playing "Where's Andrew?").
A big congratulations to all members of Team APL for a fantastic trip away and especially large congratulations to David Thompson for his awesome 51st place finish for $6,700.
For your chance to experience more trips to the biggest tournaments around the world, keep an eye out, or ask you local Tournament Director!
APL - "Live your poker dream!"
