Asian Poker Tournament To Be Hosted By Manila In The Philippines
The prestigious Asian Poker Tournament will be hosted by the Philippian region of Manila at the luxurious Newport World Resorts, the first time in a decade. The historic event is often held in Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Beijing but this time the board of APT have gleefully decided to diversify the hosting grounds and picked Manila is the ideal spot for the tournament. The competition has been running consistently for over 70 years, yet this is only the third time that the Philippines have been chosen to host the prestigious poker tournament, much to the annoyance of the local governance who campaign every year for the event.
Manila is set to play host to one of the world’s most prestigious poker tournaments in 2023. The last time the Asian Poker Tournament took place in the Philippines was in 1989. ©fielperson/Pixabay
This larger-than-life poker tournament is coming to Manila in 2023 and the local population and resort goers are already incredibly excited to see it return after so many years in Chinese territory. The organizers have received some harsh criticism from Asian media due to its favorable awarding’s to Chinese cities but due to the current COVID situation in the country, the organizers have broken the chain and allowed another region to host the tournament. There have been calls of corruption among the APT board members from several media outlets but none of these rumours/accusations have been confirmed as true.
While the media attention surrounding the tournament might be negative, it can only be a positive boost for the viewing figures the tournament will receive. It’s likely that millions of spectators from around the world will tune into this tournament to witness some of the finest professional poker the world has seen all year. The APT rivals the Las Vegas tournament in prestige and is regarded by many as the most important competition for professional players on the international circuit. It is often cited as the Superbowl of the poker season and it’s easy to understand why from its global appeal and popularity.
Manila is a perfect location for a tournament of this caliber, often pronounced as one of the most beautiful natural regions in all of Asia, with plenty of incredible views and landmarks and perfect weather all year round. The Newport World Resort is an outstanding venue for a tournament of this size, it has a massive casino facility complete with every luxurious amenity one can imagine. It’s also one of the most expensive stays in all of Manila and the hotel is often home to a range of A-list celebrities who are visiting for a holiday or professional reasons.
Luxury aside, the overall convenience of the location cannot be understated, it has great connections to the rest of the continent and several direct flights are available from major US airports in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and many other major states. This is good news for many of the players as a good chunk of the competition will be taken up by Americans as well as Chinese players who currently dominate the poker scene. However, anyone can end up at the top as proven by several European players who have navigated their way to the highest level of professional poker through talent and perseverance.
How Will Manila Cope?
Manila isn’t known for being the largest region of the Philippines and if there are many people flying in from all over the world the island county could struggle to facilitate a great number of spectators. There are a plethora of hotels and resorts including the host site Newport World’s. An abundance of choice means every kind of viewer and spectator is welcome, regardless of financial limitations. These competitions are often stigmatized by the fashion of the rich watch the rich, but the sport has become more popular with the working/middle class of many countries in Asia and around the world.
The tournament is set to take place in the summer of 2023, last year’s tournament which took place in Tokyo was a massive success at the box office and brought in millions of spectators for the sport. While in quite a different setting, industry analysts are predicting that next year’s poker tournament in the Philippines could see a similar if not increased viewership level due to growing interest on social media. The key is to try and access a younger audience, the marketing for the tournament has targeted social media users between 18-25. Younger adults are the least likely to tune in, so they view it as highly important to draw them in to next year’s showing.
Despite a decent level of media backlash, the poker tournament will be arriving in Manila very soon and preparations for hosting it have already begun. A team of event organizers were assembled by the board of the APT to help delegate admin tasks and plan the long-term deliverables to make the competition a great success for players and spectators. The biggest winners in this whole scenario is undeniably Newport World Resorts as they have managed to secure a multimillion-dollar budget for this project much to the delight of the hotel’s owners. They will also be able to claim a portion of the broadcasting rights as they are the host location.
