Main Event Day 1a | 2009 Asian Poker Tour - Manila

01-29-2009 13:00 UTC+8

Tough Table?

[user80015]

On one of the outer tables on the tournament floor, we find Julio Diaz and Vincent 'Wonky' Wan seated with Filipino poker professional Neil Arce.

Arce is the first local Filipino player to cash in at the World Series of Poker; but won't be having an easy day on the felt. Tablemate Diaz has had some past success at the Asian Poker Tour when he placed 5th in the Macau main event, for close to US$70,000.

Australian Vincent 'Wonky' Wan is no 'newbie' to cardrooms either, having amassed a tournament record that includes winning an Aussie Millions preliminary event for over US$100,000, after dispatching of Michael 'Timex' McDonald. Spending most of his time playing online, Wan is currently touring the circuit, taking some time out to participate in today's main event.

Will our champion emerge from this tough table? Stay tuned to PokerNews as we provide every update from the tournament floor.

Tags: Julio Diaz Neil Arce Vincent Wan

01-29-2009 12:49 UTC+8

Oborne Splashes to a Double

[user80015]

Facing a button raise to 100, Chip Me Up player Damien Oborne reraised out of the small blind to 350 and the button made the call.

The flop fell down {8-Clubs}

and Oborne led out for 800 before his opponent reraised to 2,000. Oborne made the call before checking the {9-Spades}

on the turn, only to be faced with a bet of 3,000. Oborne sat in the tank before moving all in for an additional 6,525, and after some time, his opponent made the call.

Oborne: {9-Clubs}

Opponent:

Oborne stood up and chanted, "No king, no jack, no eight. No king, no jack, no eight," before the dealer dealt the {9-Diamonds}

on the river to fill Oborne up and send his opponent to the rail. With that, he climbs to over 20,300 in chips.

Tags: Damien Oborne

01-29-2009 12:49 UTC+8

Who Else Is Here?

[user75032]

Making our way around the tables, we've spotted local fixtures Wally "the Dream" Sombero and Neil Arce, 3rd place APPT Manila finisher Hyoungjin Nam, Yvo Molin, Casey Kastle, Julio Diaz and Yasuhiro Waki. The field today is on the small side; so far we have eighty players in action. However, from talking to players around the hotel the last two days, it would seem that most of the well-known players have opted to play Day 1b. We expect tomorrow's field to be substantially larger than today's.

01-29-2009 12:34 UTC+8

Aussie Expats Reunite

[user80015]

Mark Cornwell; not the tournament director today!

Two Aussie expats have found their feet together in today's main event. Damien Oborne and Mark Cornwell are both seated together on one of the middle tables on the tournament floor.

A past PokerNews employee, Oborne moved out to Manila early last year and has been enjoying Filipino life ever since.

Mark Cornwell played in past Asian Poker Tour events after moving out to Macau to work as a Tournament Director.

Both are great players and are both likely to tangle as the day goes on.

Tags: Damien Oborne Mark Cornwell

01-29-2009 12:24 UTC+8

Programming Note

[user75032]

We'll be playing ten levels of poker today. Each level is one hour long, and there will be a break at the end of every other level. The break after Level 6 will be a long break for dinner. All told we should wrap up play today between 11pm and midnight local time.

01-29-2009 12:11 UTC+8

Shuffle up and Deal

[user75032]

After the singing of the Filipino national anthem, the mic was passed to native son Toto Leonidas, who uttered the magic phrase. We're underway!

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

01-29-2009 11:19 UTC+8

Welcome to the Philippines

[user75032]

Greetings from Manila, the latest stop on the Asian Poker Tour. Our location for the next four days is the Dusit Thani hotel in Makati, the central business district of this bustling Southeast Asian capital city. Mangoes are plentiful here and massages are dirt cheap -- we're feeling pretty good.

This marks the second year of being in Manila for the Asian Poker Tour. Last year's APT Philippines Main Event was won by Aussie expat David Saab, who bested a field of 316 runners to take home a first prize of $280,000. Saab will play this event, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow's Day 1b flight to enjoy the fruits of his aggressive style and non-stop table chatter.

The Main Event kicks off in forty minutes. PokerNews will be there to bring you all of the action, from the first flop to the last river on Sunday night. Join us!