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"Well that's a hard act to follow!" responded Ejaaz Dean in reference to the Haka.
Dean, along with APPT Tournament Director Danny McDonagh, said some words thanking their staff and the players that make this tour possible before the microphone was handed over to Tony Hachem to utter those immortal words of shuffle up and deal!
The cards are now in the air for Day 1b!
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
The Maori people have been long-time inhabitants of New Zealand - or Aotearoa as they have called it which translates into the land of the long white cloud.
With all New Zealanders ones to hold traditional values, culture and beliefs at heart, it is no surprise that we are kicking off today's tournament with a traditional Haka!
Many sports followers will know that the Haka relates to a pre-game ritual that the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union team perform to psyche-out their opponents, but in reality it is a traditional posture dance performed by the Maori people.
The belief is that the Haka is a war dance performed solely by men, but as you can see, that is far from the truth as they are performed by all for all differing reasons such as amusement, acknowledgment of great achievements of a welcoming of guests.
In our instance, the Haka that is being performed is welcoming all players to today's tournament - and although it may scare a few with the vigorous movements and feet-stamping - it is definitely a great way to kick of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event!
Welcome to the SKYCITY Festival of Poker for 2010.
We are excited to welcome players from all over the world to SKYCITY Auckland for what is this event's third year. As many of you will know, tournament poker has taken off across the globe and we are delighted that New Zealand has indeed kept up with the trend and is in fact producing talent who are leading on the world stage of poker. Proof of this is Simon Watt who we were pleased to see win New Zealand's first WSOP bracelet at the recent World Series of Poker.
SKYCITY is New Zealand's Home of Poker and as such we have developed an annual poker calendar which now offers four major tournaments each year; the Auckland Anniversary Poker Champs, Lee Nelson Deep Stack Series, New Zealand Poker Open and the flagship tournament, the SKYCITY Festival of poker. In Auckland we have 18 poker tables within our dedicated poker area on Level 3 of SKYCITY Auckland - SKYCITY Poker.
This Festival of Poker is our biggest yet and we are focused on providing different events within the festival to cater for varying levels of experiencing ensuring that we both challenge leading stars and nurture the emerging players among us.
As the leading provider of hospitality and entertainment in New Zealand's largest city, SKYCITY Auckland has a single focus; to make your entertainment experience the very best possible. You will find that members of our staff are approachable, knowledgeable and intent on meeting your needs, whether they relate to the casino floor, accommodation, food and beverages, or relaxation.
No matter what hand you're dealt, by taking part in the SKYCITY Festival of Poker, you are joining in on a piece of New Zealand poker history.
Ejaaz Dean
SKYCITY Auckland
General Manager of Casino Operations
President of International Business
Another day in Auckland sees us return to the SKYCITY Auckland Casino for Day 1b of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Auckland Main Event!
Yesterday saw eighty-nine hopefuls take to the felt, and with 114 players registered before today began, who knows exactly how high that number might climb as PokerStars and SKCITY Auckland look to eclipse the 263 and 306-player fields set in 2009 and 2008 respectively.
Team PokerStars Pros Tony Hachem and Lee Nelson, along with WSOP Bracelet winner and reigning champion Simon Watt will be in the field today along with Australian players Michael Spilkin, Josh Barrett, David Borg, Leo Boxell, Julius Colman, Jay Kinkade while New Zealanders Richard Lancaster, Mike King, Koray Turker and many more will be looking to put up a strong fight on home soil.
Play is set to begin at 12:15 p.m. NZST with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing continuous live coverage throughout the day as we look to find who the next APPT Auckland Champion is!
Main Event
Day 1b Started
