APPT Macau - $2500 Main Event Day 1 | 2007 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour - Macau

11-23-2007 13:41 UTC+8

Dealer Abuse a Criminal Offense in China

[user38449]

Have a temper at the poker table? Well, think twice before cussing or throwing your cards at a dealer if you're playing in China, unless of course you have no issues with prison time.

The tournament staff dished out a severe warning to the players before the start of play, making sure that everyone was aware of the strict policies in place to combat dealer abuse. If an incident is deemed serious enough, a violator could potentially be arrested and jailed by local police.

So far, so good, but we'll let you know if anyone chooses to press their luck...

11-23-2007 13:31 UTC+8

Alternate Update

[user38449]

According to the tournament staff, there are 10 alternates still waiting to get a seat in the tournament after one hour of play. The plan is to get them all worked into the tournament as soon as possible.

Level: 2

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

11-23-2007 13:27 UTC+8

Hachem Chipping Up

[user38449]

Holding the {K-Hearts}

, Joe Hachem called an opponent's 400 bet on the turn, with the board showing {7-Diamonds}

. Little did he know (or did he?!) that his opponent had struck oil on the turn, sitting behind pocket threes. The river brought the {7-Clubs}

, which shifted the lead a fourth time in the hand, giving Hachem a bigger full house. Both players opted to check the river and Hachem picked up another 1,200 in chips with the win.

Tags: Joe Hachem

11-23-2007 13:15 UTC+8

Faces In the Crowd

[user38449]

The tournament staff estimates a field somewhere in the ballpark of 370 players, though that number will grow for at least another 12 minutes as alternates are still filling the vacated seats.

Among some of the big names we've spotted in the field are Scotty Nguyen, John Juanda, Isabelle Mercier, Liz Lieu, Jeffrey Lisandro, Mel Judah, Chad Brown, Vanessa Rousso and 2007 WSOP Main Event runner-up Tuan Lam.

Tags: Scotty Nguyen Tuan Lam

11-23-2007 13:01 UTC+8

Berec Down Early

[user38449]

Australian pro Jozef Berec took a major hit early on after open-shoving for 9,000 on a {Q-Diamonds}

flop, holding the {A-Hearts}

. He was called, but not covered, by Christoffer Stahle of Sweden, who turned over pocket kings.

The turn and river blanked out {6-Clubs}

,

bringing no help to Berec, who was left with just 1,400 in chips after the hand.

Tags: Christoffer Stahle Jozef Berec

11-23-2007 12:57 UTC+8

First Player Eliminated

[user38449]

Tournament Director Matt Savage just introduced "Raymond" to the crowd as the first player eliminated from the tournament this afternoon. Raymond received a nice round of applause from the room before exiting the tournament area.

As players bust from the tournament, Savage will be filling their seats with alternates until the first level of play is complete.

Tags: Matt Savage

11-23-2007 12:43 UTC+8

Brothers in Arms

[user38334]

Joe Hachem and his brother Tony were allocated seats on the same table at the start of play. Tony has since been moved to another table, so as not to have two family members on the same table.

11-23-2007 12:39 UTC+8

Back-to-Back Aces for Joe Hachem

[user38449]

2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem is here, along with brother Tony. We've only been playing for the better part of two minutes and the senior Hachem has already picked up pocket aces - twice! One pair was red, the other black, and Joe took down both pots.

Tags: Joe Hachem

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0