Take a look at what is going on at the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila festival if you need proof that live poker is booming in the Philippines. PokerStars placed a u20b120 million ($359,559) guarantee on the u20b165,000 buy-in ($1,168) APPT Manila Main Event, but a bumper crowd of 355 entrants on Day 1a means that guarantee has already been hit!
Only 77 of those hopefuls made it through Day 1a unscathed, and nobody bagged up more chips than the 348,500 of Edilberto Gopez. South Korea's Ju Ha (347,000) came close to Gopez but ultimately fell short.