Japanese Poker Tour expands to Taiwan & Macau; APT 2018 kicks off in Vietnam

Japanese Poker Tour expands to Taiwan & Macau; APT 2018 kicks off in Vietnam

The All Japan Poker Championship fails to live up to its name by expanding to South Korea, Taiwan and Macau, and Adrian Esslen takes down the Main Event of the Asian Poker Tour 2018 Kickoff in Vietnam.

Japanese Poker Tour expands to Taiwan & Macau; APT 2018 kicks off in VietnamMy brother-in-law is moving to Japan.

Should I visit him?

I want to go; free rent and all that. But there is a lot about Japan that gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Take child pornography for example. As a father of two and a human being it’s a market I would file into my ‘disturbing shit’ file, and yet, until 1999 the production of child porn was still legal. The buying and selling of child porn only became a criminal offence in 2014.

Only last week, a woman in her 60s sued the Japanese government for forcibly sterilising her when she was 15-years of age as part of the 1948 Eugenics Laws repealed in 1996.

And don’t get me started on earthquakes, dolphin hunts and the North Koreans.

Japan doesn’t even have a military.

It’s no wonder the flag has a big red circle in the middle. It’s how my arsehole feels when I consider visiting the place.

So maybe it’s a good thing that the All Japan Poker Championship (AJPC) organisers created an Asian Circuit at the back end of last year. The announcement culminated in an AJPC event held in Incheon, South Korea that attracted 784 players.

On Monday, Yasuhiro Sasaki CEO of the AJPC announced plans to expand even further with an intention to touch down in Macau and Taiwan.

“2018 will see the AJPC look to grow our circuits outside of Japan,” Sasaki told SoMuchPoker. “This is in response to our player’s desire to enjoy tournaments overseas, with a focus on Incheon, Taiwan, Macau, and potentially other destinations in Southeast Asia. We look forward to working closely with local partners to bring a premium overseas experience to Japanese players while welcoming local players from each location as well.”

The AJPC began hosting events in 2007, mainly in Japan, which is not a bad effort when you consider gambling is illegal in the land of the rising sun and there are no card rooms or casinos.

But hey.

Poker, that’s some dark shit right there.

Asian Poker Tour Kicks Off 2018 Tour in Vietnam

Another place I haven’t wrapped my head around is Vietnam.

People tell me it’s a great place to visit, but the John J. Rambo era won’t leave my mind.

I do love a bit of Ocean Vuong, though.

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) doesn’t worry about any of that shit. It recently chose the country’s capital Ho Chi Minh City as the kick off for their 2018 tour.

APT Kickoff 2018 Vietnam lasted ten days, and Adrian Esslen won the Main Event and APT Player of the Series honour. The Main Event was so popular (664 entrants), the APT was forced to cancel side events just to find the tables.

Final Table Results

1. Adrian Esslen – VND 1,313,920,000 ($58k)

2. Le Hong Nghia – VND 875,300,000 ($38k)

3. Nguyen Hoang Anh – VND 608,720,000 ($27k)

4. Lam Kim Long – VND 437,650,000 ($19k)

5. Macaron Tan – VND 356,990,000 ($16k)

6. Vu Minh Tri – VND 328,480,000 ($14k)

7. Dmitrii Ilin – VND 208,680,000 ($9k)

8. Flo Campomanes – VND 176,800,000 ($8k)

In the other events, Vin Huynh won the 114-entrant High Roller for VND 701,970,000 ($31k), and the Natural8 sponsored pro Kosei Ichinose took home VND 344,820,000 ($15k) for winning a 168-field side event.