Linda Chen, president and executive director of Macau casino concessionaire Wynn Macau Ltd, has been cited hailing a tie between her firm and Allied Gaming & Entertainment Inc (AGAE), that will help debut a World Poker Tour (WPT) festival and championship in the city from June 18.
A release from AGAE – a specialist in live and virtual sports events – cited her saying the casino company was “thrilled to partner with AGAE” to host in Macau “one of the most prestigious global poker competitions”.
According to the WPT’s website, the promotion – including the WPT Macau Championship – will be at Wynn Macau, in downtown Macau.
Adam Pliska, the WPT’s president and chief executive, was quoted as saying in the AGAE announcement: “Macau has long been a sought-after destination for us,” in terms of “wanting to deliver the WPT experience to the region.”
A pre-tournament festival starts on June 18, with championship play commencing on June 20, with a HKD40,000 (circa US$5,112) buy-in.
The guaranteed prize pool had yet to be announced as of Wednesday, as per the WPT website information. The final day of the championship will be on June 24.
The AGAE update also mentioned Ms Chen indicating the WPT had the ability to draw “legendary poker players from across the world,” which would “enhance Macau’s global allure”.
The Macau government has a policy aim of increasing the proportion of foreign visitors to the city.
Wynn Macau Ltd’s president was also quoted saying that her company hosting the gathering “further demonstrates our commitment to deliver top-tier international entertainment events to Macau and is set to captivate a new wave of global visitors eager to experience the dynamism of our city.”
Yinghua Chen, chief executive of AGAE, was also quoted in the announcement as saying: “This marks WPT’s inaugural physical presence in Macau after over two decades of [WPT] operation.”
