MACAU APPROVAL HERALDS MAJOR TEXAS HOLD 'EM ACTION

8 February 2008

Asian gambling mecca could see some serious land tournament activity


The Asian land gambling mecca of Macau could become the setting for some major Texas Hold'em action following an Associated Press report that the local authorities have now permitted the giant casinos on the island to offer Texas Hold'em poker for the first time.

The Macau government issued the rules approving the popular poker variation earlier this week, which will allow the house to collect a commission of 3-5 percent of the betting pool for each game.

The first casino taking the plunge into offering Texas Hold'em is the Grand Lisboa, the flagship casino of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) owned by Stanley Ho. According to a spokesperson, the casino has inaugurated four new tables dedicated to Texas Hold'em.

Interest in Texas Hold'em has exploded over the past few years in the United States and in Europe, thanks to major television exposure, fashion trends and big money tournaments.

Interest has also been growing in China, and the Asian Pokerstars Poker Tour, sponsored by PokerStars, hosted a leg in Macau at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in November by special permission, attracting 352 poker players from around the world who built a $809 600 prize pool.

"We are confident that Texas Hold'em will become very popular here," Louis Ng, SJM director and chief operating officer told Associated Press. "It is popular in Europe and in the U.S. and there are international Texas Hold'em Poker tournaments every year."

Other casinos operators in Macau include Wynn, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Grand. According to regulators in Macau and Las Vegas, Macau raked in more gaming revenue in 2006 than the famous Las Vegas Strip.

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