Steve Wynn unveils Encore, his new, all-suites boutique hotel this afternoon at 5pm. Adjacent to sister resort Wynn Macau, Encore is a unique destination with its own repertoire of suites, dining and shopping.

“Our goal with Encore was to broaden the appeal of Macau as a tourist destination and open the most beautiful hotel in the world. I am grateful to the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Macau who gave us this opportunity. As a result, the loveliest hotel in the world is not in London , Paris , Tokyo , New York or San Francisco . It is here in Macau . Encore at Wynn will bring the highest level of service and accommodations to the hospitality industry and will be enjoyed by our employees and guests forever,” said Steve Wynn, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer – Wynn Resorts, Limited.

Accommodations at Encore include 414 suites and villas that offer tasteful elegance in a comfortable, residential setting. Encore introduces two new restaurants to the Wynn dining family, and Bar Cristal’s jewel-box décor turns a classic lobby bar into a work of art. The serene Spa at Encore offers treatments in eight private therapy suites, each with its own steam room, sauna and aroma-hydrotherapy bath and shower. The Shopping Esplanade is home to three signature stores—Cartier, Chanel and Piaget—showcasing the finest selections, including limited-edition pieces unique to Encore.

Encore suite reservations may be made by calling (853) 8986 9966.

As the nation mourns the victims of the earthquake in Yushu county, Qinghai province, China , Wynn Macau expresses its deepest condolences. As such, the celebratory activities for the opening of Encore at Wynn Macau have been cancelled. The fireworks display planned for this evening at 8:08pm has been postponed to Thursday, April 22 at 8:08 p.m.

Photos used with permission & copyright Wynn Macau

MACAU, CHINA, APRIL 18 2010 – PokerStars Macau at Casino Grand Lisboa began their new Macau Poker Cup (MPC) spinoff of monthly tournaments with the MPC April Special from April 16-18. The weekend featured the HKD $4,000 No Limit Holdem event with a HKD $250,000 Guarantee which produced a field of 115 players and prize pool of HKD $414,000.

Max Wu from Hong Kong claimed the MPC April Special trophy along with HKD $107,500 in prize money. It was a surprise result from a player coming into only his second live poker tournament. Even more amazing is the fact that Max would have missed the tournament altogether had his friend, PokerStars sponsored Percy Yung, not registered him into the $4,000 NLH 2 minutes before registration closed.

The $4,000 NLH event counted towards the Asia Player of the Year (APOY) Leaderboard and that brought the likes of Team PokerStars PRO Asia Celina Lin and Bryan Huang, PokerStars sponsored and MPCC Winner Devan Tang from Hong Kong. Max was aggressive the entire night as the All-in button frequently sat in front of his chip stack.

With the victory, Max now moves into 12th on the APOY Leaderboard. Team PokerStars PRO Asia Raymond Wu from Taipei retains his number one rank and Celina Lin’s fourth place finish moved her to 24th where she sits just ahead of Bryan Huang who ranked 25th.

PokerStars Macau now gets ready for the most anticipated tournament of the year as the APPT Macau begins preliminary events May 3 with the Main Event taking place from May 18-23. Players can qualify online at PokerStars.net or live in the PokerStars Macau poker room.

APPT Macau, May 18-23, 2010
Main Event Entry Fee: HKD $40,000
Qualify for FREE online at PokerStars.net

Macau Poker Cup, July 7-11, 2010
Red Dragon (Main Event) Entry Fee: HKD $10,000
Guaranteed Prize Pool: HKD $2 Million

Qualify for FREE online at PokerStars.net

Photos used with permission of PokerStars Macau

As the nation mourns the victims of the earthquake in Yushu county, Qinghai province, China, Wynn Macau expresses its deepest condolences. On April 21, Wynn Macau will join the national day of mourning for the victims. As such, the celebratory activities for the opening of Encore at Wynn Macau have been cancelled.

UPDATE: Contrary to previous communications, the exact date and time for the opening of Encore is yet to be determined. Details will be provided once available.

The fireworks display planned for April 21 at 8:08pm has been postponed to Thursday, April 22 at 8:08p.m. The Macau community will still be able to best view the display along the shorelines of Nam Van Lake and Taipa.

Source: Wynn Macau

You can start your invasion as the Maps are ready! They are both zoomable image files of feature Macau peninsula and the Cotai region. Cheers!

扑克之星是世界上最大的在线扑克网站，今日扑克之星亚洲网公布了为期20天的亚太扑克巡迴赛（APPT）澳门春季扑克节的赛程表，该比赛将于2010年5月3日至23日间于新葡京赌场的澳门扑克之星扑克室里进行。

澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛历史性地於2007年将德州扑克带到中国，自此成为一年一度亚洲最精彩的扑克锦标赛。澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛為期三個星期將舉辦25場精彩賽事。

是次比賽參加費用4万元港币（5,160美元），将于5月18日至23日间举行，预计将再次成为吸引来自亚洲各地和全世界其他地区的选手参与的国际性撲克赛事。

2009年，429个来自46个不同国家的选手参与了該比赛，争奪总价值16,130,400港币（超过200万美金）的奖金。爱尔兰玩家Dermot Blain取得冠军，获得了4,194,000港币（541,072美元）獎金，这个年仅25岁的小伙從全亚洲最大型的扑克室——澳门扑克之星的資格赛中取得主賽事資格。

整个活动将于5月3日（周一）开始，将有许多資格賽和周邊賽事贯穿整个活动。随着4万港币的主赛事揭幕，活动将于5月18日，周二中午12点10分达到高潮。

亚太扑克巡迴赛第四个赛季已经有了一个非常好的开端，在两周前已于菲律宾举办了一次特别活动。亚太扑克巡迴赛马尼拉站：”PAGCOR主席杯” 100万美元無保證獎金賽事，吸引了430位选手竞争价值1,042,750美元的总奖金。该比赛之成功成为有史以来在该国举办的最大型的扑克锦标赛。美国玩家Binh Nguyen在这次活动中取胜并赢得了260.700美元。

亚太扑克巡迴赛主席 Jeffrey Haas说：“亚太扑克巡迴赛的成功意味着人们对澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛的期待。我们现在有极大的动力，無論是參賽者或是我們的工作人員都對於四個季度內舉行了三場總獎金超過一百萬美元這個紀綠感到興奮。不止是奖金总额增加，我們也扩大了比赛场地。可以说这些年來在亚洲扑克发展上，开始真正的对整个地区的游戏发展起到积极的作用。”

在澳门春季扑克节将举办的25个活动中，很大一部分賽事都是新模式。其中包括$1,000港币高額籌碼赛了、$1,500港币的無限注德州扑克赛——參賽者每次只有20秒的考慮時間，还有$2000港币KO 賞金赛事。淘汰一名參賽者都会有500港币的賞金，六人桌錦標賽及工人對決錦標賽。

正如第3季的88,800美元的高注額活动，5月18日的活动将成为又一焦點。去年的活动吸引了64人参赛，俄罗斯參賽者Vladimir Geshkenbein获得冠军，有“东方快车”之城的Jonny Chan获得亚军。菲律宾选手Neil Arce名列第三。

赛事安排上最有趣的活动之一将是于5月13日，周四举办的大型免费資格赛。不僅該賽事免费参加，而且保證送出一席 APPT 澳門主賽事，而加买籌碼只需 $500港币， $1,000港币澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛慈善赛活动将在当日的晚间举行，扑克之星网站將在總獎金上額外加5万港币。一半參賽費用的金额将直接捐贈指定的当地慈善机构。

扑克之星职业队和前世界冠军Joe Hachem说：“我在2007年参加了澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛并对扑克在该地区的飞速发展留下了深刻印象。亚太扑克巡迴赛已是迄今为止亚洲最大规模和最高金额的扑克赛事并正在不断飞速的发展。我弟弟Tony在最近在刚刚ANZPT柏斯站获胜后直接参加了亚太扑克巡迴赛马尼拉站：PAGCOR主席杯的賽事。从各方面来看，这都是一场巨大的赛事，我期待是次澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛能在数字上创造全新的记录。”

扑克之星网站澳门亚太扑克巡迴赛春季扑克节的详细赛事日程如下。如需进一步了解活动详情和有关的进展，请访问 www.appt.com。

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, today released a massive 20-day schedule for the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau Spring Festival of Poker, set to take place at the PokerStars Macau Poker Room at Casino Grand Lisboa from May 3-23, 2010.

APPT Macau, the event historic for bringing Texas Hold’em Poker to China in 2007, and which has been the richest poker tournament in Asia every year since, is set to dazzle the world’s gaming capital once again with 25 landmark events over three weeks of intense competition.

The $40,000 HKD ($5,160USD) Main Event, scheduled for May 18-23, is again expected to be an international affair, attracting players from across Asia and the rest of the world.

In 2009, 429 players from 46 countries entered the Main Event, competing for a prize pool of $16,130,400 HKD (more than $2 million USD). Irishman Dermot Blain topped the field, claiming the $4,194,000HKD ($541,072 USD) grand prize. The 25-year-old won his seat in a live satellite at PokerStars Macau, the largest poker room in continental Asia.

The action begins on Monday, May 3 with one of the many live ‘step’ satellites scheduled throughout the festival and culminates with the showpiece $40,000 HKD Main Event, which kicks off at 12:10 pm on Tuesday, May 18.

The fourth season of the APPT has already had a spectacular start, kicking off with a special event in the Philippines two weeks ago. The “APPT Manila: PAGCOR Chairman’s Cup” shattered its $1 million USD guarantee, attracting 430 players who competed for a $1,042,750 prize pool, making it the largest poker tournament ever held in the country. The event was won by American Binh Nguyen who earned a USD $260,700 payday.

“The success of APPT Manila means huge numbers are expected for APPT Macau,” said APPT President Jeffrey Haas. “We have great momentum right now, and all our players and staff are excited about the prospect of having at least three events in our fourth season with prize pools greater than $1M USD! More than just larger prize pools, the larger fields tell the real story. It seems that these years of nurturing poker’s growth in Asia are really starting to have a positive effect on the game’s growth across the region.”

Among the 25 events scheduled for the Macau Spring Festival of Poker is a broad range of buy-ins and innovative formats, including a $1,000 HKD deep stack event; a $1,500 HKD “No Limit Hold’em Express” tournament – in which players only have 20 seconds to act; a $2,000 HKD bounty tournament – in which every player has a $500 bounty on their head; six-max events; and a heads-up tournament.

As in Season 3 the $88,800 high roller event, set for May 18, should prove another highlight. Last year’s event attracted 64 entries and was won by Russian Vladimir Geshkenbein with Johnny “The Orient Express” Chan finishing second and Philippines Champion Neil Arce third.

Perhaps the most intriguing events on the schedule is the mega satellite freeroll on Thursday, May 13. The tournament is free to enter but has $500 re-buys; and at least one winner will be awarded a seat in the APPT Macau Main Event. The $1,000 APPT Macau charity event will be held later the same day, with $50,000 added to the prize pool by PokerStars.net. Half of all buy-ins will go directly to the selected local charity.

Team PokerStars Pro and former world champion Joe Hachem said: “I played the very first APPT Macau in 2007 and I’ve been amazed at how quickly poker has taken off in this region. The APPT is now by far Asia’s largest and richest poker tour and has seen incredible growth. My brother Tony recently competed in the sell-out APPT Manila: PAGCOR Chairman’s Cup, straight after winning ANZPT Perth. By all accounts, it was a phenomenal event so I expect APPT Macau numbers to go through the roof.”

The full PokerStars.net APPT Macau ‘Festival of Poker’ schedule is detailed below. For further event details and updates please visit www.appt.com.

Was at City of Dreams last week to catch The Bubble show and COD is running the “Let’s Get Lucky” Promotion. I’ve won a free spin at the Lucky Spin Wheel and a chance to particupate in City of Dream’s 1st Anniversary Grand Draw this coming 5th June 2010.

And yes, I’m excited to see their world premiere of The House of Dancing Water later this year.

Scorecard copyright City of Dreams Macau

Wynn Resorts continues to raise the standard for luxury resorts in Macau with the opening of Encore, its all-suites boutique hotel. The new property is adjacent to its sister resort, Wynn Macau.

Encore is scheduled to open in April 2010 with reservations now being accepted for dates starting on April 22. Reservations may be made by calling (853) 8986 9966.

Encore is an intimate hotel with a keen sense of elegance and playfulness. The repertoire of suites, innovative culinary offerings, opulent spa and exciting retail will cater to the most exclusive and discriminating clientele. Among the highlights will be 414 finely furnished luxury suites and villas, two new restaurants and a bar, three retail outlets offering over 3,000 square feet of superbly designed retail space and The Spa at Encore – an extraordinary oasis offering an exquisite experience with bespoke treatments in luxurious private therapy suites.

Guests at Encore will enjoy the remarkable environment of its sister resort – Wynn Macau, which, as one of the most sought after luxury travel experiences in Asia, attracts the world’s elite travelers. As the first Las Vegas style blended luxury resort in Asia, Wynn Macau offers a unique experience to guests: entertainment combined with designer shops, a tranquil spa, a dramatic Performance Lake, the iconic Tree of Prosperity, the Dragon of Fortune and gourmet cuisine at the four signature restaurants – Golden Flower (Tan Chinese), Okada (Japanese), Ristorante il Teatro (Italian) and Wing Lei (Chinese). Other casual dining and drinks venues include Café Esplanada, Red 8, Cinnebar, and Wing Lei Lounge.

Source: Wynn Macau

Since the 1st Asia Pacific Poker Tour took place, Poker has become a huge hit in Macau. A number of casinos throughout Macau have opened their own exclusive poker rooms.

Video reporting & copyrighted to Aomen.TV