Bodog Beat

APPT Macau will become the first ever international poker tour held on Chinese soil and poker pro Scotty Nguyen is schedule to be on hand. (Bodog Beat Image)

When the Asia Pacific Poker Tour rolls into Macau tomorrow, it will make history by becoming the first international poker tour ever to be held on Chinese soil, and many of poker's biggest names will be on hand for this momentous occasion.

Macau has long been the largest gambling mecca outside of Las Vegas,but the game of choice there is Baccarat, and this event will definitely help to define the impact that poker could have on the Asian market. A celebrity/media event is scheduled for tomorrow along with several satellites into the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em main event, which begins on Friday, Nov. 23.

Already confirmed for that event are four previous WSOP Main Event champions: Mansour Matloubi (1990), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Joe Hachem (2005), and Jerry Yang (2007).

Other players like online poker pro Hevad Khan, Bill Chen, Kirk Morrison and Chad Brown will also be spending their Thanksgiving in China. A $15,000 buy-in high-rollers event will be held after the final table of the Main Event wraps and has also attracted its fair share of big names including John Juanda, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Jeffrey Lisandro, Liz Lieu and Isabelle Mercier.

One would assume that if they are ponying up the $15,000 to play in this event then these players will also be playing the measly $2,500 buy-in Main Event. Registration for the championship event is capped at 300 and, at time of publish, already has 232 entrants all paid up and ready to go. The high-roller event has 13 players willing to put their money where there mouths are.

If you want a chance to head overseas to play in a major poker tournament, then you just have a few more weeks left to qualify for the 2008 Aussie Millions through Bodog as part of the "Player's Choice" promotion. So, head over to Bodog and check out the Poker Tournament Schedule today to find out when you can play for your chance to win a $12,000 prize package.