Melbourne is soon to take center stage in the poker world as it plays host to the first World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific from April 4th to the 15th, with the tournament schedule having now been finalized and signed off. This fantastic event will take place at the Crown Melbourne Integrated Resort with the main event champion being named on Monday the 15th. The Crown Melbourne is no stranger to big tournaments as it hosted to Aussie Millions back in 2004. There will be five bracelet events and this will be the very first time a WSOP bracelet will have been handed out in the Southern hemisphere. Among the tournaments there will be a Caesars Cup Invitational tourney where a team from the Americas takes on a team from the Asia-Pacific region, which should prove to be a whole load of fun. WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart has been waiting for this event ever since Joe Hachem won the WSOP main event in 2005, stating, "We can't wait for the first WSOP Asia Pacific to begin, and we hope with a solidified schedule players from around the globe will plan their trip to Melbourne in April as we make WSOP history awarding the first bracelets in the Southern hemisphere." With most of the top players in the US now making many trips each year to Europe, the travel time and distance isn't that much difference and they will all be welcomed with open arms in Melbourne. The first even of the series is an event with a bit of a twist and has been called the Accumulator. It begins on the Thursday with added starts on the Friday and Saturday and players can but in to one start, or all three. On day two all players are combined and players who entered multiple times will have their chips combined. It's a $1,100 Texas Holdem tourney and sound like good fun. Event 2 starts on the Sunday and will be a $1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha tourney, and the main event starts on the 11th April at 6 pm with a $10,000 buy in. There will be extra events after the main event due to the expected influx of players from Macau and so a $50,000 High Roller event will start on the Saturday the 13th as a two day event. There's a lot of poker to be played in this series and a whole lot of money to be won.
