Come this August 12; Asian Poker Tour’s Macau event will commence officially from the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino that day, according to tournament officials. If last year, the event was a five day affair, APT has been given the go-ahead this time to run it for ten days. That is the tournament extends from August 12 to August 23.

In 2008, the APT Macau Main Event guaranteed a whooping $1.5 million, which it claimed to be the largest prize pool ever to be offered in an Asian event. After five days of break-neck action, and finally when the dust cleared, 20 year-old Yevgeniy Timoshenko, popularly known as "atimos" in the online poker world, pocketed a winner’s cheque of $500,000. On his way, Timoshenko had beaten players from over 40 countries, which include Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, winners of 10 WSOP bracelets, John Juanda, and National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Huck Seed.

The buy-in for the upcoming APT Macau Main Event will be $4,300. As mentioned, the action is all set to begin on August 12, and the final table will be televised, starting August 23. The tournament Director Matt Savage will officiate the event.

Asian Poker Tour authorities are expecting a wide array of ring games and side tourneys as well. For example, the high stakes US$130,000 cash game is expected to return.

On the APT Macau event, APT CEO Chris Parker commented that “The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will feature a side event schedule never seen in Asia before, including several new formats that will stir the curiosity of poker enthusiasts at all levels. We believe Asia’s first festival of poker will establish Macau as an essential stop on the international poker circuit.”

iPoker Network rooms, PKR, PartyPoker, Full Tilt Poker, Everest Poker, 888, and Microgaming's 32Red Poker are some of the few that are scheduled to offer online satellites to the 2009 edition of the Asian Poker Tour’s Macau event.