Timoshenko Crowned APT Macau King

September 2 - At the much publicized finale to the highly successful first Asian Poker Tour, the young poker player, Yevgeniy Timoshenko grabbed the top prize in the tournament and went home with $500,000 in winnings.

Timoshenko, the talented 20 year old American of Ukrainian descent, wowed the crowds with his excellent playing skills and beat 257 other participants at the final event of the APT Macau tournament.

APT Macau took place in the Galaxy StarWorld in Macau and has been hailed as Asia's largest guaranteed poker tournament to date. Organizers are already expecting record numbers next year, based on the success of this year's event.

Players from over forty countries took part in APT Macau, all of them with eyes on the massive $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool up for grabs.

Some of the big names to attend the event were Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, David Saab (who won the APT Manila leg) and Nam Le. However, Timonshenko moved above them all and took home first prize, beating Joon Hee Yeah from Korea who won $250,000 for his second placing and Rober Karlian from Thailand who took home $125,000 for coming third.

Others at the main table included Casey Kastel (US), Julio Diaz (Spain), Quang Nguyen (Vietnam), Chong Wing Cheong (Hong Kong) and Michael Pedley (Australia).

As a result of the huge success of the APT Macau tournament, eight new tables have been added to the APT-sponsored poker room at the Galaxy StarWorld. "Adding eight new tables to the APT poker room may not sound like a big move to the well established western poker community," said the CEO of AsianLogic, Tom Hall, "but you have to remember that this is Macau where baccarat is king. Poker is in its infancy - this is a significant step forward and further evidence of the growth and potential in this market."