A promotion that includes access to cruise ships under the Virgin Voyages brand will provide an amazing and unique experience," Pliska said, referring to which cruise ships will be used in the upcoming promotion. However, the next WPT promotion related to Asia will run from Aug. 8 to Aug. 21 in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, and will also be conducted by the China Texas Holdum Poker Association.
WPT Korea and WPT Korea High Roller Event:
The interview with Plica was held throughout the WPT Korea and WPT High Roller events held from July 15 to 24 this year, and was also held at Jeju Shinhwa World Resort Casino, a popular resort owned by Hong Kong-listed Shinhwa World Co., Ltd.
"Both competitions attracted a total of 653 players," WPT said in a press release. "In addition, the cost of the buy-in event was 3.4 million won, about $2,670, and a total of 2.25 billion won in prize money."
WPT is expanding its presence in Asia:
Pliska emphasized, "WPT is watching potential growth in Asia for poker." He said, "The brand was founded in 2002 and held its "first event" in China in 2006 in Sanya, Hainan Island. Since then, Asia has exploded with great poker players and is getting better and better in terms of market strength."
Referring to the most recent event in Jeju, he said, "It's natural that we have touchpoints in various parts of Asia. Jeju needs professionally competitive poker players. We chose Shinwa World because we have an amazing facility with global casinos and beautiful locations to attract Western players who want to visit."
The real challenge was to educate the Western world about the Asian poker scene:
Also, the CEO of WPT said. "There was a big challenge for the Western world to educate about the Asian poker scene. For example, Westerners who may not know Vietnam or Cambodia had a great opportunity to play poker in a safe place, and it was the brand's mission to provide such insights to Western players. Another goal was to broadcast more Asian events in a Western way of reporting poker."
His suggestion that poker could become an important product for Japanese IR in 2030 was also mentioned, as MGM Resorts International, which is already familiar with poker in the U.S. market, is leading the $10 billion IR project. In this regard, he said, "One of the advantages of poker is to attract people from all over the world. So poker can help people see Japan."
However, when talking about Macau's existing casino market, he said, "It is important that we find the right partner in Macau that reflects our values. It is important to understand that many poker tours have contributed to the growth of poker. I was happy to see events around the world where amateurs had the opportunity to challenge professional athletes."