The All-Japan Poker Championship (AJPC) Asian Circuit will host a poker tournament on the western Pacific island of Saipan for the first time this year.

The event will be held at Imperial Pacific Resort. The casino is operated by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd., which plans to complete a hotel on the site. The poker event will take place Feb. 13-17, AJPC said in a written release Tuesday.

The buy-in for the competition is US$2,000, and a series of side events and cash games are also scheduled.

The AJPC said while the Saipan Games are likely to attract Japanese athletes, the number of entries the circuit event typically receives in other regional markets, including South Korea and Taiwan, will also increase.

“We aim to host the AJPC Asian Circuit in Saipan for the first Japan-based tournament to be held on the island,” the statement quoted AJPC president Yasuhiro Sasaki as saying. “We will continue to build our brand by starting the tournament at new and exciting destinations.”

Saipan belongs to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and is the jurisdiction of the United States.

The AJPC is adding new competitions outside of Saipan, including one in Korea and another in Southeast Asia, to expand the number of athletes competing outside of Japan.

AJPC is based in Osaka and hosts several events in the country, including the annual AJPC Championship, which it said was the “largest poker tournament” in the country. AJPC said it enjoyed a growing season last year as enrollment increased year-on-year. It also added Taiwan to the event circuit.

BY: 슬롯머신