Australian professional poker player Tony Hachem (left)
compares strategies with Queenstown professional poker
player Ian Hornby during a break on the first day of the
New Zealand Poker Tournament in Queenstown yesterday. Photo
by Felicity Wolfe.
As a tournament location, Queenstown proved to be an ace
for more than 100 poker players who have arrived for the New
Zealand Poker Tournament at SkyCity Queenstown Casino so far.
Tournament commissioner Danny McDonagh predicted up to 140
players would be entered by the end of the week.
The game on offer is no-limit Texas Hold'em and with four
days of first rounds to play, 120 players had qualified or
bought into the tournament yesterday, he said.
Australian professional poker player Tony Hachem was excited
by the tournament being held in Queenstown for the first
time.
As well as "playing a lot of poker", he plans to visit
Milford Sound, try paragliding, ride the gondola and go
skiing.
A World Series, Asia Pacific Poker Tour and Australia New
Zealand Poker Tour player, Hachem said the sport had grown
from nothing about five years ago to a popular game
attracting retired sports stars and many other people.
One of the game's attractions was its accessibility and one
of the best ways to learn the game was on internet poker
sites offering free games and tutelage, he said.
From there, people could begin to enter the tournaments,
where they were likely to come face to face with some
professional poker players.
The element of luck in poker meant they could win against
elite players, although the best exponents were more likely
to keep their nerve and win in the end.
Professional player Ian Hornby, of Queenstown, said the
opportunity to play with other professionals like Hachem and
other big names like Grant Levy, Emad Tahtouh, Celina Lin was
"really exciting".
McDonagh credited Queenstown's attractions as the reason
behind the good attendance of international players from
Lithuania, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, the United
States, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway.
The anticipated prize pool of about $250,000 was secondary to
the scenery in attracting them and about 70% of them brought
partners along.
There were about 40 players from around New Zealand,
including 11 from Otago.
The tournament runs all week with the "first day" rounds
running until Thursday.
The final rounds will be played at SkyCity Queenstown on
Saturday.
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