The Asian Poker Tour (APT) heads to Hanoi, Vietnam, to close out the 2023 season in style. The APT Hanoi Billions 2023 boasts of VND 60 billion ($2.5 million) in guaranteed prize money in what is one of the APT’s biggest poker festivals in its 15-year history.
Running between December 1-10 at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, the APT Hanoi Billions 2023, in partnership with the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP), will be the biggest poker event Vietnam has ever seen. Hanoi is a hotbed for poker, and the Hanoi Billions 2023 marks the third time in 2023 and the fifth overall that the APT has stopped off there.
Hoang Emerges Victoriously in Hanoi
The first time the APT called Hanoi home this year was in February. The VSOP Poker Club hosted the APT Hanoi stop, which ran from February 3-12. During that time, 34 events crowned their champion, but it was the APT Hanoi Main Event that everyone wanted to win.
That Main Event cost VND27,500,000 to enter. Some 350 unique players plus 304 re-entries meant an attendance of 654 and a guarantee-busting VND15,859,500,000 prize pool ($675,597). Vietnamese grinder Hai Nam Hoang came out on top in the Main Event, and walked away with VND2,794,200,000 ($119,029) for his impressive victory.
APT Hanoi Trophy Remains in Vietnam
Fast-forward three months, and the APT returns to Vietnam for its APT Summer Series Hanoi festival. The Grand Loyal Poker Club hosted the series from May 26 through June 4. The APT Summer Series Hanoi was a remarkable success, with 869 unique players from 31 countries anteing up 4,341 entries worth a cool VND79,072,072,000 ($3,368,980) over the course of the ten-day schedule.
The Main Event trophy remained in Vietnam, just as it had done a few months earlier. Dinh Duc Linh was awarded VND3,401,355,000 ($144,877), the first six-figure haul of the Hanoi regular’s career.
The APT Has Gone From Strength to Strength
The APT has always been a popular live tour, but 2023 has seen it explode off the charts. As previously mentioned, the APT Summer Series Hanoi paid out almost $3.4 million, but other APT stops have seen even more incredible figures.
APT Taipei caught the attention of the Asian poker community and saw 1,989 unique players head to Taiwan. Between them, and including re-entries, they bought in 9,898 times, creating a combined purse bursting at the seams with TWD 225,123,032 ($7,357,920) in prize money, making it the biggest and richest series in APT history.
Last time out, in September, APT Icheon broke the record for an APT festival in South Korea. The festival was the largest ever, and it ultimately resulted in KRW 8,567,468,300 ($6,498,715) being won during the festival.
APT management believes APT Hanoi Billions’ total prize money will surpass even the ridiculous sums awarded in Taipei.
APT Hanoi Billions Highlights
Like all major live poker tours, the most eagerly anticipated tournament on the APT Hanoi Billions 2023 schedule is, without doubt, the APT Main Event. Costing VND 36,000,000 ($1,500) to enter, the Main Event guarantees at least 25 billion Vietnamese Dongs ($1 million) will be won!
Throw into the mix a VND120 million ($5,000) buy-in APT Super High Roller, a VND250 million ($10,000) buy-in Superstar Challenge, and a VND80 million ($3,000) buy-in APT High Roller, and you have all the ingredients for a record-breaking festival.
Keep your browsers locked to PokerNews in the run-up to the APT Hanoi Billions 2023, as we bring you the massive 96-event schedule in all its glory, plus all the ways you can win your way into those tournaments.