Yong, Phua, and "The Chairman" Among 12 Confirmed for WPT $200,000 Super High Roller
Less than a month after the World Poker Tour announced the WPT National Philippines Festival of Poker and the largest buy-in event in WPT history, 12 names have been released as confirmed participants in the $200,000 Super High Roller to take place at Solaire Resort & Casino.
The $200,000 Super High Roller will run Jan. 3-4, 2016, with the entire WPT National Philippines schedule spanning Jan. 2-8. According to a release from Poker King Club, players confirmed for the event are Richard Yong, Paul Phua, Lei Tim Meng, Mui Man Bok, Qin "The Chairman" Si Xin, Wang "Shanghai Wong" Qiang, Zhang "Big Head" Xi Hong, Wang Zuo, Stanley Choi, Zhang Shu Nu Aaron, Liang Yu, and Chan Wai Leong.
The three most interesting names from that list are Yong, Phua, and Si Xin, the latter of whom is commonly referred to as "The Chairman" in the poker world.
Young and Phua have been involved in legal issues in the past year, and Phua will finally be making his return to a marquee poker event following the dismissal of his case in las Vegas surrounding an illegal betting operation.
"The Chairman" has been known to be the biggest of gamblers, and he is someone that incredible high-stakes games have formed around all across the globe as of late. In the PokerNews feature piece Life in the Rast Lane: Brian Rast's Incredible Poker Journey by Chad Holloway, professional poker player Brian Rast provided some details about games he has been in with "The Chairman." Previously unknown, we now know that "The Chairman" is Macau businessman Qin Si Xin, and he was involved in a massive $2,000/$4,000 poker game with a $500,000 minimum that Rast played in at ARIA in Las Vegas.
Below is an excerpt from Life in the Rast Lane: Brian Rast's Incredible Poker Journey where Rast talks about the game with "The Chairman":
"I did play it in May when the Chairman was there — I played two times," Rast says with extreme hesitance. In one hand, which happened two hours into the game, the Chairman raised from the small blind and Rast three-bet from the big blind holding pocket kings. A call was made, and the flop came down 4x7♦J♦. The Chairman checked, Rast bet, and the Chairman raised. That prompted Rast to reraise.
"I decided on the flop to three-bet and go with it rather than just all," Rast explains. "I have no idea what his hand is. If a flush card comes, I'm not going to have any idea. He check-raised small. He could have any pair on the board and gutter or straight draw — I have no idea. I just felt like he might get some hands in incorrectly. If blanks come off, I'm not going to want to fold my hand."
The Chairman ended up shoving all in and Rast called to create a pot of over $3 million. Chairman said he only wanted to run it once.
You can find out the result of the hand by reading Life in the Rast Lane: Brian Rast's Incredible Poker Journey, but we're sure it's clear that "The Chairman" isn't going to be one that sits back and waits for hands. He's going to play poker, and he's going to get in there and gamble.
The event is sponsored by the Cali Group and part of the Triton SHR Series.
"The Triton SHR Series-Cali Cup is a milestone for poker, and we at the Cali Group are extremely excited to have this be our first venture in Manila since our expansion," said Lei Tim Meng, CEO of Cali Group. "That this event just happens to coincide with our own grand opening is just the icing on the cake. As WPT, Solaire, and Poker King Club had said before, Manila is going to be the next big destination for poker in Asia, and we fully support that development. We hope to show everyone a great time, and a big thank you to the confirmed players of what will be the biggest event of the year for poker!"
With these 12 names confirmed and many more to follow, the WPT Philippines $200,000 Super High Roller is going to be an exciting event to kick off 2016. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more information about the event.
