The PokerStars-sponsored Asia-Pacific Poker Tour is back for a third a season beginning with the 2009 Macau Summer Festival of Poker at the Grand Lisboa Casino in late August the company announced Tuesday.

With 20 scheduled events, anchored by the $5,200 US buy-in Main Event and the $11,500 US buy-in High Rollers event, the Festival promises to ensure the APPT season starts off in fine fashion. Last season Eddie Sabat bested a field of 538 players to win $460,000 in the APPT Macau event.

“I’m pleased to see the sport of tournament poker continue to grow in Asia” said Joe Hachem, Team PokerStars Pro. ”I played in the first APPT Macau in 2007 when PokerStars planted the seeds of No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker culture in Macau, and it’s been incredible watching that legacy take root and bloom.”

The other four cities on the APPT schedule are Seoul, Korea, Auckland, New Zealand, Cebu, Phillipines and the Grand Final in Sydney, Australia and with increased capacities at all venues tournament organizers are excited for an even bigger year than Season 2 provided.

“This season’s APPT is set to be even bigger than Season 2 in terms of both number of participants and prize pools. This has been made possible by continued enthusiasm for the tour right across the region, with amazing levels of participation,” said Jeffrey Haas, President of the APPT. ”As poker culture continues to grow in Asia Pacific and more extraordinary players emerge on the scene, they tell us how excited they are to match their skills against players from around the world to win the prestigious poker title of APPT Champion.”

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