Makati, Philippines -- (SBWire) -- 09/07/2011 --The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is pleased to announce a historic move that will see the APT Asian Series tournament land on the sunny shores of India’s Goa. Set to take place from November 8-14, 2011 at the floating Casino Royale, it will be the first time that an APT tournament will be held in India and, as such, is poised to capitalise on the country’s burgeoning and largely untapped poker scene.

The schedule for the APT Asian Series Goa will feature seven side events with buy-ins ranging from INR 5000 to INR 20,000 that will include the INR 15,000 Head Hunter, “Greed” and Six-handed events. However, the highlight of the tournament will, of course, be the INR 50,000 buy-in Main Event, which kicks off at 4pm on Friday November 11, 2011.

Asian Poker Tour CEO, Jeff Mann, said “This is a bold and exciting move for the APT. We will be the first international poker tour to hold an event in India. As with any new and radical endeavour, we are sure there will be challenges but we have high expectations that the tournament will be well received amongst the growing Indian poker community and visiting international players.”

The venue for the event, Casino Royale, is the country’s largest off-shore casino. Anchored just off the shores of Goa’s capital, Panaji, the ship’s poker room is a premier destination for visiting players and has made a name for itself in hosting the region’s richest tournaments.

Casino Royale Poker Room Manager, Craig Wildman, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with the APT for this tournament. Although poker is still relatively new to India we have seen it grow enormously in popularity and I’m sure that having such a well-respected poker tour hold one of its legs here will only see it expand even further.”

The APT Asian Series Goa tournament is the next stop on the APT Asian Series tournament calendar after the Manila stage, which was held at Resorts World Manila last August 17-23, 2011. Click here for the full tournament schedule of APT Asian Series Goa.