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Nam Le’s trip to Macau turned out to be a very profitable little trip. The 28-year-old celebrated his birthday Tuesday with the announcement that he, along with two others, has signed on to represent the Asian Poker Tour in tournaments around the world.
Also signing with APT are two other players with Asian ancestry, JC Tran and Quinn Do. Le went from the APT Macau event last week to the Asia Pacific Poker Tour event and won $474,358 US by coming out on top in the $19,250 buy-in High Rollers event.
“I’m truly delighted to have won and so happy to have got my deal with the APT off to the best possible start,” said Le, who had gone without a sponsor despite having just under $5 million in career earnings, including a win at the World Poker Tour’s Bay 101 Shooting Stars event in 2006 for $1.1 million. “I’m looking forward to representing the Tour around the world. It wasn’t looking great for me in this tournament at one stage but I was always confident that I would bounce back.”
The signings seem like a perfect fit for the APT as they continue to expand their operations and presence in Asia. The likes of Do, Le and Tran could now become synonymous with Texas Hold’em in Asia.
“We have big plans for these guys and are happy they signed with us to spread the word about the APT worldwide. We expected success but such a result for two of the ambassadors so quickly is brilliant,” said Tom Hall, CEO of AsianLogic Plc, the company which owns the APT.
Do finished third in the same High Rollers event and recently finished 20th at the APT Manila event in early June. The WSOP-bracelet winner is also coming off of a second place finish at the WPT’s LA Poker Classic last February.
But the biggest signing of all might be that of Tran. With a WSOP bracelet this past summer and a WPT title already under his belt, Tran is one of the most feared and respected players in the game. He currently sits atop the BLUFF Magazine Power Rankings as the #1 player in the world.
The three players will attend all APT events and will represent the brand at tournaments in North American and Europe as well. Prior to this groundbreaking signing none of the three players had endorsement deals.
For more on the Asian Poker Tour visit www.AsianPT.com.
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