Photos by Claire Zheng
It’s 2am at Guangzhou’s Gala Poker Club and Kristian Faering appears unfazed. He’s playing for an all-inclusive trip for two to the Maldives. The atmosphere is silently electric, almost Sopranos-like, as the female dealer flicks out the last of the hands. Cai, his opponent, a chain-smoking Guangzhou resident who speaks a smattering of English, throws down his cards. It’s a straight flush. The club breaks into a frenzy. Faering is out. Cai swaggers out to his BMW, leaving the Danish native to reflect.
Having moved here from Thailand to play the game professionally, Faering knows his competition. “If there is a chance to play, a Chinese won’t be too far away,” he says. “Local poker players have already flooded our market with such force that we had better start building our arks. They are the future face of the game.”
While games of chance like roulette are considered a serious vice in China, poker, thought to have been invented in the Middle Kingdom, is increasingly promoted as a mental sport. Governed by the Board and Card Games Administrative Center, it is gradually winning acceptance from mainstream Chinese society, especially amongst the pocket-jangling nouveau hip.
In most places, poker and gambling go hand in hand, but that’s not the case in mainland China. For a nation whose people have long been known for their love of a flutter (and contributed to two-thirds of Macau’s US$45.2 billion revenue in 2013), China has taken a draconian approach when it comes to gambling on the Motherland ever since outlawing it in 1949. Crackdowns and arrests are not uncommon, giving rise to backstreet gambling dens, housed appropriately – and illegally – in massage parlors or nightclubs. Faering claims to know of more than a 100 such establishments in Guangzhou alone.
Photos by Claire Zheng
It’s 2am at Guangzhou’s Gala Poker Club and Kristian Faering appears unfazed. He’s playing for an all-inclusive trip for two to the Maldives. The atmosphere is silently electric, almost Sopranos-like, as the female dealer flicks out the last of the hands. Cai, his opponent, a chain-smoking Guangzhou resident who speaks a smattering of English, throws down his cards. It’s a straight flush. The club breaks into a frenzy. Faering is out. Cai swaggers out to his BMW, leaving the Danish native to reflect.
Having moved here from Thailand to play the game professionally, Faering knows his competition. “If there is a chance to play, a Chinese won’t be too far away,” he says. “Local poker players have already flooded our market with such force that we had better start building our arks. They are the future face of the game.”
While games of chance like roulette are considered a serious vice in China, poker, thought to have been invented in the Middle Kingdom, is increasingly promoted as a mental sport. Governed by the Board and Card Games Administrative Center, it is gradually winning acceptance from mainstream Chinese society, especially amongst the pocket-jangling nouveau hip.
In most places, poker and gambling go hand in hand, but that’s not the case in mainland China. For a nation whose people have long been known for their love of a flutter (and contributed to two-thirds of Macau’s US$45.2 billion revenue in 2013), China has taken a draconian approach when it comes to gambling on the Motherland ever since outlawing it in 1949. Crackdowns and arrests are not uncommon, giving rise to backstreet gambling dens, housed appropriately – and illegally – in massage parlors or nightclubs. Faering claims to know of more than a 100 such establishments in Guangzhou alone.
In addition, Bhasin and Zhang are keen to provide players with the means to compete internationally and showcase homegrown talent. “We have partnered up with the Asian Poker Tour to stage the APT Asian Series China eight-day Festival of Poker, to be held from June 18 to 25 at the Chimelong Paradise Hotel Convention Center,” says Bhasin. “APT is well known and respected throughout the world and we are very proud to be partnering with them in this manner. They bring a world-class standard and an unparalleled level of management and expertise that the local poker industry truly needs.”
The festival, the largest-to-date, is expected to attract about 1,000 entrants from all over the world, which will culminate with the crowning of the first-ever mainland China champion. There will be an RMB11,000 buy-in to the main contest, plus 15 side events.
Jeff Mann, CEO of APT, is also very positive. “APT sees Guangzhou as the gateway to promoting the game, making it the perfect city to stage the Festival of Poker. China is a growing market and we are seeing talented and wealthy Chinese poker players at all of our overseas events in increasing numbers, often giving pros like Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan a run for their money. In fact, the day may soon come where poker will be dominated by the Chinese.”
// Gala Poker Club is open daily from 3pm onwards. Rm 202, 61 Hongmei Lu, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 广州市海珠区虹梅路61号202室 For more information about the APT Asian Series China being held June 18-15 at Chimelong Paradise Hotel convention center, call 020-3703 3217 or visit galapoker.cn
