AS MANY as 10 big-time poker faces are in town. They will pit their skills against one another, and 400 others, in Singapore's first international poker tournament, which opens tomorrow.

The stakes are high, with a US$2 million (S$3.14 million) prize pool in the main event. The first place winner is likely to get close to US$560,000.

The organisers of the Betfair Asian Poker Tour - UK-based online betting exchange Betfair, and its local partner Capital Events - have the blessings of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

The six-day event brings with it 'significant opportunities to profile Singapore', said the board's director for cluster development (events and entertainment), Mr Oliver Chong.

It will add 'variety and diversity' to Singapore's calendar of events, he added.

Meanwhile, Singapore-born Willie Tann - one of poker's most successful professional players - is happy to be home, and to play for the big prize.

Now a British subject, he visits Singapore regularly.

Mr Tann, 65, has made more than US$1 million in tournament winnings. The former law school dropout, who was ranked Europe's number one player in 2004, is ecstatic about competing here.

'To come back and play in a legal tournament here is just amazing,' he told The Straits Times yesterday at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel, where the event will be held.

'You can play in the open, you don't have to play in a seedy place, and everything is above-board,' he said, eyes twinkling.

On STB's support for the event, he said: 'It will show the world that Singapore is moving with the times.'

In fact, the competition is already being filmed, reality TV-style - camera crews are tailing players like Mr Tann. The event will be shown to an international audience next year.

Poker, a card game of skill rather than pure luck, is widely popular in the United States and Europe.

Tournaments like the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker attract Hollywood celebrities, professional players like Mr Tann, and even regular Joes.

The Singapore tournament ends on Friday.

Aside from Mr Tann, other big league names include Danish Gus Hansen, the only player to win three World Poker Tour open tournaments, and Australian professional poker player Mel Judah, who learnt the game at the age of 14.

The US$2 million main event will see a three-day elimination contest starting on Wednesday.

To compete in this, players had to either qualify through online poker tournaments held by Betfair, or pay a US$5,000 buy-in fee - the amount required to take part.

But some top players like Mr Tann were specially brought in to create the buzz.

It worked. The organisers have been turning away registrants for the main event for two weeks.

Another 100 to 200 lesser-known players have paid US$400 each to take part in qualifying rounds starting tomorrow. The top players there will join the main event.

There has been no legal card tournament here until now.

More than 100 Singaporeans have jumped at the opportunity to take part both in the main event and the qualifiers.

One of them is poker enthusiast Jenn Ong, 31, a real estate developer, who has been playing for about 10 years. He said he gets an 'urge to play' the game every few days.

The public is also invited to watch for a $20 daily fee, and about 200 people are expected to turn up just for the novelty of it.

Top names playing

• Gus Hansen (Denmark)
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• Harry Demetriou (Britain)
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• Bengt Sonnert (Sweden)
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• Ben Grundy (Britain)
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• Martin de Kniff (Sweden)
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• Marc Goodwin (Britain)
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• Willie Tann (Britain)
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• Mel Judah (Australia)
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• Ken Powell (Ireland)
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• David Shallow (Britain)

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