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 Chinese mainland 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.
Within this environment, the concept of a legitimate and luxury alternative is appealing to many. Clubs like Gala tread a fine line ensuring their tournaments fall into the gaming – and not gambling – category to keep authorities onside. Playing poker at Gala, say its principals, is as legal as it gets: members can’t cash out their winnings; they are all there for the love of the game.
“If you play to make money, that's illegal. If you don't play for a profit motive, it's legal,” says American native Sanjeev Bhasin, who, along with partner Alex Zhang, manages Gala’s day-to-day operations. “Members now have a true, legitimate outlet to exchange winnings for prizes like iPads, air tickets or just points for future plays. Our aim is simply to promote gamesmanship and provide an additional means of entertainment."
Some people would argue the terms ‘gaming’ and ‘gambling’ are just a matter of semantics, but in the PRC the differentiation is essential: the former is lawful and the latter proscribed. Gala’s market research revealed that there are over 600 poker clubs on the mainland, but Bhasin admits that their legitimacy is often questioned.
Boasting some 2,600 members, Gala is the biggest legal poker club in Guangzhou out of the five that are currently open. It consists of six tables in the main area and a private VIP room equipped with a hole-cam table, allowing spectators to see the cards on flat screens in the main area during tournaments. Outfitted with comfortable black leather seats, 20 security cameras and a fully stocked bar, the club hosts tournaments twice a day, with over 30 to 40 players placing cashless stakes each time.
Franklin Ha, Gala’s General Manager, says that about 95 percent of members are Chinese, with a little less than half being female. To bolster awareness of the game, they regularly invite poker masters and trainers to the club. Ha says their aim is to create an industry where both players and dealers are educating and being educated.
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 Chinese mainland 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
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