Poker Rooms in the Philippines
PAGCOR licenses both the casino poker rooms of Entertainment City and stand-alone card clubs. Manila has the busiest live poker in South-East Asia.
Playing live in the Philippines
PAGCOR – the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation – both regulates gambling and licenses the venues. Two kinds of poker venue exist under it: rooms inside the integrated resorts of Entertainment City in Parañaque, and stand-alone card clubs that hold their own PAGCOR licence and are not attached to a casino at all. Both are legal; the card clubs are poker-only and usually cheaper to play in.
Minimum age is 21. A passport is required for foreign visitors and photo ID for residents; some venues also charge an entry fee or require a membership card at the card clubs. Play is in Philippine pesos, though the resort rooms will exchange at the cage.
Manila is the practical centre of live poker in South-East Asia, and the international tours – APPT, APT, WPT – rotate through the Entertainment City rooms rather than through the clubs.