2013 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Facts and Figures
The 2013 Aussie Millions Poker Championship is exactly one week away, and the team at Crown Poker is gearing up for another monumental series in Melbourne. Australia's most famous poker festival will feature 26 “Championship-Ring” events with buy-ins ranging from AUD$500 to AUD$250,000 from Jan. 17 through Feb. 3, 2013.
The 2013 schedule is highlighted by the return of the $250,000 Challenge, $100,000 Challenge and of course the flagship $10,600 buy-in Main Event, which is expected to award a $2,000,000 first-place prize on Saturday, Feb. 2.
PokerNews will be on site providing all of the action throughout the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. To help prepare you for the upcoming series, here's a look at some facts and figures, and well as the history of the Aussie Millions, courtesy of the staff at Crown Poker:
AUSSIE MILLIONS FACTS AND FIGURES
- Held each January at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia
- Holds the title of the longest, largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the Southern Hemisphere
- Ranked second in the world behind the World Series of Poker (WSOP), by PokerNews
- 26 Championship events culminating with the Main Event
- 2013 prize-pool is expected to be in excess of $20,000,000
- Comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation
- 2013 marks the 11th anniversary of the Main Event
- The Main Event will be televised nationally and internationally
- 4,000 plus individual entrants are expected to participate in the 26 events
- Over 1,500 international visitors will participate over the two and half week period
- Countries such as United States, England, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Sweden, Israel, Estonia, China, India, Portugal and Russia will be represented
- The Aussie Millions generated approximately 8,000 room nights across Melbourne in January 2012, including over 5,000 room nights at the three award-winning Crown Hotels
- 2011 saw Crown host the world’s largest poker tournament at a buy-in of $250,000, smashing all previous records for a poker tournament buy-in
HISTORY
"The Crown Australasian Poker Championships" really became the first "Aussie Millions Poker Championship" in 2003, when the event was increased to a $10,000 buy-in and reached $1 million in prize money. It was very well received and supported by both local players and some well-known international players as well. Since, it has been re-branded to become known internationally as the "Aussie Millions Poker Championship" and has become one of the major stops on the international circuit.
The first Aussie Millions was held in 1998 with $1,000 buy-in and $81,400 prize pool and 10 international participants, mainly from New Zealand. Since, the tournament has grown to become a major event on the international poker tournament schedule.
PRIZE POOL
The richest poker event in the Southern Hemisphere is Crown’s Aussie Millions continues to escalate, attracting the cream of the poker world from across the globe, all vying for a lion’s share of an overall prize pool in excess of $20,000,000.
PLAYERS
Players seen at Crown’s Aussie Millions over the past years have included Alexander Kostritsyn, Annette Obrestad, Chris Ferguson, Dan Cates, Dan Shak, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Eugene Katchalov, Greg Raymer, Gus Hansen, James Akenhead, Joe Hachem, John Juanda, JP Kelly, Maria Ho, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Phil Laak, Roland de Wolfe, Scotty Nguyen, and Tom Dwan.
THE $10,000 AUSSIE MILLIONS MAIN EVENT
Winning the Main Event makes instant stars and instant millionaires out of those with a dream and the determination to outmaneuver and outlast the competition. Day 1 of the Main Event will commence on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.
The Main Event is considered by many to be one of the best-structured and best operated anywhere in the world today. Players receive a starting bank of 30,000 chips, there are long levels (90 minutes on Day 1, and 120 minutes from Day 2 onwards) and reasonable hours of play particularly early on in the tournament. This is important to the poker tourist who wants to enjoy their holiday as well as the action on the felt. The tournament starts nine handed, then goes to eight handed, and then even to six handed when it is down to 36 players.
GROWTH OF THE MAIN EVENT
| Date | Entrants | Buy-In | Prize Pool | 1st Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 74 | $1,100 | $81,400 | $25,900 |
| 1999 | 109 | $1,500 | $163,500 | $38,150 |
| 2000 | 109 | $1,500 | $163,500 | $65,225 |
| 2001 | 101 | $1,500 | $151,500 | $53,025 |
| 2002 | 66 | $5,000 | $330,000 | $150,000 |
| 2003 | 122 | $10,500 | $1,220,000 | $394,870 |
| 2004 | 133 | $10,500 | $1,330,000 | $426,500 |
| 2005 | 263 | $10,500 | $2,630,000 | $1,000,000 |
| 2006 | 418 | $10,500 | $4,180,000 | $1,300,000 |
| 2007 | 747 | $10,500 | $7,470,000 | $1,500,000 |
| 2007 | 780 | $10,500 | $7,800,000 | $1,650,000 |
| 2007 | 681 | $10,500 | $6,810,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 2007 | 746 | $10,500 | $7,460,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 2007 | 721 | $10,500 | $7,210,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 2007 | 659 | $10,500 | $6,590,000 | $1,600,000 |
HIGH-STAKES ACTION
The Aussie Millions has rapidly become a high-stakes tournament destination for the elite, with Crown providing top players in the world with a high-stakes playground, unrivalled anywhere else in the world.
Poker players’ appetites for high-stakes action are insatiable, and the 2011 $100,000 Challenge attracted 38 players.
In 2012, Crown hosted the largest poker tournament on the planet, which saw an astounding 20 players entering the $250,000 Super High Roller Event, creating a prize-pool of $5,000,000. The list of entrants was at a premium and more than impressive, and the poker world will again be transfixed when Crown repeats history on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, as the event is staged in the Aussie Millions HQ in The West End.
CROWN EMPLOYEES
Making it all happen behind the scenes will be over 7,000 staff members, including 384 poker dealers, 62 game supervisors, 30 pit bosses and 20 operations staff. An estimated 20,000,000 hands of poker have been dealt at Crown’s Aussie Millions over the past ten years.
HIGH PROFILE GUESTS
High-profile guests who have tried their hand in the Crown Poker Room over the years have included Andy Roddick, Jack Black, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilly, Justin Timberlake, Ivan Nathan Followill, Michael Jared Followill, Martin Short, Matt Damon, Michael Schumacher, Michael Vartan, Serena Williams, Shannon Elizabeth, Zac Efron, and Cameron Matthew Followill from Kings of Leon.
THE POKER BOOM
Legions of locals have been swept up in the Australian poker boom that was ignited when Melbournian and Crown ambassador Joe Hachem became the 2005 World Series of Poker Champion, scooping up $10 million in prize money for his efforts. With people from around the world playing poker at home, in casinos and in staggering numbers online, the sensation known as Texas Hold'em Poker has become a favorite over the past decade. Made-for-television tournaments, where concealed cameras reveal each player’s cards to the viewer, have elevated the game to a spectacular sport and opened up a players-eye-view of the action, skyrocketing its popularity even further.
You can find all of the action from the 2013 Aussie Millions Poker Championship at the PokerNews Live Reporting page beginning Thursday, Jan. 17!
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