Main Event Day 1a | PokerStars.net ANZPT Season 6 Perth

Main Event

Day 1a Started

02-26-2014 11:16 UTC+8

First ANZPT of 2014 Begins in Perth

[user162117]

The second event on Season 6 of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour is the first of 2014. Today we head to the Crown Perth Casino in Western Australia as the ANZPT Perth Main Event is set to begin.

ANZPT Perth has been one of the most popular stops on Australia’s premier poker tour. It all began in 2010 when 222 players hit the tables of the $2,500 buy-in event. None other than Tony Hachem won that inaugural title.

Since then, prominent Aussie Grant Levy claimed victory over 220 players in 2011; Matt Carlson defeated a large field of 310 players when the buy-in was decreased to $1,100 in 2012; and Bosnia’s Dejan Divkovic dominated in 2013 to win the most recent ANZPT Perth.

When Divkovic won the title, the buy-in was increased back up to $2,200 and that is the same amount that the hopeful players will pony up this year to give themselves a shot at joining Hachem, Levy, Carlson and Divkovic as the latest champion of Perth poker. Word on the street is that more players than ever have satellited into this latest edition of ANZPT Perth, so we are looking forward to seeing previous prize pool records broken.

Be sure to join us here at PokerNews and our friends over at the PokerStarsBlog as we document all the triumphant victories and heartbreaking bad beats as the story of who will become the newest ANZPT Perth victor unfolds! It all begins with the first Day 1 flight from 7:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday evening.

02-26-2014 19:05 UTC+8

Looks Like a Delay

[user162117]

It looks like we will see a slight delay here at the beginning of Day 1a of the ANZPT Perth Main Event. In the meantime, all the players are currently waiting around the rail watching the Crown Perth "Live Like a King" gaming promotion. It's basically an old fashioned spin wheel ala 'Wheel of Fortune' and it is loud... Very loud. Hopefully it is done before the players begin ruffling their chips and making those hard decisions at the poker table.

We should be underway in the next ten minutes.

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

02-26-2014 19:19 UTC+8

Cards in the Air on Day 1a

[user162117]

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Around 15 minutes after the scheduled start time and the cards are now in the air!

Blinds kick off at 50/100 with each player starting with 20,000 in chips.

There will be six levels played this evening which means the night will end just after 1:30 a.m.

We have been informed the majority of the online qualifiers will be playing tomorrow’s second and final Day 1 flight, while the majority of the Crown Perth live satellite qualifiers will be at the felt for Day 1a.

02-26-2014 19:36 UTC+8

Some Day 1a Players

[user162117]

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

There are currently nine tables set up in the Crown Perth poker room. Most of those tables are nine handed, but a few are eight handed, so it's safe to say there are just under 80 players currently registered. Plenty of those players are familiar faces, including Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang.

Also at the tables are players such as Bernard Beh, Henry Tran, Oliver Gill, Ashley Warner and Dean Francis. One of the tougher tables here on Day 1a has to be the one which features Justin Walsh, Patrick Crivell, Sal Fazzino and 2011 ANZPT Perth runner-up John Corr.

We will be keeping a close eye on these players throughout the evening!

Player	Chips	Progress
Henry Tran	20,000
Bryan Huang	20,000 20,000	20,000

Sal Fazzino	20,000 20,000	20,000
Justin Walsh	20,000 20,000	20,000
Bernard Beh	20,000 20,000	20,000
John Corr	20,000 20,000	20,000
Ashley Warner	20,000 20,000	20,000
Dean Francis	20,000 20,000	20,000
Patrick Crivell	20,000 20,000	20,000
Oliver Gill	20,000 20,000	20,000
Daniel Levy	20,000 20,000	20,000

02-26-2014 19:55 UTC+8

Two-Time Tanja

[user162117]

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Another player we have noticed early here on Day 1a of the ANZPT Perth Main Event is Tanja Vujanic. To be honest we recognised Vujanic because of her success this week in the Crown Perth poker room. Vujanic took down two ANZPT Perth side events. She defeated a field of 160 players in the $350 Terminator event, claiming $10,000 and also defeated a field of 115 players in the $150 Rebuy to claim another $14,400. We will be keeping an eye on Vujanic this week as she aims to see the success of the side events transfer into the Main Event.

Image courtesy of the Crown Perth Facebook Page

Player	Chips	Progress
Tanja Vujanic	20,000 20,000	20,000

Tags: Tanya Vujanic

02-26-2014 19:58 UTC+8

Another Added to Tough Table

[user162117]

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Australian Poker Hall of Fame member Gary Benson has just taken his seat late here in the first level of Day 1a of the ANZPT Perth Main Event. He joins the tough table which already features Justin Walsh, Patrick Crivell, Sal Fazzino and 2011 ANZPT Perth runner-up John Corr.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gary Benson	20,000

Tags: Gary Benson

02-26-2014 20:12 UTC+8

Monster Early Chip Stack for Gill

[user162117]

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

“I was so sure he would roll over queens and I’de still be like 40 percent to win the hand,” Gill told us after he managed to double his stack during these very early stages of Day 1a.

We arrived at the action with a flop out on the felt and this is when all the chips went in. We didn’t catch the preflop action, but Gill told us that he had opened it up to 250 from under the gun, the player on his direct left three-bet to 500, the small blind cold called and Gill also called.

On the flop, it was checked to the preflop aggressor and he led for 625. The small blind folded and Gill raised it up to 1,900. Gill’s opponent then raised to 8,000 – an amount Gill told us he was shocked at seeing, but nonetheless, Gill jammed for just over 20,000. The player called off his starting stack and tabled . Gill had for a combo draw.