An entertaining day of poker of highest quality with the biggest poker stars in the game...what more could you ask for? Ivey, Hansen, Antonius, Guoga, Ferguson and Seidel all came and went on a day that had it all.
With so many experienced professionals in the field it's refreshing that the relatively inexperienced David Steicke has been able to mix it with the best in the business and head home tonight as the overnight chip leader.
Steicke, Tran, Bloom, Jordanou, Shak and Juanda will all be back in the Crown Poker Room at 4 p.m. as they play it out for the AU$1.2 million first place prize and coveted Aussie Millions Gold Ring.
Also don't forget tomorrow that it's time for the big one! It's the opening flight of the 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event. All the live action kicks off at 12:30 p.m. local time so log in to PokerNews for every flop, turn and river as it happens live from the tournament floor! See you then!
With the clock counted down to the last second the dealer dealt out the last hand for the evening.
JC Tran bumped it up on the button to 16,000 and John Juanda made the call in the big blind. On a flop of both players checked, and when the peeled on the turn Juanda led for 20,000 and was followed by a call from Tran.
The river landed the and once Juanda checked, Tran slid out a bet of 30,000 which was enough to take the pot down as play wraps up for the night.
Jeff Lisandro raised to 20,000 from early position and David Steicke made the call in the small blind.
The flop was and Steicke led out for 25,000. Lisandro timed down and threw out a time breaker button before making the call.
The turn was a repeat and Steicke sits back and takes a sip of water before emphatically declaring himself all in. Lisandro beat him into the pot for his last 51,000, but cringed when he saw the cards.
Lisandro:
Steicke:
The river was the and Lisandro departs in 7th place as the unstoppable Steicke is up to 636,000.
Dan Shak opened with a raise to 22,000 and David Steicke made the call in the big blind.
The flop came down and both players made a deliberate check. The turn was the and Steicke timed down to his last few seconds before tossing 36,000 into the middle. Shak then popped it up another 65,000. Steicke uncapped his cards and mucked to concede the pot to Shak.
Shak is up to 330,000 with the "Great Wall of Steicke" back to 540,000.
John Juanda has just chipped up to 560,000 after taking a pot off Bill Jordanou, and now sits only slightly behind chip leader David Steicke.
Juanda opened to 20,000 and Jordanou made the call out of the small blind. Both players checked the flop of and when the landed on the turn Juanda took it down with a bet of 25,000.
With Juanda climbing, Jordanou slipped down to 165,000 chips.
Jason Gray limped from early position before David Steicke made it 28,000 to be next to act. The table folded around and Gray cut out calling chips and slid them into the middle.
The flop came down and Gray moved all in at the pot in a classic "stop and go". Steicke mumbled to himself and as the clock ticked down under five seconds he defiantly announced "Call!"
Steicke:
Gray:
Gray held the flush draw but Steicke had made a great call with the best hand. The turn was the and river the and Gray is sent to the rail as the unpredictable David Steicke is back in front and building a wall of 650,000 chips around the edge of his side of the table.