Ali Ghezelbash limped from under the gun, at which point Stevan Chew raised it up to 1,100. The action then folded around to the small blind and he raised it up to 2,400. Ghezelbash got out of the way, while Chew made the call.
On the flop, the small blind led for 3,600 and Chew moved all in, having his opponent covered. The player took his time before folding and sending the pot to Chew.
Heading into the final break of the day and it is Full Tilt Poker ANZPT Ambassador Tom Grigg who leads the way with a stack nearing 60,000 in chips. Grigg has been characteristically active today and has benefited from winning many small pots throughout play. Let's see if he can hold onto that stack for the next hour or so.
Only six players have been eliminated heading into the final stages of Day 1a. A couple of those were very recently with Jonathan Dangio and newly appointed Full Tilt Poker ANZPT Ambassador Liam O'Rourke both making their way out of the tournament area.
We didn't catch O'Rourke's elimination, but the players at the table let us know that O'Rourke got all his chips in holding on a flop. O'Rourke's opponent, Jon Narby, held and O'Rourke received no help on the turn or the river.
There are currently 34 players remaining and around 25 minutes left on the second last level of the day.
Martin Boersma opened to 700 from middle position and Jonathan Dangio flat-called on the button, which triggered Tom Grigg to squeeze from the small blind to 1,975. Boersma asked for a count before releasing but Dangio came along to see a flop of .
Grigg led out small for 1,550 and Dangio called before the landed on the turn. That was good enough for Grigg to slide his hefty stack into the middle to put pressure on the New Caledonian for his tournament life. Dangio only had around 7,400 behind, but let it go as Grigg bullies his way to a stack of 45,000 — one of the largest in the room.
The players have just been told that they will no longer be playing the six scheduled levels today, instead playing just five levels. That means that at the end of the current level, there will be a 10 minute break and then one more level before calling it a night (afternoon).
Australia's New Full Tilt Poker ANZPT Tour Ambassadors
A little bit of a shock announcement was made earlier today. APPT President Danny McDonagh got on the microphone and told the room that two players in today's field are now Full Tilt Poker ambassadors for the ANZPT. The players he was referring to were Tom Grigg and Liam O'Rourke. McDonagh also told the room that fellow Aussie Jonathan Karamalikis would join O'Rourke and Grigg as part of the Full Tilt Poker team.
Grigg has made four ANZPT / APPT final tables in the past, but is probably better known for his exploits in online poker where he plays under the screen name "tollgate". O'Rourke is also more known for his online results where he plays as "MON3Y$HOT". O'Rourke also finished 3rd in an ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event in 2010 and then finished runner-up in the 2012 ANZPT Sydney Main Event.
Karamalikis is easily the highest profile of these three players with numerous results in live poker all around the world, along with crushing online as "xMONSTERxDONGx". Karamalikis is also no stranger to Full Tilt Poker, being a "Red Pro" in the years prior to the events of Black Friday.
As ANZPT "Tour Ambassadors", Grigg, Karamalikis and O'Rourke will represent the Full Tilt Poker brand in events all over the Asia-Pacific. They will also play online at Full Tilt Poker as "Red Pros."
Tom Grigg has been as active as always here in Queenstown and recently scooped up another pot. The hand started with Grigg opening to 700 from the hijack. The player in the small blind made the call and a flop was dealt on the felt. The play was checked to Grigg here and he bet 800. A call would see a hit the turn and another check would send the Action to Grigg. After just a moment, Grigg flicked out 1,450 and his opponent folded.
Something involving Grigg, a couple of other Australian players, and Full Tilt Poker was recently announced, so stay tuned to the PokerNews Live Reporting Blog to find out more...
Late registration has been closed for some time and the official entries for Day 1a of the ANZPT Queenstown Main Event has seen 40 players pony up the NZ$3,000 buy-in. Comparatively, Day 1a of last year's event had 51 entries and the total entries after three days was 149.
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flop, the small blind led for 3,600 and Chew moved all in, having his opponent covered. The player took his time before folding and sending the pot to Chew.
on a 
turn or the 
river.
.
landed on the turn. That was good enough for Grigg to slide his hefty stack into the middle to put pressure on the New Caledonian for his tournament life. Dangio only had around 7,400 behind, but let it go as Grigg bullies his way to a stack of 45,000 — one of the largest in the room.
flop was dealt on the felt. The play was checked to Grigg here and he bet 800. A call would see a 
hit the turn and another check would send the Action to Grigg. After just a moment, Grigg flicked out 1,450 and his opponent folded.