Main Event
Day 1a Started
2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland
Buy-in
$3,000
Entries
218
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Kia Ora from APPT Auckland!
![[user80015]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Welcome to the SKYCITY Auckland Casino for the third stop of the 2010 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour from beautiful Auckland, New Zealand!
Last night saw many a drop of crisp Spring rain cover this highly populated and cultural city located on the North Island, but with yet another poker tournament gracing the land known as Aotearoa - or the land of the long white cloud - those clouds have parted as the sun now shines brightly over this alluring city.
Not only is this the third stop in season four, but also the third time the APPT has stopped in Auckland following Daniel Craker's and Simon Watt's victories here in 2008 and 2009 respectively. After collecting his maiden victory, Craker went on to claim a small cash in the following year before software developer Watt bested 263 player field before continuing his development as a player by collecting cashes in New Zealand, Australia and Las Vegas; most importantly his bracelet in this year's World Series of Poker in Event 11: $1,500 No Limit Holdem.
With the buy-in being NZ$3,250 or approximately $2,830, and the field sizes of 306 and 263 over the past two visits to Auckland, the players that are in town - both locally, differing islands and across the Tasman Sea - will be looking to eclipse that to make this tournament the biggest in New Zealand history!
From the shores of Australia, online young guns Tom Grigg, Ricky Kroesen, Daniel Neilson and Andrew Hinrichsen, along with now tournament stalwarts Leo Boxell, Michael Spilkin, David Borg, Aaron Benton and PokerStars.net Team Pros Tony Hachem are here to wave the Aussie flag proudly. However, defending their home soil with just as much guts and determination as their beloved All Blacks rugby union team, PokerStars.net Team Pro Lee Nelson, New Zealand Poker Open Champion Jackson Zheng, Auckland Poker Championships winner James Honeybone, Richard Lancaster, Phillip Willcocks, Koray Turker, and Cole Swannack will also be in attendance.
With the field being split over two day ones, today will see the expected smaller of the two fields take to the felt at 12:15 p.m NZST with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team on the floor providing all the live coverage from the 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event from the SKYCITY Auckland Casino!
A Letter From Ejaaz Dean
Welcome to the SKYCITY Festival of Poker for 2010.
We are excited to welcome players from all over the world to SKYCITY Auckland for what is this event's third year. As many of you will know, tournament poker has taken off across the globe and we are delighted that New Zealand has indeed kept up with the trend and is in fact producing talent who are leading on the world stage of poker. Proof of this is Simon Watt who we were pleased to see win New Zealand's first WSOP bracelet at the recent World Series of Poker.
SKYCITY is New Zealand's Home of Poker and as such we have developed an annual poker calendar which now offers four major tournaments each year; the Auckland Anniversary Poker Champs, Lee Nelson Deep Stack Series, New Zealand Poker Open and the flagship tournament, the SKYCITY Festival of poker. In Auckland we have 18 poker tables within our dedicated poker area on Level 3 of SKYCITY Auckland - SKYCITY Poker.
This Festival of Poker is our biggest yet and we are focused on providing different events within the festival to cater for varying levels of experiencing ensuring that we both challenge leading stars and nurture the emerging players among us.
As the leading provider of hospitality and entertainment in New Zealand's largest city, SKYCITY Auckland has a single focus; to make your entertainment experience the very best possible. You will find that members of our staff are approachable, knowledgeable and intent on meeting your needs, whether they relate to the casino floor, accommodation, food and beverages, or relaxation.
No matter what hand you're dealt, by taking part in the SKYCITY Festival of Poker, you are joining in on a piece of New Zealand poker history.
Ejaaz Dean
SKYCITY Auckland
General Manager of Casino Operations
President of International Business
Why Auckland?
Auckland has been ranked the top four most livable city in the world. What's all the fuss about? I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago on some of my favorite things about this place, but was also lucky enough to have some time to tour around the city again yesterday to show off even more:
Kapa O Pango Kia Whakawhenua Au I Ahau!
The Maori people have been long-time inhabitants of New Zealand - or Aotearoa as they have called it which translates into the land of the long white cloud.
With all New Zealanders ones to hold traditional values, culture and beliefs at heart, it is no surprise that we are kicking off today's tournament with a traditional Haka!
Many sports followers will know that the Haka relates to a pre-game ritual that the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union team perform to psyche-out their opponents, but in reality it is a traditional posture dance performed by the Maori people.
The belief is that the Haka is a war dance performed solely by men, but as you can see, that is far from the truth as they are performed by all for all differing reasons such as amusement, acknowledgment of great achievements of a welcoming of guests.
In our instance, the Haka that is being performed is welcoming all players to today's tournament - and although it may scare a few with the vigorous movements and feet-stamping - it is definitely a great way to kick of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event!
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal
"I've seen the Haka three times now, and each time it scares the suitcase out of me!" stated SKYCITY Auckland General Manager of Casino Operations Ejaaz Dean.
Dean said a few words about SKYCITY, the tournament and his wonderful staff before those immortal words of shuffle up and deal were uttered to put the cards in the air!
Photos From The Haka
Who's About?
2009 APPT Sydney Champion Aaron Benton, 2010 APPT Macau Champion Victorino Torres and 2010 ANZPT Queenstown Champion Julian Cohen, along with Auckland Poker Championships winner James Honeybone and New Zealand Poker Open Champion Jackson Zheng are all in the field.
Local players Cole Swannack, Phillip Willcocks and Constantine Harach are also playing, while a bevy of Australian players such as Michael O'Grady, Andrew Hinrichsen, Tom Grigg and Daniel Neilson are also taking part in today's flight.
Note 1: Jacks for Benton Equates to Solid Play
With the board reading 
, APPT Sydney Champion Aaron Benton fired out a bet of 800 only to have his opponent bump it to 2,000.
Benton smooth-called as the dealer dropped the 
on the river and both players checked it through.
Benton tabled his jacks to scoop the pot and move to 22,000.
"Are you writing notes?" asked Benton to one of his table mates.
Benton's opponent acknowledged that he indeed was.
"You can't do that!" Benton stated before adding, "Can someone find out?"
With no one really providing any assistance, Benton concluded, "Just letting you know that I play solid!"