$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event
Day 1a Started
2012 Aussie Millions
$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event
Day: 1a
Welcome to the Crown's 2012 Aussie Millions Poker Championship
Welcome to the 2012 Aussie Millions Poker Championship here at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. This marks the 10th Anniversary of the Aussie Millions, a series that has gained more prestige each and every year; in fact, leading up to today’s start, we at PokerNews took a historical look back at the Aussie Millions, including how it found it’s feet from 2003-2007, to the booming years of 2008-present, so be sure to check those out before today’s action.
Speaking of which, the Event 1: $1,100 Opening Event kicks off this evening and is the first of 26 events that will be spread over the next two and a half weeks. This particular event will have three different starting days and is featured as a “repecharge”, which means which means that if a player busts on Day 1a or 1b, they will have the option of buying back in on Day 1c.
Last year, this very event drew 1,000 entrants, including 762 unique players (remember, this event is repecharge). A laundry list of notables entered that event including James Akenhead, Annette Obrestad, Maria Ho, Tony Dunst, Richard Ashby, and then-reigning Aussie Millions Champ Tyron Krost. Unfortunately for them all, the tournament belonged to Martin Drewe, who outlasted them all to claim the AUD$200,020 first-place prize.
While we won’t have a winner for a few days, the first flight of Day 1 is the first step to becoming the first Crown Aussie Millions Poker Champion. We’re expecting a strong turnout from the Australian contingent, and perhaps a notable or two from overseas. Only time will tell who’ll play as we get ready to celebrate the Aussie Millions’ 10th Anniversary with the first event of 2012.
2011 Aussie Millions Event #1 Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Winnings (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Martin Drewe | $200,000 |
| 2nd | Darren Kramer | $128,220 |
| 3rd | Justin Cohen | $85,220 |
| 4th | Nik Lackovic | $65,220 |
| 5th | Vito Dalessadri | $52,220 |
| 6th | Antoine Bechara | $42,220 |
| 7th | Gabriel Xiourouppa | $32,220 |
| 8th | Scott Montgomery | $22,220 |
| 9th | Jonathan Palmer | $15,020 |
Action is set to get underway at 7:10 PM EDT, so be sure to join us for all the action, live, from the floor of the Crown’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
It's Play Time
![[user162117]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The players have scrambled into their seats in Event 1: $1,100 Opening Event and the call has been made to start the deal!
A satellite is currently still kicking on in the main tournament area and has stopped a couple of table's worth of players from taking to the felt. Apparently the satellite is on the bubble and the players who were meant to take their seat now wait tentatively on the rail, while the rest of the field shuffles chips and plays their first hand.
Notables in the Field
After our initial run through of the tournament floor, we've recognized quite a few notables. Martin Drewe, the winner of this very event one year ago, is here to defend his title. Standing in his way is some stiff competition including tournament veteran Mel Judah; 2004 Aussie Millions Main Event Champ, Tony Bloomt; and Australian pro, Brendon Rubie.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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: 50/100, 0 ante
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More Notables
As the players continue to trickle in, we've been noticing more an more notables.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 | |
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10,000 |
Judah Jams Early
We haven't seen too many players exiting the tournament area at this early stage of the tournament. That was until Australian poker legend Mel Judah was seen quickly striding towards the rail.
While we missed some early action which obviously left Judah with a short stack, we did manage to catch the last hand of his tournament.
By the time we got to the table, Judah had his last 4,250 committed to the pot after a raise and a call in front of him. One opponent got out of the way before the initial raiser made the call.
Judah: 
Opponent: 
Judah sighed when his opponent turned the cards over. The sigh would be greeted with another sigh or two as the 
board was dealt out.
After Judah left the table, one of the players turned to our PokerNews reporter and said, as he pointed to the player who just eliminated Judah, "We've only played 16 hands at this table and that guys played 15 of them"
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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Busted |
Level: 2
Blinds: 75/150
Ante: 0
Kanaan Sends One Packing
Just before the level up, Michael Kanaan limped from middle position only to have the player on the button raise to 400. The small blind then three-bet to 1,250, the big blind called, and Krost woke up with a limp-raise to 3,000. The button and small blind both folded, while the big blind came along for the ride.
The flop came down 
and the big blind insta-shipped his stack of 4,400. Kanaan seemed hesitant, but made the call nonetheless.
Showdown
Kanaan: 
Big Blind: 
Kanaan was ahead but needed to dodge the nut-flush draw of his opponent. The 
turn gave the big blind a whole new set of outs, but the 
river blanked. "I never hit a draw," the big blind lamented as he exited the tournament floor.
Kanaan is up to approximately 16,500.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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16,500 |