button in Safari$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event
Day 2 Completed
2012 Aussie Millions
$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event
Day: 2
Players Left 1 / 946
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Level 21
: 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante
Day 2 of the 2012 Aussie Millions Opening Event unexpectedly came to an end with ten players, forgoing the original plan of playing to a winner. At the start of the day, players were settled in for a long grind, but as the night wore on, tournament officials decided to call an audible and opted to come back the following day. With the final table set, Scott Wilson leads the way with 2.628 million and stands the best chance of capturing the $200,000 first-place prize.
The Opening Event was unique in that it featured three starting flights, known as a “repchage” format; meaning players who busted in earlier flights were able to reenter in the following. The first starting flight, Day 1a, drew 274 players, while Day 1b a bit less at 251; however, Day 1c boosted the number as 421 entries made the three-day total 946 players. With a $946,000 at stake, the remaining 132 players who started Day 2 were eager to crack the top 81 for a guaranteed payday.
Unfortunately for some, they were unable to make it through the money bubble. Among the the early departed was the defending champion, Martin Drewe, and poker legend Mel Judah, who happened to be eliminated in the same hand. Others who feel excruciatingly short were Darren Kramer, Andrew Hinrichsen, Jeff Rossiter, Mark Segal, and Aaron Benton. When the money bubble did finally burst, a slew of eliminations occurred that included Malcolm McDougall (81st-$2,500), [Removed:505] (72nd-$3,000), Joel Dodds (52nd-$4,000), Grant Levy (41st-$4,500), Billy Jordanou (38th-$4,500), and Kenna James (31st-$5,000).
The Day 1b chip leader, Sam Youssef, managed to use his big stack to coast deep into the money, but ended up being the first of the end-of-the-day chip leaders to fall. It happened when the blinds caught up with him and he got his short stack all in preflop holding 
against the 
of Brendon Rubie. The board ran out 
and Youssef was eliminated in 21st place, taking home $6,200 for his effort. A short time later, Day 1c chip leader and the big stack at the start of the day, Tony Delavinias, was eliminated in 15th place for $7,600, leaving Tam Truong as the last opening flight chip leader standing.
Leading up to the final table, several players hit the rail including Andrew Capelin (14th), [Removed:551] (13th), Tony Kociski (12th), and Matviy Bilenky (11th), all of whom took home $7,600.
Here’s a look at the final table of the 2012 Crown’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship Opening Event:
Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tam Truong | 934,000 |
| 2 | Tamara Volkoff | 191,000 |
| 3 | Brendon Rubie | 1,625,000 |
| 4 | Sean Robey | 262,000 |
| 5 | Sherif Derias | 696,000 |
| 6 | Rob Angood | 1,384,000 |
| 7 | Scott Wilson | 2,628,000 |
| 8 | Manny Stavropoulos | 554,000 |
| 9 | John Thomson | 363,000 |
| 10 | Naz Sibaei | 849,000 |
*All payout are in Australian dollars.
The final table action on Day 3 is set to begin at 12:10 AEST Monday (17:10 PST Sunday), so be sure to join us then as the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there when a champion is crowned in the Aussie Millions' Opening Event!
Level 21
: 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante
Here’s a look at the final table of the 2012 Crown’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship Opening Event:
Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tam Truong | 934,000 |
| 2 | Tamara Volkoff | 191,000 |
| 3 | Brendon Rubie | 1,625,000 |
| 4 | Sean Robey | 262,000 |
| 5 | Sherif Derias | 696,000 |
| 6 | Rob Angood | 1,384,000 |
| 7 | Scott Wilson | 2,628,000 |
| 8 | Manny Stavropoulos | 554,000 |
| 9 | John Thomson | 363,000 |
| 10 | Naz Sibaei | 849,000 |
Brendon Rubie brought it in for a raise and cleared the field back to a short-stacked Matviy Bilenky in the big blind, who called off for just 79,000.
Showdown
Rubie: 
Bilenky: 
Bilenky's best chance of winning the hand was to catch a ten, but he failed to do so as the board ran out 
. With that elimination, the final table is set.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,625,000
225,000
|
225,000 |
|
Busted |
When the flop showed 
, Tony Kociski and Naz Sibaei got all the chips in and a tournament life was on the line. The player who was looking to be eliminated as Kociski as he needed a lot of help if he was going to remain in this tournament.
Turn: 
No help yet!
River: 
And no help yet again. Kociski goes home in 12th place with $7,600 and we are just one player away from our final table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Action folded to Sherif Derias in the hijack and he raised to 75,000, which Brendon Rubie three-bet to 130,000 from the cutoff. After the button and blinds folded, Derieas made the call and then checked the 
flop. Rubie took the opportunity to bet 125,000, which was enough to take down the pot.
It wasn't much of a hand, but about the most action we've seen lately.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,900,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
650,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level 21
: 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante
There's been little action in the last ten minutes as the short stacks seem content to sit and wait for a hand. With the blinds so high, the time to make a stand is going to come much sooner than later.
Tam Truong opened for a raise from the cutoff and Matviy Bilenky called off from the big for his paltry stack.
Showdown
Bilenky: 
Truong: 
Bilenky was behind but held live cards, one of which came on the 
flop. The turn ensured Bilenky a doubled, and the 
was put out on the river for good measure. Bilenky is up to 190,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
Matviy Bilenky shoved all in preflop and was called by Sean Robey, who held a smaller stack.
Showdown
Robey: 
Bilenky: 
Bilenky had all but 70,000 of his chips in the middle and was in rough shape. The flop was fairly dry, though the turn gave Bilenky an open-ended straight draw. Unfortunately for him, the blanked on the river and he was crippled.
Robey doubled on the hand to 250,000 but is still well below the chip average.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
250,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
70,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
Level: 21
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 3,000
