Aussie Millions Main Event Day 1b | 2012 Aussie Millions

01-24-2012 00:42 UTC+11

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Wilde	157,000
James Dempsey	140,000	32,000
Octavian Vogele	120,000
Nabil Edgtton	112,000

Here are some counts from the tables upstairs. The biggest surprise was Kenna James, who vaulted toward the top of the chip counts and has his sights set on a third Aussie Millions Main Event final table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kenna James	135,000	95,000
Stewart Scott	75,000	5,000
David Bach	56,000	-9,000
Annette Obrestad	26,000	-14,000

01-24-2012 00:24 UTC+11

Grinding Away

MarcC

Vitaly Lunkin can grind it with the best of them. You won't find this man throwing away his tournament.

He raised from to 1,800 from UTG and was only looked up by Grant Levy in the big blind. The flop fell {3-Spades} {7-Spades} {2-Clubs} and Lunkin's 2,025 c-bet was good for the pot as Levy folded.

The Russian will happily come back with ten big blinds if he doesn't find a good spot to get his chips in. The man just loves to be sat at a poker table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Grant Levy	68,000	-5,000
Vitaly Lunkin	16,000	-2,000

Tags: Vitaly Lunkin Grant Levy

01-24-2012 00:21 UTC+11

Portaro Sets Sail

Chad Holloway

We saw Bruno Portaro, who had been moved to the upstairs tournament area, wandering around downstairs. It appeared he had been eliminated from the tournament, and after a quick check with him, it was verified.

"There's always next year," Portaro said.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bruno Portaro	Busted

Tags: Bruno Portaro

Level: 7

Blinds: 400/800

Ante: 100

01-23-2012 23:50 UTC+11

Last Break of the Night

Chad Holloway

Level 6 : 300/600, 75 ante

Players are now on their last 15-minute break of the evening.

01-23-2012 23:41 UTC+11

Dwan Finishes the Job

MarcC

Ryan Hong tried bluffing Tom Dwan earlier and that didn't work out. He tried getting in a straight race with him just now, and that didn't work out for him either.

There was a raise on the button that Dwan called from the small blind. Hong moved all-in for less than 20,000 and Dwan called after the button folded.

Hong: {a-Clubs} {q-Spades}
Dwan: {4-Diamonds} {4-Clubs}

The board ran {7-Hearts} {3-Spades} {9-Spades} {5-Hearts} {j-Clubs} and Hong made his exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tom Dwan	86,000	11,000
Ryan Hong	Busted

Tags: Tom Dwan Ryan Hong

01-23-2012 23:35 UTC+11

Quick Look at Event #11: $550 NLHE

Chad Holloway

Level 6 : 300/600, 75 ante

While the cost for the Main Event and $100,000 Challenge may prove too pricey for some, the folks at the Crown have put some more affordable options on the schedule. One such tournament was Event #11: $550 NLHE, which took place on Monday and was capped at 170 players. Peter Costa, the 2003 Aussie Millions champ, was in the field and looking to capture a portion of the $85,000 prize pool. Of that, $19,130 was reserved for first, while the remainder of the top 18 were guaranteed at least $1,060.

Event #11 $550 NLHE Final Table Payouts

Place	Prize (AUD)
1st	$19,130
2nd	$14,040
3rd	$11,050
4th	$8,500
5th	$6,800
6th	$5,100
7th	$4,250
8th	$3,400
9th	$2,550
10th	$1,700

01-23-2012 23:24 UTC+11

Tyron Krost Freerolling, The First of Many

Happy_Freaked

Just a couple of nights ago Tyron Krost won the Aussie Millions Tournament of Champions. The winner was guaranteed a lifetime Main Event seats and today Krost is playing his first of many freerolls. As the youngest of the eight players who took a shot at winning life time Main Event seats, Krost got amazing value and we just asked him how he was doing.

"It doesn't really feel like a freeroll", Krost said when we asked him about this tournament. "I got off to a strong start but just lost a 40,000 pot with ace-queen to ten-eight". Krost still has a very healthy stack and he is looking to make day two with just under two hours of play left on Day 1b. "It's quite scary to think that I will be playing this tournament when I'm 80 years old, and a very bad player", Krost added as he smiled and probably let his thoughts wander off to the year 2068 when the poker landscape will possibly be very different. Any takers ideas on what the odds will be for Krost to win another Aussie Millions title?