Australia's Tyron Krost surprised the entire poker world when he took down the Aussie Millions Main Event in 2010 for AU$2 million. Today, Krost is back for another title chase, as he's taken his seat on Day 1b of the Main Event.
Back in 2012, Krost won the Aussie Millions Tournament of Champions, for which he received a "Golden Ticket" that awarded him a $10,000 Aussie Millions seat for the rest of his life. That's right, Krost will forever be on a freeroll in this event.
Krost's lifetime freeroll has not paid dividends yet, but with a few more decades to give it a try, he'll likely make another deep run in this event at some point.
When Krost won the Aussie Millions Main Event, he beat one of the toughest final tables in its history, as this was the payout of that final table.
German tennis legend Boris Becker has just been spotted inside the Crown poker room, as he's playing in the Main Event today.
The former No 1. tennis player in the world, and winner of the Australian Open in both 1991 and 1996, has played poker for many years and it excites many here today seeing a sports star like him participate in one of poker's biggest events.
Becker currently coaches number 1 Novak DJokovic, who's made his way to the quarter finals of the Australian Open. If Becker makes a deep run at the Aussie Millions he might have to skip one of the games of his protege, but for now a 12-hour day of play awaits for the German legend.
Welcome to Day 1b of the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event.
After a field of 180 runners on Day 1a, the Southern Hemisphere's most prestigious poker tournament is off to a great start. Even furthering that fact was the fixation of Australian star poker player James Obst finishing the day with the chip lead after he bagged up 212,100 in chips.
Obst was the only player on Day 1a to eclipse the 200,000-chip mark at the end of play, and his early success in this event only follows the positive energy he's had throughout this year's festival. Early on in the series, Obst scored first place in Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. for AU$35,100 when he defeated Jan Suchanek in heads-up play.
Suchanek, who hails from New Zealand, also had a successful Day 1a. He bagged up 104,800 in chips from his 30,000-chip starting stack and finished just outside the top 10. Other notables to bag big on Sunday were Terence Clee (183,000), Andrew Bassat (168,000), and Dylan Honeyman (137,400), and Michael Egan (133,600).
Day 1b will see the cards in the air at 12:30 p.m. local time today, and another exciting field is anticipated. Last year's Day 1b attracted 173 entries, and the field should expect to reach 175-225 this year. Seven levels will be played, with a 15-minute break after each and a 75-minute dinner break scheduled for after Level 4.
One notable we are aware will be in the field will be former professional tennis player Boris Becker.
