A player under the gun bet 1,400 on a flop and Michael Addamo called, while two others folded. The turn brought a and a check from the first player. Addamo bet 2,200 but was met with a quick shove for about 16,000. He took about a minute and released his cards.
Former November Niner Federico Butteroni raised to 650 on the button and picked up two callers in the blinds. On the flop, Butteroni bet 900, the small blind shoved around 9,000 and the big blind folded. Butteroni gave it around a minute of thought before folding.
The small blind proudly showed his as he raked in the pot. Despite the fold, Butteroni still commands one of the largest stacks in the room.
Krzysztof Stybaniewicz has been having a nice go of it on Day 1c here, building up to nearly double the starting stack. As evidence of how things are going for him, consider that even when he got aces cracked, he still lost the minimum.
He said he three-bet an early opener to 2,000 and got action from a cold-caller in the blinds and the opener. A with one heart flop led to a bet of 2,500 from the American and two calls. Things checked through on the and and Stybaniewicz showed down his aces, losing to a set of nines from the player in the blinds with minimal damage to his own stack.
After an early open to 750 and a three-bet to 2,000 from the next player, Benny Glaser popped it to 4,800 in the cutoff. That convinced both players to fold and he dragged the pot without a fight.
At a nearby table, another four-bet pot developed when Taylor Black opened on the button and got three-bet to 2,200 by the big blind. Black made it 6,200 and that convinced the big blind to give it up.
With more than $1.5 million in cashes, Jason Gray is one of the most well-known players on Australian soil and also belongs to the Poker Hall of Fame in Down Under as well.
Gray sat down when the last level had just finished and took a seat right next to Raiden Kan.
After a raise by the player in under the gun for 800, Jan Suchanek called in the small blind and Kevin MacPhee also came along from the big blind. The flop fell and the action checked to the initial raiser, who continued for 1,000. Only Suchanek called to see the on the turn and a bet of 3,000 by Suchanek followed, as did the call by the initial raiser.
Suchanek shoved the river for effectively 16,000, as that's what his opponent had left, and a quick call followed. Suchanek turned over the for a flush and his opponent mucked before leaving the table.
Besides the Kiwi, Artur Koren and Martin Finger also gave a decent stack on that table, while Tsugunari Toma was moved over to compensate for the short-handed table.
Ari Engel Wins the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event
Two years ago Ari Engel took down the Aussie Millions Main Event for $1.6m, defeating Tony Dunst heads-up to win the title. Last year he was back as defending champion, but this year he's back again and joining the ranks of former champions.
"It's nice to be back," said Engel. "No matter what happens I'll always have positive memories here. I have a strong record [of cashing] here so it's great. I'm running good; won a flip. Things are great."
Engel is right to say that he runs well here in Melbourne, with five final tables and a win from seven cashes.
"It's interesting! I'm not sure if it's a coincidence when things like that happen. Some places you tend to run better than others. Hopefully, this is a place where I can continue to run well."
We asked Engel why he thinks so many international players like himself head Down Under each year to the Aussie Millions.
"There aren't as many big Main Events like this anymore; with so many satellites running and qualifiers. Also, I mean everyone loves Melbourne as a city; it's great. It's the right time of year. It's great that poker players from all over the world like to keep coming back here."