The first major tournament of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship 2026 Presented by CrownBet is officially underway, with Day 1A of the $1M GTD $1,500 Opening Event now in progress at Crown Melbourne.
A total of 104 entries took their seats at the start of play, with that number expected to grow as late registration remains open until the start of Level 10.
Players begin with 40,000 chips and will play 15 levels of 40 minutes each, with breaks scheduled after every three levels. Survivors at the end of the day will bag their chips and return for Day 2 alongside qualifiers from the remaining starting flights later this weekend.
Today’s schedule is dominated by satellites, with players getting multiple chances to qualify into some of the festival’s headline events.
The poker room is expected to stay busy from morning through late evening, but the main focus shifts to the first major multi-day tournament of the series as Day 1A of the $1M GTD $1,500 Opening Event gets underway at 12:10 p.m. local time.
Players entering Day 1A will start with 40,000 chips, and the day will feature 40-minute levels, with play scheduled to run through 15 levels. Breaks are held after every three levels, and late registration remains open until the start of Level 10, giving players flexibility to join the field throughout the afternoon.
Survivors from all starting flights will return for Day 2 at 12:10 p.m. on Monday, where the level length increases to 60 minutes as the field begins to narrow toward the money and eventual final table. The tournament is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, April 28, with Day 3 and the final table beginning at 12:30 p.m.
This marks the first time since 2020 that the festival has run, and for a long stretch there, it honestly felt like we might never see this iconic series return.
First impressions of Melbourne? It’s an absolute ripper of a city for a bit of poker. The poker room is nice and spacious, the facilities are top shelf, and the weather has turned it on. The scenery around the Garden City has been stunning, too, making this morning's stroll before play a nice little bonus before the grind begins.
Aussie Millions
And as for Crown Resort, you can tell they’re super stoked to have Aussie Millions back where it belongs. The venue looks top notch following a brief PokerNews inspection yesterday, and there’s a real sense that everyone involved knows just how important this return is. From the floor staff to the suits upstairs, the excitement is hard to miss.
The 2026 edition features 18 tournaments and an estimated AUD$14,000,000 (approx. US$9,000,000) in total prize pools. Buy-ins range from AUD$1,500 (US$970) up to AUD$25,000 (US$16,000).
Headlining the schedule is the prestigious AUD$10,600 (US$6,900) Main Event, a tournament that has long attracted the biggest names in the game and crowned some of poker’s most respected champions.
Ed Domingo
"We are thrilled to be welcoming Aussie Millions back to Crown Melbourne after six years," said Crown Melbourne CEO Ed Domingo. "The return of Aussie Millions is not just a celebration of poker, it’s a celebration of Crown and the world-class experiences we offer our guests."
We’ll be bringing you the schedule for today shortly, along with a look back at what went down yesterday when the festival kicked off with the Aussie Millions Celebrity Challenge for Charity.
2026 Aussie Millions Celebrity Challenge for Charity
Alongside the daily highlight blog, PokerNews will be bringing live updates from the following marquee events throughout the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship:
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