Good morning all the way from Melbourne, Australia!

PokerNews has boots on the ground at Crown Melbourne for the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, and fair dinkum, it feels pretty special to be saying that again.

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.

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.

"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.

Alongside the daily highlight blog, PokerNews will be bringing live updates from the following marquee events throughout the 2026 Aussie Millions Poker Championship:

Tags: Aussie MillionsEd Domingo