button in SafariBurns Back in Aussie Millions Action "In His Backyard"
It's been over six years since Kahle Burns was inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.
Four days after that, he won his first Aussie Millions title in the $100,000 Challenge, defeating Alex Foxen heads-up to win A$1,746,360. The figure remains the third-largest cash of Burns' career.
Now, with the Aussie Millions back on the calendar in Melbourne, Burns says he's been looking forward to playing poker "in his backyard."
"It's a great place to play poker," he told PokerNews. "So much has changed since 2020. I'm a dad now, so that's probably the biggest change. I'm also playing less poker than before, but the Aussie Millions is in my backyard, so yeah why not come and play?"
Burns is currently in action in the massive $5,000 Challenge, which has attracted a field of 442 players.
"I was expecting the event to get maybe 70% of the runners for stuff they'd had previously. Just because it's in a different slot, with the January slot really popular.
"I feel like this year has been a bit of a test to see how popular the Aussie Millions still is, and that's gone really well."
While also cashing in recent years at the WSOP, including a final-table performance in the 2025 $10,000 8-Game Championship, and nine cashes at Triton Jeju just over a year ago, Burns' recent cashed have come closer to home. With poker interest in Australia booming, Burns says that the Aussie Millions has been on everyone's radar.
"Whether there was as much advertising as before, I'm not sure. But everyone in Australia was excited for it. I thought maybe there would be less international interest or even knowledge that it's happening. It's exceeded my expecations in runners."
Whether the Aussie Millions will return to its "traditional" January timeslot, Burns is uncertain.
"People liked coming here in January with the Australian Open on in the summer. I don't know what they're gonna do, but they're gonna need more tables and dealers next time for sure!"