Event 1 - $1,100 No Limit Holdem (2-Day Event) Day 1 | 2008 Aussie Millions

01-05-2008 12:17 UTC+10

Gary Benson Pulls a Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth is notoriously late for tournaments and often shows up late in "Hellmuthian" fashion in order to pysche out his opponents. Today, Gary Benson arrived forty minutes late for an unspecified reason. He sat down at Aussie Sarah's table, just to her left. On the first hand that he was dealt, Benson picked up pocket Aces. He flopped an Ace too and managed to win a pot worth about 1,000. His stack is a shade under 5,000.

Tags: Gary Benson

01-05-2008 12:12 UTC+10

Can't Stop the Quoc

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Quoc Nguyen is among the players in today's field. Stay tuned for more "Can't Stop the Quoc" updates.

Tags: Quoc Nguyen

01-05-2008 12:08 UTC+10

Mickey Guttman Doubles Up with Aces

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A player from middle position opened up for a raise of 150. The cut off called. Guttman raised to 650 from the small blind. Middle position player folded and the cut off called.

The flop was {10-Spades}

. Guttman fired out 1,700. The cut off moved all in for about 2,000 more. Guttman went into the tank before he called with pocket Aces. His opponent tabled J-10. The turn and river were blanks. Guttman's pocket Aces held up and he doubled up. Guttman increased his stack to over 6,000.

Tags: Mickey Guttman

01-05-2008 12:03 UTC+10

Actor Michael Vartan Playing in the Aussie Millions

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Michael Vartan, star of the ABC television series "Alias" and "Big Shots" as well as the films "Monster-in-Law," "One Hour Photo" and "Never Been Kissed" is playing in today's event. Tucked away at a tournament table in the back of the high-limit cash game area, Vartan looks quite inconspicuous, sporting a scruffy beard and a backwards baseball cap. The female Poker News reporters are all in the process of swooning.

Vartan told the Sydney Morning Herald a few days ago that he is in Australia not only to play poker, but to find a "nice Aussie girl" to settle down with. He described himself as "a very tight player, I wait for a good hand and play very aggressively."

Vartan has been honing his game online and this reporter hopes to see him at a final table!

Tags: Michael Vartan

01-05-2008 11:57 UTC+10

Michael Tomeny

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Michael Tomeny made an early exit from today's event. His A-Q lost to A-4 when his opponent flopped two pair.

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01-05-2008 11:54 UTC+10

Tough Table

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Chips will be tough to accumulate out on table 16 today which features the likes of Jeff Lisandro, Rayan Nathan, Jethro Horowitz and 2006 Aussie Millions champion Lee Nelson.

Tags: Jeffrey Lisandro Lee Nelson Rayan Nathan

01-05-2008 11:54 UTC+10

Gobboboy Busts a Player

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Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke took out a player in the first ten minutes of play. On a board of {K-Diamonds}

, Fricke checked. His opponent bet the pot. Fricke raised all in for 3,200 and his opponent called.

Fricke: A-K
Opponent: 8-8

Fricke was ahead with top pair and top kicker. The turn was an Ace and the river was a Jack. Fricke's hand held up as he sent his opponent to the rail. Fricke is among the early chipleaders with close to 8,000.

Tags: Gobboboy

01-05-2008 11:48 UTC+10

Spillover Upstairs

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In order to accomodate the popularity of the Aussie Millions, the Crown added extra tables, which are located upstairs in the main casino. There are eight tables in use today. David Saab, Marsha Waggoner, Dory Zayneh, Anna Wroblewski, Kenna James, Tanya Hill, and James "Welcome Back" Potter are among the runners playing on the spillover tables.

Tags: James Potter Kenna James

01-05-2008 11:44 UTC+10

More Familiar Faces

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Sam Khouiss, Billy "The Croc" Argyros, Emad Tahtouh, Sarah Bilney, Rayan Nathan, and 2007 WSOP seven-card stud bracelet winner Jeffrey Lisandro are all playing in today's event.

01-05-2008 11:33 UTC+10

Gobboboy in the House

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The 2007 Aussie Millions runner-up Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke is among the runners in today's event. He'll be playing ithe majority of events at the Aussie Millions.

"I'm hoping to do better than last year," said Fricke as he took his seat.

Fricke started his trip out with a slight bad beat when the airline that he flew to Australia on had misplaced his bags. He has since recovered his lost bags and is ready to play some poker.

Tags: Gobboboy