Gao: takes a chunk of change from Khouiss
We caught the action on a flop that read ; Sammy Khouiss led out for 1,600, Rayan Nathan flat-called but Jie Gao popped it up to 5,600. Khouiss called and Nathan got out of the way.
The dealer peeled off the on the turn - Khouiss announced that he was all-in. Gao snap-called all-in for 10,400.
Gao:
Khouis:
Needing the board to pair or the case deuce, the river was of no help to Khouiss as it bricked out the . Gao doubles through back up to 20,000 and change.
A late arrival is Tino Lechich who has joined death row along side Tony Dunst, Jonathan Karamalikis and Sean Keeton as these players now occupy seats one through four on table 20.
Catching the action on a flop of , the blinds checked to Antonio Fazzolari who fired 600 into the pot. His opponents, Kent Hunter and Milan Gurung both made the call.
The turn was the and Gurung checked to Fazzolari who fired again for 1,200. Hunter again called as Gurung stepped aside. The river was the and Fazzolari tossed out 4,000. Hunter released, claiming he folded pocket queens, as Fazzolari flashed !
Khouiss: out in front early
Sammy Khouiss has gone up to 30,000 in chips early on in this tournament after taking down a sizeable pot.
With the flop reading , an unknown opponent led out for 400, only to find another player in middle position raise it up to 1,200. Khouiss called, the initial bettor folded and it was off to the turn which came down the .
The opponent fired out another 1,200, Khouiss raised it to 3,200 and the opponent called. He then check-folded to Khouiss' bet of 7,000 on the river .
"Not so easy to call now, is it?" barked Khouis as he flashed for the made straight.
Todor Kondevski raised to 250 from the cutoff with Stewart Scott making the call before [Removed:415] popped it up to 750 from the big blind. Both opponents called and they saw a flop of .
Doria led out for 1,500 and both again both opponents came along for the ride as a healthy pot was brewing.
The turn was a repeat and Doria fired again for 2,000. Kondevski called as Scott decided to step asidee. The river was the and Doria checked over to Kondevski who fired a bet of 2,500. Doria gave it up and the 2009 Melbourne Championships Main Event winner Todor Kondevski takes the pot to move up to 24,000 chips.
Tony Dunst
Tony Dunst is another player off to a good start, after moving all his chips into the middle in an early hand.
On a flop of the action was bet, raise, re-raise before Dunst shipped it all in for his last 15,000 chips. His opponent gave it up and Dunst jumps to 32,000.
His table is a solid one as it features the likes of Jonathan Karamalikis, Sean Keeton and Martin Cardno.
Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis
After a raise in late position, Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis made it 450 to play from the big blind. His opponent made the call and they saw a flop of .
Karamalikis fired 525 and his opponent called. The turn brought the and Karamalikis fired again for 1,200, and again was met with a call.
On the river Karamalikis released a third barrel worth 3,000 and again his opponent looked him up, however Karamalikis tabled for a full house which was good to scoop the pot. He's up to 25,000 in the early goings.
It's a quiet start to the 2009 Main Event as the players slowly trickle in and take their seats, with many tables kicking off short-handed.
On our first lap of the room we've spotted the following notables:
Daniel Neilson, Steve Topakas, Jai Kemp, Andrew Jeffreys, Tony Dunst, Nik Lackovic, Chris Chronis, Dennis Huntly, Kenneth Damm, Michael Pedley, Dave Lee, Damien Elsing, Michael Guzzardi, Ben Savage, Raj Ramakrishnan, Peter Aristidou, Dean Nyberg, Sam Khouiss, Karl Krautschneider, Rayan Nathan, Grant Levy and Kristian Lunardi.