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Aussie Millions

General information

From humble beginnings to poker prestige, the Crown Australian Poker Championships or “Aussie Millions” has been dubbed as the biggest poker tournament in the Australian region.

The Aussie Millions tournament first took place in 1997 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Back then there were only 74 players who shelled out the buy-in amount of AU$1,000. In 2001, the entry fee increased to AU$5,000 and eventually to AU$10,000 by the year 2003. The yearly tournament usually takes place in June but it was moved to January in year 2001 when the entry fee was increased. This move proved to be a good one since participation among local residents increased.

Crown Casino, the largest poker room and casino in Australia, is the official venue of the annual Aussie Millions tournament.

Public reception on Aussie Millions

The international community soon took notice of the thriving tournament Down Under in 2003. The entry field at the Aussie Millions that time increased to 122 players and eventually created the first-ever million dollar cash prize pool at AU$1.2 million. British pro Peter Costa won the event at that time and took home AU$394,870.

In 2006, the prize pool ballooned to AU$4.18 million after the player field doubled to 418. World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners Daniel Negreanu, Joseph Hachem and Phil Ivey were seen taking part in the event. The winner became an instant millionaire when he went home with the grand cash prize of AU$1,295,800. The lucky recipient was New Zealander Lee Nelson.

In 2007, the participation among players to the Aussie Millions became even bigger. About 747 players from all over the world visited the Crown Casino and competed with some of the world’s greatest players. When all was said and done, it was three-time World Poker Tour (WPT) titlist Gus Hansen who got the record AU$1.5 million paycheck after he defeated Jimmy Fricke in the heads-up match.

Just when everyone thought that the 2007’s record would stay for a long time, this year’s Aussie Millions had set another level of records. A record 780 amateur and professional poker players attended to create a cash prize pool of AU$7.8 million. Twenty-one year old Muscovite Alexander Kostritsyn made a record victory over eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel in the heads-up match. The young Russian took the record breaking AU$1.65 million paycheck for his heroic efforts. For the first time, the runner-up also became an instant millionaire as Seidel took home AU$1 million.

The 2008 Aussie Millions was well attended that organizers have expressed their optimism that next year’s Aussie Millions will set another record and the top two or three players bringing home more than a million Australian dollars in cash prizes.

Aussie Millions Tournament Schedules

Meanwhile, the 2008 tournament had 16 events including the Championship round. Here’s the schedule for this year’s Aussie Millions including the winner of each event:

January 5 (Saturday) - Event 1: AU$1,000 No Limit Hold’em - won by Vincent Wan (AU$142,302)

January 6 (Sunday) – Event 2: AU$1,000 Pot Limit Hold’em – won by Chris Chronis (AU$60,478)

January 7 (Monday) – Event 3: AU$500 Limit Seven-card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo and Razz – won by Jim Fricke (AU$16,800)

January 8 (Tuesday) – Event 4: AU$1,000 Limit Hold’em – won by Jamie Pickering (AU$39,358)

January 9 (Wednesday) – Event 5: AU$1,000 No Limit Hold’em (with Rebuys) – won by Michael Pedley (AU$168,320)

January 10 (Thursday) – Event 6: AU$1,500 No Limit Hold’em Bounty – won by Marlon Goonawardana (AU$155,400)

January 11 (Friday) – Event 7: AU$3,000 Pot Limit Omaha (with Rebuys) – won by Lee Watkinson (AU$180,600)

January 12 (Saturday) – Event 8: AU$3,000 Australian 2 Card Manila Championship (with Rebuys) – won by Antonis Kambouroglou (AU$27,000)

January 12 (Saturday) – Event 9: AU$100,000 No Limit Hold’em – won by Howard Lederer (AU$1.25 million)

January 12 (Saturday) – Event 10: AU$2,000 Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo – won by Michael Pesek (AU$79,800)

January 13 (Sunday) – Event 11: AU$1,000 No Limit Hold’em – won by Mike McDonald (AU$33,950)

January 14 (Monday) – Event 12: AU$10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Main Event) – won by Alexander Kostritsyn (AU$1.65 million)

January 17 (Thursday) – Event 13: AU$5,000 Heads Up Championship – won by Jeff Garza (AU$100,000)

January 18 (Friday) – Event 14: AU$1,500 No Limit Hold’em Teams – won by Alex Williamson (AU$29,925)

January 19 (Saturday) – Event 15: AU$2,000 No Limit Hold’em Short Handed – won by Felix Berglund (AU$145,800)

January 20 (Sunday) – Event 16: AU$1,000 No Limit Hold’em Turbo – won by David Lee (AU$70,834)

No announcements have been made so far if the number of events will be increased during the 2009 Aussie Millions tournament.

The Crown Casino in Melbourne is currently conducting its own satellite tournaments leading to the 2009 Aussie Millions. The concept is a three-way Satellite phase-program wherein the players will only need to shell out AU$65 during phase one of competitions. The winners will get a AU$250 entry in the second stage where one in every five players will get an entry in the third phase which is the AU$1,150 satellite. One in every ten players will get a seat in the AU$10,000 Main Event in next year’s Aussie Millions.

Here were the major online poker sites that offered satellite events leading to the Aussie Millions this year. The mentioned sites will most likely conduct the same qualifying tournaments for the 2009 season:

The winners all got main event seats plus free hotel accommodations and spending money during their stay in Melbourne, Australia.

The 2008 Aussie Millions tournament had come and gone but players from all over the world will now look forward for next year’s competition which is just a few months away. With the popularity of poker expected to rise due to increasing interest among players within the Australian region, the Crown Casino will be welcoming a larger crowd come January 2009.