2012 Aussie Millions Event #1, Day 1a: Tam Truong Leads; 34 Players Remain
It took almost nine hours of grueling poker action, but Day 1a of Event 1: $1,100 Opening Event has finally come to an end, and it certainly kicked off the 2012 Aussie Millions with a bang.
The action began at 1910 AEST (0000 PST), but the late start time and promise of a very late evening did not deter players from taking to the felt. At the final tally, 274 players took part in Day 1a, and by the end of the night there were only 34 who survived to Day 2.
Some of the best players from around Australia and the world began the day, but of course, they couldn’t all survive, with the likes of Mel Judah, Jeff Rossiter, Bruno Portaro and Brendon Rubie all succumbing to the rail throughout the day.
At least the above players are Australian locals and didn’t have to travel too far only to bust out of the event. The same can’t be said for players like Maria Ho, Sorel Mizzi, Tony Bloom and Simon Watt, who had much further travels to Melbourne. They did not make it out of Day 1a with chips, but fortunately, the unique “repechage” format of the event means they will be allowed a second chance on Day 1b or Day 1c.
The night started off with action coming from every direction as dozens of players hit the rail within the first few levels. The chip lead changed many times throughout the night and 2011 champion of this very event, Martin Drewe, was the first player to accumulate a huge stack. Drewe held onto his lead for quite some time, but got tangled in a few hands, and lost the lead. Then, he lost an all-in flip with A♥K♥ versus 5x5x for his tournament life, and was sent to the rail.
After Drewe’s demise, the chip lead was up for grabs, and that’s when Joel Dodds started making his way up the leaderboard. Dodds had somewhat of a roller-coaster climb up the chip counts, first winning a massive hand when he flopped a full house and then losing a big hand when he ran 7x7x into AxAx. It didn’t take long for Dodds to work his way back up though, and he became the first player to hold a six-figure chip stack.
Dodds sat as the chip leader for much of the evening, but there were a few players who made a late charge and eventually surpassed Dodds. When the dust settled at the end of the night, the largest stack was Tam Truong (209,0000).
Truong doesn't have a monster hold on the chip lead though, because Alex Lynskey trails him by only 1,000. Some other players to climb up the chip leaderboard throughout the evening includedDamir Alidzanovic and Joel Feldman.
Other notables who are still in the field include Andrew Hinrichsen (81,500), Grant Levy (72,900), and Jackie Glazier (68,300).
Top 5 Chip Counts
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Tam Truong | 209,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 208,000 |
| Damir Alidzanovic | 188,000 |
| Joel Feldman | 180,300 |
| Joel Dodds | 139,700 |
Day 2 is set to begin at 1230 AEST Friday (1730 PST Thursday) and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will again be on the floor of the Crown Poker Room providing live coverage of the opening event of the 2012 Aussie Millions!
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