Aussie Millions Returning to Stand-Alone Event in Wake of PokerStars Changes
One of the more storied events in poker, the Aussie Millions, will be returning to its old status as a stand-alone event unaffiliated with established tours.
The news comes days after PokerStars announced it would be discontinuing its regional tours as everything is folded into one global tour, with events either falling into the PokerStars Championship or PokerStars Festival categories.
Aussie Millions, which takes place at Crown Melbourne, dates back to 1998 and has been a part of the PokerStars-sponsored Asia Pacific Poker Tour since 2014.
“On behalf of Crown Management and the Poker Team, we would like to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone from APPT including the management and operations teams, along with the poker community for their ongoing support," said Crown Melbourne Tournament Director Joel Williams in a press release.
Aussie Millions has long been a staple of the global poker circuit at the beginning of each calendar year, with massive prize pools fueled by year-round satellite qualifiers coming from both online and live tables. Winners typically bank north of $1 million, and past champions include Ari Engel (2016), Ami Barer (2014), Alexander Kostritsyn (2008), Gus Hansen (2007), and Tony Bloom (2004). The series was also a pioneer in embracing and promoting super high roller events, with Phil Ivey famously winning three of four $250,000 Challenges from 2012 to 2015.
The 2017 Aussie Millions is scheduled to begin Jan. 11.
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