Salvatore Ribbera Ships the 2018 Aussie Millions Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
On the third day of the 2018 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, local Melbourne player Salvatore Ribbera won the first ANTON ring of the series, taking down Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. inside the Crown Poker Room on Friday to collect the top prize of A$39,700 ($31,852).
The tournament attracted 49 players, matching the same number of entrants that played this event last year.
Ribbera entered the final day in fourth place on the six-max final table with 105,500. He was guaranteed to cash for the second time in an Aussie Millions event after taking fourth place in the A$550 No Limit Hold'em in 2011 for A$24,500. The 105,500 Ribbera brought to the table, represented a bit more than half of the 208,500 chips held by Melbourne's Jarred Graham, who entered the final table with the chip lead.
The final table was packed with experienced players including three players that had amassed more than $1 million in live cashes including United Kingdom's Richard Ashby ($2.4 million), American Christopher Bolek ($1.9 million), and Graham ($1.6 million).
Ashby remarkably final tabled the event two years in a row after last year finishing in third place for A$16,535. However, he was unable to improve his 2017 performance as he bowed out in fifth place for A$8,825 this year. This followed Melbourne's Mark Betts hitting the rail in sixth place for A$7,710, who now has close to $300,000 in career tournament cashes.
Graham (A$12,125) and Bolek (third - A$16,535) were eliminated straight after Ashby to leave Greg Cook and Ribbera battling it heads-up for the title. Cook was the more accomplished of the two players with almost $300,000 in tournament cashes, which included five prior Aussie Millions cashes with one win in the 2016 Aussie Millions Event #5: A$1,150 No Limit Holdem Mix Max for A$51,230.
Ribbera, who notched up five runner-up performances in live poker tournaments but never a victory, was able to win his first poker tournament in a big way and Cook walked away with the healthy runner-up prize of A$25,355.
Aussie Millions Event #2: $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salvatore Ribbera | Australia | A$39,700 |
| 2 | Greg Cook | Australia | A$25,355 |
| 3 | Christopher Bolek | United States | A$16,535 |
| 4 | Jarred Graham | Australia | A$12,125 |
| 5 | Richard Ashby | United Kingdom | A$8,825 |
| 6 | Mark Betts | Australia | A$7,710 |
