2011 Aussie Millions

Event #12: Pot-Limit Omaha
Day: 1
Event Info

2011 Aussie Millions

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
qj72
Prize
100,000 AUD
Event Info
Buy-in
5,000 AUD
Prize Pool
265,000 AUD
Entries
53
Level Info
Level
17
Blinds
8,000 / 16,000
Ante
0

The Top 10

With Jon Swick's elimination, the $5,300 Pot Limit Omaha event is down to 10 players - and coincidentally, we're down to 10 players at the 10th level of the tournament! Here are their current chip counts for your viewing pleasure:

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of William Thorson se
William Thorson
191,200
31,200
31,200
Profile photo of Michael Zowie
Michael Zowie
168,400
35,100
35,100
Profile photo of Casey Kastle si
Casey Kastle
111,500
40,500
40,500
Profile photo of Joe Hachem au
Joe Hachem
82,800
-5,500
-5,500
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Carlos Mortensen es
Carlos Mortensen
51,700
-44,500
-44,500
WSOP 2X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
WPT 3X Winner
Full Tilt
Profile photo of Graeme Putt nz
Graeme Putt
50,500
28,000
28,000
Profile photo of Michael Greco us
Michael Greco
43,500
-12,500
-12,500
Profile photo of Mike Shklover us
Mike Shklover
36,000
-27,900
-27,900
Profile photo of Grant Trask
Grant Trask
23,200
-20,300
-20,300
Profile photo of David Ewing
David Ewing
13,800
-19,900
-19,900

Trask's Taken Out

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 0 ante

The final table of nine players has been formed after Grant Trask was eliminated courtesy of Michael Greco.

Trask raised to 5,000 and Greco reraised all-in before Trask called all-in, showing {10-Hearts}{9-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}{5-Clubs} against Greco's {A-Hearts}{J-Hearts}{Q-Clubs}{3-Clubs}.

The flop of {9-Spades}{4-Hearts}{6-Hearts} put Trask ahead, but Greco snatched it back when the {J-Diamonds} spiked on the turn. Both players made the flush when the {3-Hearts} fell on the river, but as the young kids say, "Greco had the nizzles, yo."

Trask is out and now, we're down to one table and only one spot away from the money!

Tags: Grant TraskMichael Greco

The Final Table

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 0 ante

We're down to our final table of nine players and we're also on the bubble! Play is about to get back underway, so here are the seating allocations and chip counts:

SeatNameChip Count
1Joe Hachem70,000
2Casey Kastle95,500
3William Thorson188,500
4David Ewing14,000
5Michael Greco56,500
6Mike Shklover47,500
7Carlos Mortenson48,500
8Michael Zowie174,000
9Graeme Putt56,000

The button has been redrawn and will start with Graeme Putt in seat nine.

Tags: Carlos MortensenCasey KastleDavid EwingGraeme PuttJoe HachemMichael GrecoMichael ZowieMike ShkloverWilliam Thorson

I'm Shklovin' It!

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 0 ante

Mike Shklover limped into the pot, and Carlos Mortensen followed suit. From the blinds, Joe Hachem completed and Casey Kastle knocked the table for a free four-handed flop.

It came {5-Diamonds} {7-Hearts} {J-Clubs}, and Shklover fired 5,700 at the pot. Mortensen and Kastle called, and the three men checked through the {2-Spades} turn. The {A-Spades} river drew two more checks from the first two players, and Mortensen took his cue to bet 10,000 as the last player to act. Kastle folded, but Shklover quickly called, and Mortensen knocked the table in surrender.

Shklover turned up {A-Diamonds} {7-Diamonds} {9-Diamonds} {Q-Hearts}, and two pair takes the pot to move him up to 67,000.

Mortensen has 30,100 chips left.

Tags: Carlos MortensenCasey KastleJoe HachemMike Shklover

Thorson Stretching His Lead

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 0 ante

First in from the cutoff, Casey Kastle opened to 6,000, and William Thorson three-bet to 18,200 from the button. Kastle eventually called the reraise, and the flop brought them {3-Spades} {9-Clubs} {6-Spades}. Kastle checked, and Thorson took a moment to consider before announcing, "Pot."

It was 39,400 to Kastle, and he would spend a minute or three in the tank before releasing his cards into the muck.

Kastle - 72,000
Thorson - 220,000

Tags: William ThorsonCasey Kastle

The End is In Sight

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 0 ante

You may have noticed that we're still nine-handed well after the bewitching hour here in the Crown poker room. The initial plan was to play this event out to a winner, but the math tells us that we still need another five levels or so to reach that goal.

The staff has just told the players that we're going to call it a night once we reach the official final table of eight with each of the survivors safely inside the money bubble. That means we have one more unlucky player to lose before calling it a night. Tomorrow's restart is tentatively scheduled for 4:00 P.M.

Break it All Over!

The players have been sent on a 15-minute break. In the meantime, here are some counts for you:

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Michael Zowie
Michael Zowie
187,000
13,000
13,000
Profile photo of William Thorson se
William Thorson
184,000
-36,000
-36,000
Profile photo of Casey Kastle si
Casey Kastle
126,000
54,000
54,000
Profile photo of Mike Shklover us
Mike Shklover
94,000
27,000
27,000
Profile photo of Joe Hachem au
Joe Hachem
59,000
-11,000
-11,000
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Michael Greco us
Michael Greco
51,000
-5,500
-5,500
Profile photo of Graeme Putt nz
Graeme Putt
40,500
-15,500
-15,500
Profile photo of Carlos Mortensen es
Carlos Mortensen
24,000
-6,000
-6,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
WPT 3X Winner
Full Tilt
Profile photo of David Ewing
David Ewing
18,000
4,000
4,000

Level: 11

Blinds: 1,200/2,400

Ante: 0

Mortensen Eliminated, We're in the Money!

Level 11 : 1,200/2,400, 0 ante
Carlos Mortensen (left): eliminated in 9th place
Carlos Mortensen (left): eliminated in 9th place

Just when we thought we'd be here grinding it out for another few hours, Full Tilt Red Pro Carlos Mortensen has just been busted in ninth place!

Mortensen limped in from UTG +1 and Michael Zowie called from next door, as did Graeme Putt from the lowjack position. William Thorson limped in from the button and then Michael Greco checked from the big blind to make it five-handed to the flop of {A-Spades}{4-Hearts}{8-Clubs}.

Thorson checked to Mortensen who fired out 10,000 in chips, which then saw the action fold back around to Thorson who quickly check-raised to 35,000. Mortensen looked up in surprise.

"Oh, okay then," he mused before shipping the rest of his stack into the middle and tabling {A-}{10-}{7-}{4-} for two pair. Thorton showed {J-Clubs}{8-Spades}{8-Diamonds}{6-Clubs} for middle set and it held after the turn and river ran out {Q-Diamonds}, {J-Diamonds}.

Ladies and gentlemen, our official final table is set and we are officially in the money! The chips are now being bagged and tagged - time to wrap this one up!

Tags: Carlos MortensenGraeme PuttMichael GrecoMichael ZowieWilliam Thorsen

Final Table Set; Thorson On Song!

Level 11 : 1,200/2,400, 0 ante
William Thorson: large and in charge for Day 2!
William Thorson: large and in charge for Day 2!

We started the day with 53 players and now, we're down to just eight. It was a day that certainly didn't disappoint, with a galaxy of stars taking to the felt, including Full Tilt Pros Andy Bloch, Roberto Romanello, Erica Schoenberg, David Williamson III and Carlos Mortensen.

Of course, given it was Australia Day, the home team was also well represented in the form of John Caridad, Leo Boxell, Jamie Pickering and Tino Lechich, while past Aussie Millions Main Event champion Alexander Kostritsyn and Tony Bloom were just some of the other big names in the field.

Sadly, all of these players fell by the wayside (Mortensen was particularly unlucky as this year's "bubble boy"), but we've got eight great players for this final table, headed by William Thorson, who has put on a dominant display to finish with 208,100 in chips.

However, he'll have some work to do if he wants to take down this title, particularly with Casey Kastle consolidating on his fine form from previous events. Of course, the Aussies will be right behind Joe Hachem, who will be more determined than ever to capture that elusive Aussie Millions gold ring.

We certainly can't discount any of these players though - the three Mikes (Michael Zowie, Mike Shklover and Michael Greco) are still in with a chance, and though Graeme "Kiwi G" Putt and David Ewing are the two short stacks, they're more than capable of turning things around. And as we know with Omaha, anything goes!

Final Table Seat Draw & Chip Counts

SeatNameChip Count
1Joe Hachem63,700
2Casey Kastle122,300
3William Thorson208,100
4David Ewing30,500
5Michael Greco53,500
6Mike Shklover95,100
7Michael Zowie184,300
8Graeme Putt38,200

Prizepool Dividends

PlaceAmount (AUD)
1st$100,000
2nd$55,000
3rd$35,000
4th$25,000
5th$15,000
6th$15,000
7th$10,000
8th$10,000

The remaining eight players will be returning tomorrow at 2pm AEDT for the conclusion of this tournament. Be sure to join us right here at PokerNews for all the live updates, plus continued coverage of the Aussie Millions Main Event and the $250,000 Super High Roller Event from noon! From all of us here in the Crown Poker Room, thanks for joining us - see you soon!

Tags: Casey KastleDavid EwingGraeme PuttJoe HachemMichael GrecoMichael ZowieMike ShkloverWilliam Thorson