Dan Shak Leads Aussie Millions Main Event Final Table
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On Friday, the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event reached an official final table of seven players, and the chip leader is Dan Shak (3,775,000). Joining Shak at the final table are Patrik Antonius, Mervin Chan, Jay Tan, Jarrod Glennon, Joseph Cabret and [Removed:17].
While Shak is trying to add to his Aussie Millions legacy, Antonius is looking for his largest career tournament score, Tan is trying to best her boyfriend "Hong Kong" Kenny Wong's finish in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event, and Cabret is trying to represent for all of his local fans.
2013 Aussie Millions Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarrod Glennon | 3,600,000 |
| 2 | Patrik Antonius | 3,345,000 |
| 3 | Dan Shak | 3,775,000 |
| 4 | Jay Tan | 1,220,000 |
| 5 | [Removed:17] | 1,450,000 |
| 6 | Joseph Cabret | 2,655,000 |
| 7 | Mervin Chan | 2,910,000 |
Day 4 of the Aussie Millions Main Event began with 36 players, and it took nearly an hour to lose a player. The first player to bust was Aussie Stevan Chew, who moved all in for 400,000 over a 127,000-chip bet from Mervin Chan on a board of 
. Chan called with 
, which had Chew’s 
in bad shape. The 
bricked on the river, and Chew was eliminated in 36th place.
At the start of Level 18, Scott Wilson hit the rail. He was heads up with Mark Betts on a flop of 
. Betts check-called a bet from Wilson, and the turn brought the 
. Betts checked again, Wilson moved all in for around 200,000, and Betts snapped it off. Wilson tabled 
for a pair of queens, and he was drawing dead against the 
of Betts. A meaningless 
completed the board, and Wilson was eliminated. Wilson later told PokerNews that he misread his hand, and thought that he held the .
Following Wilson out the door was former World Poker Tour winner Lee Markholt. Markholt raised to 20,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,000, Ping Chan three-bet to 60,000 on the button, and both blinds folded. Markholt moved all in for 159,000, and Chan called.
Markholt: 
Chan:
Markholt lost the race for his tournament life as the board ran out 
, and was off to the cage to collect his winnings.
Phil Ivey was unable to best his 12th-place finish in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event. He opened to 20,000 from the cutoff with the blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,000. James Obst three-bet to 56,000 from the big blind, Ivey called, and the flop fell 
. Obst led out for 60,000, Ivey moved all in for 330,000, and Obst tanked for quite some time. Finally, after nearly two minutes, Obst realized that Ivey was all in. He then called with 
, and Ivey showed 
for an open-ended straight draw. The turn and river bricked , 
respectively, and Ivey was eliminated.
Dave Garcia was eliminated in one of the sickest pots of the day. He open-shoved for his last 50,000 or so at the same blind level, and Dylan Honeyman called out of the small blind. Garcia’s 
was racing against Honeyman’s 
, and Garcia took the lead when the flop fell 
. The on the turn gave Honeyman only one out to scoop the pot, and low and behold, the 
spiked on the river.
One of the major storylines entering into Day 4 was Wong’s attempt at making back-to-back Aussie Millions Main Event final tables. Wong finished runner-up in 2011, earning a cool AU$1,000,000, and was on a short stack the entire day. He found a great spot in Level 19 to double up when he five-bet shoved for 405,000 with 
. Obst, who had three-bet to 136,000, made the call with 
. It was not to be as the flop fell 
, giving Obst a set of tens. The turn and river bricked 
, 
respectively, and Wong was eliminated.
Level 19 marked the beginning of Shak’s ascent to the top of the chip counts. It began when he eliminated Celina Lin, who open-shoved for around 165,000 with the blinds at 6,000/12,000/2,000. Shak called in the big blind with 
, which dominated the 
of Lin. The board ran out 
and Lin was eliminated.
A few hands later, Shak and Jan Collado were heads up on a board of 
. Shak checked, Collado moved all in for around 200,000 – which was a pot-sized bet – and Shak made the call. Collado rolled over for a pair of jacks, but Shak had him crushed with 
. The bricked on the river and Collado was eliminated. Shak was suddenly up to two million chips.
The next player to bust was pro Brandon Adams, who cold four-bet all in for 416,000 from the big blind with and was snapped off by Ping Chan, the original raiser. Chan had 
, and held as the flop, turn, and river came 
. Two hands later, Ang Pangleng opened to 26,000 from under the gun, and Adams moved all in for his last 40,000 or so on the button. The action folded back to Pangleng, who called.
Adams:
Pangleng:
The board came 
, and Adams was eliminated.
The field reached 18 players when hometown favorite Obst was eliminated in 19th place. On the last hand of Level 19, he opened to 27,000 from under the gun, and Mervin Chan three-bet to 66,000 on the button. Obst called, and then checked once the flop came 
. Chan fired 70,000, Obst check-raised to 160,000, and Chan called. The turn was the , Obst led out for 175,000, and Chan moved all in for effectively 475,000. Obst called with , and was drawing dead against Chan’s 
. A meaningless completed the board, and Obst hit the rail.
The next four players to hit the rail were Jeremy Simon, Kitty Kuo, Naz Sibaei, and Man Hei Lam. Sibaei was among the leaders when he and Antonius took a flop of . Antonius led out for 40,000, Sibaei called, and the turn produced the . Antonius led again – this time for 78,000 – and Sibaei put in a raise to 205,000. Antonius three-bet to 340,000, and Sibaei moved all in for around 840,000. Antonius snapped it off.
Antonius:
Sibaei:
Sibaei could chop the pot at best with a nine on the river, but the completed the board. He was out in 16th place, while Antonius was over 2.6 million chips.
Pangleng bowed out in 14th place, and then Ray Ellis, who entered Day 4 as the chip leader, exited in 13th place. After running into Sam Cohen’s nut-straight, Ellis moved all in for 360,000 from the cutoff with the blinds at 10,000/20,000/3,000. Tan re-shoved on the button with , which was ahead of Ellis’ . The board came 
, and Ellis was eliminated.
Daniel Laidlaw was the next player to bust, and he did so at the hands of Shak. At the same blind level, Laidlaw opened to 40,000 on the button, Shak three-bet to 145,000 from the big blind, and Laidlaw four-bet shoved for around 600,000. Shak snap-called.
Laidlaw:
Shak:
Laidlaw had Shak dominated, and his lead increased when the flop fell . Now, one of Shak's outs (the ), was dead. The turn was a red seven, and the gave Shak the lead. The rail exploded into a chorus of groans, and Shak started to walk away from the table with a look of shock on his face. The bricked on the river, and Laidlaw was eliminated in 12th place. Before he could exit, Shak made sure to go and shake his hand. Laidlaw took it and thanked Shak with a smile on his face.
Damian Baldi was eliminated in 11th place when he moved all in for 400,000 on a flop of . Shak called with for an open-ended straight draw, and Baldi turned over for an overpair of jacks. The slammed on the turn, giving Shak a straight, and the bricked on the river. Baldi was out, while Shak crossed the four million-chip threshold.
The next player out was Ping Chan. He was short-stacked when he moved all in with and Mervin Chan called with . Mervin won the unconventional race when the board ran out , sending Ping home in 10th place.
Over two hours later, Betts was eliminated in ninth place. He opened to 75,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 15,000/30,000/5,000, Antonius three-bet to 200,000 from the cutoff seat, and the action folded back to Betts, who moved all in for 580,000. Antonius snap-called.
Antonius:
Betts:
Antonius was ahead, and increased his lead when the flop fell . The on the turn gave Betts a gut-shot straight draw, and the river brought the 
. Betts was out in ninth place, earning him AU$120,000.
On the final hand of the night, Cohen, who had been grinding a short stack the entire day, bowed out on the final table bubble. She and Shak were heads up on a board of , and Cohen led out for 100,000. Shak called. The completed the board, and Cohen moved all in for 500,000 or so. Shak tanked for quite some time before calling, and Cohen showed 
for the dummy-end of the straight. Shak showed for a queen-high straight, and the final table was set.
2013 Aussie Millions Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|
| 1st | $1,600,000* |
| 2nd | $1,000,000 |
| 3rd | $600,000 |
| 4th | $400,000 |
| 5th | $290,000 |
| 6th | $220,000 |
*Will also receive a car.
Play will resume on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. local time, where only one of the seven survivors will walk away with AU$1.6 million, the car, and the title of Aussie Millions Main Event Champion.