Samantha Abernathy Joins the Main Event Field

We spotted Samantha Abernathy walking through the poker room on her way to her table. We waited for her to get installed, fold her big blind and managed to grab a few words with her.

"I'm very excited!" said Abernathy, "I'm a little nervous just with all the buzz that's going around. It's a weird moment to sit down!"

Abernathy shot to fame with a third-place finish in this event two years ago, taking home $437,543 the year Ari Engel took down the title, and she said that it holds a special place in her annual poker calendar.

"I think about it through the whole year! There's always this looming feeling about this stop...in a good way of course. It's diferent to any other stop."

During her trip to Melbourne, Abernathy has managed to squeeze in a trip to the tennis as well as several media opportunities.

"I went to see the Men's Semi-final, but I've also had to deal with jet lag. There were a couple of media stuff with Kiss FM and the Herald Sun."

However, now she's seated in the Main Event, she says here eyes are firmly on the prize.

"I want to run deep. I really do. I'm feeling it again this time around!"