While the 2018 Aussie Millions is still building up to its climax, the tournament organization has already announced the 2019 dates for the biggest tournament series in the Southern hemisphere. The 2019 Aussie Millions will run from Tuesday, January 15 until Monday, February 4. The action-packed schedule will include the official gold bracelet event, satellites and cash games, along with daily tournaments running for 21 consecutive days.
The coveted Main Event is slated to run over eight days from Sunday, January 27 until Sunday, February 3 with over 700 entrants expected and an estimated total prize pool of A$7 million. The Main Event will once again feature three starting days and qualifiers will already begin in March.
“The 2018 Aussie Millions is proving to be our biggest and best to date and we can’t wait to see what the 2019 tournament will bring as the poker stage has never been brighter, and the team are already hard at work to make the next event the biggest and best yet,” Aussie Millions tournament director Joel Williams said.
Nearly 100 poker tables will be set up across the award-winning Crown complex to accommodate the thousands of players from over 35 countries who visit Crown during January to compete for a share of a total estimated prize pool of over A$24 million. The current slate of individual events offered during the 2019 Aussie Millions is being finalised, with 26 official gold ring events expected and a broad range of other poker variations at both entry-level and championship level.
The full event-by-event schedule is expected to be released soon and will be uploaded to aussiemillions.com with full details.
Four years ago Scott Davies took down the second-ever WSOP APAC Main Event here in Melbourne and he is back in 2018 for the Aussie Millions. We sat down on break to chat about him and how he very nearly didn't come this year!
"Back in 2014, that was my first time," said Davies. "I've come every year since then for the Aussie Millions. A big part of it for me personally is the nostalgia. [Winning the WSOP APAC] was the biggest thing ever to happen to me, and probably ever will happen to me.
"Even if I won something big again, the feeling just won't match up to the first time. Add on to that the fact that it's a beautiful city, and when you come down here you just get to fade the winter and have a little summer and it's great. Some of my best friends are Australian so it's really nice to come down here and spend time with them
"I almost didn’t come. My wife’s family are in Maui and we spend the holidays there. So after that, it's usually a really easy trip because you're already halfway here! This year, however, we didn't go. I spent the holidays in South America and it was difficult to get a flight here.
"So I ended up going home to play in Miami. I busted out of that on Day 2 and there was a flight available to Melbourne a couple of days later. So I booked it and packed my bags up and came down here!"
Davies bought in during the second level of the day, and admits that it's been slow going.
"I have just under starting stack. I wasn't going to play today. But I had to come in to pick up my receipt. And once I got here I really felt like playing! The field looks juicy! So I switched my ticket and bought in today."
At the other end of Davies' table is 2018 Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge winner Ben Lamb.
"I don’t think I’ve played with him before," said Davies. "He plays a lot higher stakes cash than I do! He also doesn’t play a lot of MTTs. He's down the other end and lost a cooler port so he's pretty short at the moment. I'm not going to say I wasn't happy to see that!
"The aim for today is to build a stack; slow and steady. It's important not to have any blow-ups in a structure like this. Just really pick your spots and feel out the table. I have a favourable table draw, and probably the best seat at that table.
"I just want to pick my spots carefully and just grind and try and not do anything stupid!"
We found Ben Lamb with his final 4,300 in the middle on a board of . A player who had checked under the gun was thinking things over. The bet was a little over half of the pot, and the under-the-gun player tossed in a call.
Lamb tabled but was no good against . The river was a harmless and Lamb silently took his leave.
"That's the card to check isn't it?" wondered a player at the table.
Benjamin Benoit and Jack Sinclair were seated next to each other today and had already clashed in multiple pots. Their latest and final confrontation left the Brit empty-handed and moved Benoit up to the 100k mark.
In a button against small blind confrontation, Benoit (SB) bet 3,100 on an flop. Sinclair raised to 9,000, Benoit three-bet to 26,100, Sinclair shoved all in and Benoit called to create a pot of over 90k. Benoit had Sinclair barely covered.
Jack Sinclair:
Benjamin Benoit:
The two hands were nearly identical in equity, with Benoit as a small mathematical favorite. Sinclair held the lead on the flop but needed to dodge a plethora of bad cards. The on the turn improved the Frenchman to a flush and the on the river ended it for Sinclair.
Former international cricket superstar Shane Warne's poker resume includes a 22nd place in the 2014 WSOP APAC Main Event, a deep run in the WSOP Main Event in 2015 as well as four Aussie Millions side-event cashes, and he's looking for more in the 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event at the Crown Melbourne.
"The guys here at Crown do such a good job each year," said Warne. "It's great to have the international poker community here as well. The Main Event is great, but there are loads of other tournaments to play while you're here.
"This time of year in Melbourne you have the tennis, the cricket, the Big Bash and ODIs; there's just so much action here in Melbourne. It's a great time to be here. It makes me proud to be a Victorian when the Aussie Millions is here.
According to HendonMob.com, Warne has poker cashes stretching back to 2009 and he says that he still loves poker even after all these years.
"I really do love it. But not if I keep losing set over set in the first half hour! I just love the strategy and tactics involved. That’s what I loved when I was a cricketer. I couldn’t scare them with my pace but I could outthink them with my leg-spin when up against them so there’s similar stuff involved."
Warne is seated at the back of the poker room whereas earlier he was seated by the rail, with a crowd of onlookers. One side effect of his seat change is he is now seated just one table over from his son Jackson who is also playing in the Main Event.
Lithuanian poker player and Unibet poker ambassador Daiva Byrne has been traveling around Australia since the 10th December, taking in the sights and sounds of Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and now Melbourne. We sat down to have a chat with her about her travels.
"I've been loving it. Everyone over here is very friendly and welcoming. Everyone says 'Hi' and they're always there to have a conversation with. You never feel out of place; everyone is there to help. I'm really impressed."
Byrne is now sat in the Aussie Millions main event, sititng on a healthy stack of 44,000 with two levels left in the day.
"Poker's been good. I played one local $300 tournament in Sydney and cashed that. Here in Melbourne I played the Accumulator, but sadly didn't make Day 2.
"The Main Event is my third tournament of the year and I'm feeling good. It's a decent table and let's just hope it continues to build."
In addition to her travels, Byrne works with Unibet as an ambassador. She is also heavily involved in the promotion of women's poker.
"I run a group for female pokers online. It's got 1,200 members which is amazing considering I started it from scratch six months ago. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished. We have weekly freerolls for members, and we then all meet up at live poker stops.
2018 WSOP Ladies Event Champion Heidi May playing earlier in the Aussie Millions Main Event
"I'm currently planning the meet-up for the WSOP Ladies Event later this year. It's all about sharing women's successes and both encouraging and supporting one another."
It has been said in the past that Ladies Events aren't the right way to go about encouraging more women to join the poker scene, but Byrne disagrees.
"With these freerolls and running more ladies only events, it means that women can practice and feel more comfortable. It's also as simple as meeting more people and chatting, then going with these people they've met to live tournaments.
"I always encourage tours to have ladies events. Unfortunately there's not one here - maybe in the future! But it can definitely be a good stepping stone for ladies, and the feedback from ladies is that the majority prefer ladies only events. And if that works, then it works and we should do whatever we can to keep doing that."
We didn't see when the money went in, but Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne busted the last of his chips with , having flopped the nuts on . Unfortunately for Warne, an opponent with got there on the river when a hit.
"Whole country hates you now," a player at the table remarked.
A player opened to 1,300 and 2017 Aussie Millions Opening Event winner Rob Raymond called. Kazuhiko Yotsushika, who finished 12th in the $25,000 Challenge earlier in the festival, moved all in for 5,000. It folded back to the initial raiser, who folded, and Raymond made the call.
Rob Raymond:
Kazuhiko Yotsushika:
The board ran out and Yotsushika was sent to the rail.
In a button against big blind confrontation, Kahle Burns bet 1,200 on a flop. Sam Grafton check-raised to 4,600 and Burns called in position.
With the pairing the board on the turn, Grafton dropped a bomb worth 17,000 within mere seconds. Burns gave it around a minute of thought before sliding in a call.
The on the river completed the board. Grafton needed just five seconds to come up with a hefty bet of 38,000, which sent Burns deep in the tank. First, he seized up Grafton, who stared stoically in front of him. Burns then talked up Grafton to get some information, Grafton replied and the two exchanged some banter.
After three minutes, the Australian caved in and folded his hand to send the pot over to Grafton.
With the levels ticking away, and Day 1b almost over here in the 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event, we caught up with 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem to ask him how important the Aussie Millions is to Australian poker and to him personally.
"The Aussie Millions is Australian poker, basically," said Hachem. "It's the crown jewel. It's our major! I mean, you just have to look at all the people who come from all over the world. It's the major of the southern hemisphere.
"Obviously I've been here since its inception [in 1998] so I'm part of that, and every year I look forward to it. I live in Melbourne, so I'm never anywhere else!"
We asked Hachem what it would mean to him to win the Aussie Millions and he smiled broadly.
"I’ve answered this question many, many times and it’s always the same answer. The Aussie Millions is the notch on my resume that I’m hoping for one day. It would be so sweet to win it in my home casino, in my home city, in my home country!"
. A player who had checked under the gun was thinking things over. The bet was a little over half of the pot, and the under-the-gun player tossed in a call.
but was no good against 
. The river was a harmless 
and Lamb silently took his leave.
flop. Sinclair raised to 9,000, Benoit three-bet to 26,100, Sinclair shoved all in and Benoit called to create a pot of over 90k. Benoit had Sinclair barely covered.
on the turn improved the Frenchman to a flush and the 
on the river ended it for Sinclair.
, having flopped the nuts on 
. Unfortunately for Warne, an opponent with 
and Yotsushika was sent to the rail.
flop. Sam Grafton check-raised to 4,600 and Burns called in position.
