Poker events with big cash prizes

The 2012 Wynn Poker Classic will feature a variety of poker games including Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi and H.O.R.S.E. Like with any other tournament, no-limit Holdem events dominate the series and have some of the biggest prize pools. The buy-in for the Wynn Classic events is between $550 and $5,170. Along with several no-limit Holdem tournaments with buy-ins of $550 and $1,070, the other events you can partake in include -

• The No-limit Holdem Fight with a buy-in of $550; a total of three such events will take place on February 23, 24 and 25, and the second day for all three NLH Fight tournaments will be on February 26. Eliminated players can also re-enter the event on the 26th. The final table of the NLH Fights will be on February 27. These events have a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000.

• The Limit Omaha 8/B on February 27, Pot limit Omaha 8/B on March 1, and Pot limit Omaha High on March 9. The buy-in for all these events is $550.

• $550 HORSE event on March 5 and a $2,090 NLH tournament on March 10;

• The Wynn Classic NLH Championship that begins on March 12, 2012; The NLH Championship is the Main Event of the Wynn Classic series and has the highest buy-in of $5,170. This is also the final event of Wynn Poker Classic and spans over 4 days, with the final table ending on March 15.

The highlight of the series is certainly the main event, which had more than 200 participants in 2011. Along with a big cash prize, which would go over a few hundred thousands, the winner will also earn the 2012 Wynn Classic NLH Champion title.

Second Chance and Super Satellites

From February 22 to March 11, 2012, Wynn Las Vegas will be hosting the Second Chance events for those who cannot make it to the actual Wynn Classic events. The Second Chance events will be a repeat of the day’s events, except that they begin at 7:00 pm and have a smaller buy-in of just $200.

Along with these, Wynn Casino will be having two Super Satellites on March 11, 2012. The satellites will start at 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm, and have a buy-in of $550. These satellites also have a rebuy option for $500, which can only be used immediately after the first elimination. Winners of these satellite events will get a chance to play the Main Event that begins on March 12, 2012.

Apart from these professionals, the Party Poker Premiere League V will also be played by other members of Party Poker. They will play in qualifiers to earn entries to the main event. The Vienna event, which will be presented by Kara Scott from team Party Poker, will be held between April 4th and 10th. The event will be broadcasted on television.

Structure of Vienna Main Event

The 16-player field of the Vienna main event will be divided into 2 groups, each consisting of 8 players. Prior to the final table, each player will compete in 4 league matches. $2,000 Party Poker Per Point System will feature in the event.

Satellites and Qualifiers to the Main Event

A host of satellites and qualifiers will be held by Party Poker through which players can make their way to the main event. Qualifiers will run daily and 6 satellites will be conducted weekly. To be a part of these tournaments, players have to register before the March 18th deadline. The main event winner will be provided with a seat to the WPT World Championship to be held between May 19th and 26th at Las Vegas.

Fabulous Packages to be Provided for Winning Qualifiers

Winners of online qualifiers will be provided with fabulous packages. Each package comes with a seat to the $10,450 main event. The package also includes 4-nights accommodation at a lavish hotel. Cash of $1,350 will be offered for spending.

Andy Frankenberger Will be Strongest to Beat

Andy Frankenberger’s fabulous success in November 2011 is still fresh in poker enthusiasts’ memories. The player made a magnificent win of $100,000 after defeating pros like Matt Giannetti, James ‘Flushy’ Dempsey, Max Pescatori, Sorel Mizzi and Andrew Feldman at the Playboy Club

The players who had been the champions of the 4 previous Premiere League competitions are David Benyamine, Andy Black, JC Tran and Juha Helppi. After the Premier League V main event completes, WPT Vienna main event with a buy-in of €3,500 will kick off. It will run between April 10th and 15th. Big Game VI by Party Poker will start on April 11th and will be held for 48 hours.

Party Poker is one of the largest online poker rooms. A great variety of events is held by the site. Party Poker adds new features, promotions and bonuses on a regular basis. This is a key reason behind the huge player traffic of the poker room. Seven card stud, seven card stud hi/lo, Omaha hi/lo, Omaha and Texas Hold’em are some of the games offered by Party Poker.

Qualifying for the cash prizes

Bet365 players who want to win cash prizes during the qualification period should earn a minimum of 200 Merit Points to reach the first rung of the promotion. The cash ladder has a total of 17 rungs, where the highest prize amount of $1,000 is awarded to when you earn 40,000 Merit Points. However, Merit Points accumulated towards an unfinished rung are not considered for any rewards. You can earn 20 Merit Points for every $1 you spend towards tournament fee and anywhere between 0.32 and 17.6 points for each hand at a cash table.

You can earn qualifying Merit Points only at the no-limit Holdem cash tables with stakes of upto $0.50 or $1. Points earned at tables marked “premium” will also be considered for the promo. Although the ‘Premium’ tables are exclusive for Bet365 customers, the rake rate and the points earned on them remains the same as other tables.

The points you earn through any other method will not be taken into account for this promo. Also, a player can win no more than one cash prize during the qualification period.

What you can win

Under the Premium Cash Ladder promotion, qualifying Bet365 players can win a minimum of $5 and a maximum of $1,000 every week. The prize money you can win keeps increasing as you move up each rung of the ladder. A minimum of 200 Merit Points have to be earned to complete the first level and qualify for any cash prize at all. The cash prize for the first 10 rungs ranges from $5 to $100. From the 11th to the 15th rung, the amount ranges from $120 to $350. If you manage to earn 20,000 Merit Points to reach the 16th rung, you can win a bonus of $500. The highest prize of $1,000 is awarded when you manage to earn 40,000 Merit Points during the qualification period and reach the 17th rung.

Earn deposit bonus to play more

To get started at the premium or NLH cash tables, make a deposit into your bet365 account today and earn a 200% match bonus of upto $1,000 on your first deposit. This special bonus will be released in installments of $10, after every 1000 Merit points that you earn. In addition to that, you can also win a new depositor freeroll tournament token worth €100 with your first real-money deposit.

Real Money Poker Feature in Promotion

To be a part of the Card Rush Promotion, players have to wager on real money poker games. Points are rewarded to players when they bet on games that the site has to offer. Every time 15 Party Poker Points are collected by players, they receive a Card Rush card. On receiving the card, players have to scratch it and find out what they have won. Players can win upto 50 Card Rush cards in a day. In case, they are not able to win the maximum number of Card Rush cards, Party Points collected by them will be carried over to the next day.

Lucrative Prizes on Offer

A host of lucrative prizes are offered through the Card Rush promotion. On scratching the card, players receive prizes such as cash, Party Points, freeroll entries Card Rush Race Points. Winners of Card Rush cards can win upto 25,000 Party Points.

Leader board rankings of players appear according to the number of Card Rush points they collect. Lucrative cash prizes are rewarded to players based on their leaderboard positions. Players in the top 10 places, can cash in thousands of dollars. $100 is offered to players falling between the 151st and 200th rank. Every 20th rank, between 220 and 2000th position is referred to as a hot spot. A $50 bonus is offered to each player in a hot spot.

The same player can win multiple entries to a freeroll. No provision has been made by Party Poker for these players. They are not provided with any additional rewards in place of the extra freeroll entry. The Card Rush promotion has been made available for the entire month of February. However, as only a limited number of Card Rush cards are on offer the promotion may get over before the scheduled date. The poker room is giving out around 1.8 million Card Rush cards. It is quite simple to win the first card. It is offered by the poker room to players once they finish collecting 5 Party Points.

Party Poker is one of the biggest online gambling platforms in the industry. The site boasts of big player traffic. The game selection at the poker room is commendable. Some of the biggest poker events in the industry are held by the site. The lobby is extremely well designed. It comes with a host of customizing details and advanced multi-tabling options. Party Poker is owned by Party Gaming. Last year, World Poker Tour (WPT) was purchased by Party Gaming. WPT is one of the most popular live poker events held in the industry. A Mac friendly downloadable client was introduced by Party Poker a while ago. The development increased the player traffic of the site significantly.

The British gambling firm experienced 26.33% rise in its revenues. A large number of new customers joined the site last year. This resulted in a significant growth in the second quarter. A key reason behind the growth recorded by 888 Holdings is the unstable economy. Many British people lost jobs and spent more time on online gambling at home.

888 Holdings Customer Base Increased

888 Holdings recorded a revenue increase of $69 million, according to 2011 financial reports. The revenue earned by the firm in 2011 was $331 million, as opposed to $262 million in the previous year. As reported by the company, its total customer base is 10.6 million at present – a 22% rise compared to last year.

888 Holdings is expecting its growth rate in 2012 to be even better. This is because quite a few new markets will open for online gambling this year. 888.com aims at establishing its base in several US states this year. In addition, the firm is also aiming at offering online poker services in several new European nations, where the governments are planning to liberalize their online gambling regulations. Some time ago, Caesars Interactive Entertainment and 888.com announced that they plan to extend their offerings to the US market.

US Market – The Target of Big British Gambling Firms

In addition to 888.com, quite a few other gambling firms have showed interest in entering the US market. Bwin.party Digital Entertainment announced last year that it plans to partner with MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corporation in the near future. MGM Resorts International is an operator of US casinos. Boyd Gaming Corporation runs casinos and hotels across the US and also offers internet gaming services.

Attractive Offerings at 888 Poker

The current share price of 888.com in the London Stock Exchange is almost double that of last year. It is expected that the firm’s growth scenario this year will be as impressive as 2011.

A key reason behind the increase of player base of 888 Poker is the attractive offerings made by the site. Non-American players currently gamble at the site. They are provided with an attractive deposit bonus on creating a real money account. Players can add upto $600 to their account after creating an account. They can also earn an extra $8 at the site.

888 Poker is one of the most reliable gambling platforms in the industry. The eCOGRA certified site maintains the security of it customers through efficient encryption methods. A host of safe deposit methods are offered by the poker room such as debit cards, credit cards, e-wallets and wire transfer. The software is available in an array of languages like Swedish, Dutch, Russian, Spanish, German and French. An efficient support team runs at the site offering round the clock assistance to players.

Freerolls

Every week from February 8 to March 25, PokerStars will host $5000 freeroll tournaments as a part of the promotion. To qualify for these freerolls, players have to accumulate just 20 VPPs, seven days before the freeroll. Alternatively, new players can simply make the required amount of deposit and register for the freeroll. The freerolls will take place at 1900 hours GMT, and will take place on every Wednesday of the week, starting on the 8th of February.

The prize pool for each of these freerolls is $5000, which would be divided among the winners according to their position. An amount of $7500 will also be set aside from the total prize pool for the promotion. The top 15 players on the leaderboard for this promotion will get to take home a share of this amount at the end of the series.

As freeroll tournaments come with zero buy-ins, all you need to do is hone your online poker skills a bit and you could win a pie of the $5000 prize pool every week.

Rewards

Along with the cash prizes, the top players on the PokerStars PokerNews Freeroll Series leaderboard will also earn VPPs based on their position. While the top 30 players will earn a few points, the top 15 players will get both cash and points. Here are the details.

• The player who stands first on the leaderboard will earn 100 points and $1500 of the $7500 special prize pool accumulated for the leaderboard.

• While the player ranked 2nd will earn $1,500 and 90 points, the player in 3rd position will earn 80 points and $950.

• The remaining top 10 players will get to earn between $800 and $200, based on their ranking. Players ranking from 11 to 15 will earn between $50 and $150.

• The number of points allotted range between 75 and 45 for players ranked 4 to 10 on the leaderboard.

• 11th and 12th ranks would get 35 points, while 13th and 14th ranks get 30 points each.

• Players at 15th and 16th places get $25 each, and those at 17th and 18th places will each get $20.

• 15 points are awarded to ranks 19 to 21, while 10 points are awarded from ranks 22 to 25.

• The last five people on the leaderboard are awarded 5 points each.

In case of a tie in the number of points, PartyPoker would determine which player will get the reward, by considering several criteria.

The huge buy-in was paid by about 16 players including Ivey. The Californian player accumulated critical GPI points through his successes in Melbourne events. Unfortunately for Phil, his score was not adequate to take him to the GPI top 300.

Phil Ivey Owes Money to Full Tilt Poker

Phil Ivey, a winner of 8 WSOP bracelets and previously associated with Full Tilt Poker, was recently mentioned in a critical statement made by Groupe Bernard Tapie attorney, Behnam Dayanim. He stated that quite a few well-known poker pros previously associated with Full Tilt Poker still owes significant sums of cash to the poker room. Ivey’s name was mentioned in the list. This is a matter of big concern for the poker pro. It may affect Phil’s rankings in future.

Sorel Mizzi Moves 15 Places Upwards

A significant change in the GPI rankings this time is a big jump by Sorel Mizzi. The player climbed up 15 places and currently is at the 12th place in GPI Top 300.

The player had been in the top 10 till last October. However, his rank went down by the end of November. Till last week, the player was not in the top 20. The second place finish at the Aussie Millions No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up event, improved the player’s position significantly. The buy-in for the event was AUD$5,000.

Jaka Rises in Rankings

Another player who has been highly successful in the Aussie Millions was Faraz Jaka. He has been the runner-up of a No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed tournament with a buy-in of AUD$2,500. This achievement made him climb up 54 places in the GPI Top 300. The player’s Aussie Millions performance is also a reason for the improvement in his GPI rankings. He made a third place finish at a No Limit Hold’em tournament at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure’s European Poker Tour. The buy-in for the event was $10,000 and the player cashed in a total of $755,000. This achievement fetched him the 145th rank in the event. Through the Melbourne successes, the player made his way to the top 100.

Erik Seidel Tops the GPI Rankings

Erik Seidel, who was a former Full Tilt Poker pro, holds the number one position in GPI Top 300. The player had a number of back to back successes between October 10 and November 28. After his 21st place finish in the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), the poker pro didn’t have any noteworthy success. Due to quite a few significant wins made in 2011, the player manages to retain his number one position.

Lopes refuses to be called as a Poker Pro

The rapper from France had been a part of the music industry for over 20 years. In the final table of the Diamond Championship, the player outlasted eminent poker pros like Aubin Cazals. He was eliminated in a heads-up tournament based on No Limit Hold’em. The buy-in for the event was €5,000. Cazals, who was the runner-up of the championship, took home a total of €94,760.

Lopes is one of the founders of a well-known rap band called, Suprême NTM. Lopes stated that he doesn’t make his living through poker. Hence, he cannot be considered as a poker pro.

Lopes made more than $350,000 through Poker

Till date, the total amount of earnings made by Lopes through poker is $350,000. It is expected that the player will focus on making a career in poker. It will not hamper his rapping skills in any way.

Home-Based Players Dominated the Final Table

The final table of the EFOP Diamond Championship was dominated primarily by home-based players. 6 French players made it to the final table. Cazals and Lopes were in the top 2. Jerome Naye made a third place finish and walked away with €90,000. He was followed by Alain Roy in the fourth place. The player took home €46,600. Jean Noël Thorel made a 5th place finish. He received €38,830 for his efforts. Zimnan Ziyard from England finished in 6th place and walked away with €31,065.

Antoine Labat, an experienced French player was at the 7th place and grabbed a sum of €25,890. 8th place finisher, Vladimir Faubert from Canada won about €20,710. Sampsa Hytoenen from Finland and a French player, Lionel Lesur finished in 10th place.

Notable names missed in the list of top ten finishers

Quite a few eminent poker professionals were not able to make it to the list of top 10 finishers. Some of these players are Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Jonathan Duhamel, Ludovic Lacay, David Benyamine and Basil Yaiche.

Philippe Ktorza is another well-known poker pro, who finished at the 14th place and took home a total of €7,765. The American poker star, Shannon Shorr had been the winner of Bellagio Cup in 2006. The player received a total of $960,690 for this victory. In the Diamond Championship at EFOP this year, the player finished in 13th place.

Lopes made his way to the championship after defeating Cazals. The biggest win for Cazals prior to the Diamond Championship was $45,511 in the Irish Poker Championship last month. The win at the Diamond Championship had been the biggest for Lopes, in his poker career. Before this event, the highest prize money won by the player was $46,819 at the main event of WPT Grand Prix de Paris.

Caesars Extends 888 Partnership

888 Poker has been proving software to the current WSOP online poker room. The WSOP online poker room isn’t available in the United States yet. The new partnership will allow CIE to use 888 Poker’s software to operate in the United States if online poker becomes legalized in the USA.

Caesars will now be able to launch the WSOP brand in the USA quickly if regulation happens this year. 888 stated that they’re also ready to enter the US market as soon as the market becomes regulated. 888 Poker is also looking for other partners in the USA that want to use 888 Poker’s software suite.

Caesars Extends LB Poker Partnership

Caesars also announced this week that they extended their partnership with LB Poker. The new partnership is a long term deal that will allow the two companies to further develop their online poker presence. CIE and LB Poker announced that the two companies plan on building a proprietary online poker platform using LB Poker’s current technologies.

The new online poker platform will only be available in regulated markets throughout Europe initially. The two companies have said that they think the new platform will be a game changer in international poker markets. LB Poker already operates a French poker room that is licensed by ARJEL called BarrierePoker.fr.

CIE and LB Poker already had a previous partnership that moved the WSOPE Events to Cannes, France last year. LB Poker plans on focusing on the French market according to the President of Barriere Poker. The new platform that CIE and LB Poker plan on co-developing will allow CIE to roll out the WSOP brand in other regulated European markets easily.

The two new partnerships that were created this week by Caesars Interactive Entertainment will ensure that the company has a head start in entering regulated poker markets. More and more countries are regulating online poker and CIE will be able to market the WSOP brand much more effectively with the new partnerships that will allow them access to leading gaming software suites.

CIE has started to embrace the online poker industry a lot more recently and they seem to be doing the best job out of the brick and mortar casinos in the online poker space. The WSOP brand is already recognized around the world and if the WSOP poker room can start operating in other regulated markets CIE should be able to become a major player in the online poker industry.

There have been a lot of partnerships forming in the online gaming industry lately due to regulations in countries around the world and the partnerships should keep increasing. There are a lot of software providers that can help brick and mortar brands enter the online gaming vertical without much investment or risk. The only problem is waiting on online poker legalization in markets such as the United States.

Help for Heroes, a charitable organization that assists injured people in the armed forces, will benefit from the money made during the session. The new challenge that Denson has taken up will help raise funds that can be used to assist those affected in the conflicts in Britain.

As a former soldier in the Territorial Army, Denson feels strongly about being able to provide assistance to the men and women at Help for Heroes. He stated that he is glad that his challenge will raise the money that the members of the Territorial Army can use. Guinness World Records allows players to take a break for five minutes after sixty minutes of play. Players are allowed to hold back the breaks to accumulate the time for a bigger one later.

Phil Laak’s 115 Hour Record Challenged by Denson

The record Denson will attempt to break is Phil Laak’s. In 2010, Laak set the record by playing poker continuously for 115 hours. Laak’s challenge took place in the poker room at Bellagio, Las Vegas. The money raised from the challenge was given to Camp Sunshine. By the end of the event, he took home a profit of $6,766. The record Laak set out to surpass was that by Paul Zimbler’s. He played poker for a little over 78 hours. Through the challenge, Zimbler helped raise ₤35,000 that went to the UK Make a Wish organization.

Four Hour Restriction a Concern

Denson is concerned about one aspect – the restriction that opponents will face with regard to how many hours they will get to play. He is unsure whether the four hour rule will discourage opponents from taking up the challenge. Denson confirmed that finding the number of players required to go through the challenge is likely to be a hurdle. He stated that several players will be required to participate and that a few should also be willing to play against him early mornings and nights.

Another issue that Denson will face is staying awake for five days continuously. Laak stated that after playing for 92 hours, he had an out-of-body experience. He was playing a No-Limit Hold’em game with chips worth $4,000. To cover the rest of the game, he had to push it up to $10,000. In the beginning of the game, he played carefully, maintaining a chart with his upward and downward swings. However, by the time the game had passed the fourth day, he was not sure whether he was folding or playing. Interestingly, Laak went through the 115 hours of play without using the caffeinated stimulants that most other poker players rely on when they play continuous sessions of poker.

Card Rush promotion operates in a simple manner. Every time a player earns 15 Party Points, the poker site rewards him with a Card Rush ticket. On scratching the card, prizes are revealed. Every card offers a prize. Each player can collect as many as 50 cards per day. In case a player is not able to reach the maximum limit on a day, he can carry forward the points to the following day.

Many Exciting Prizes on Offer

Every card will reveal an exciting prize. Various types of prizes are on offer. They range from party points, freeroll entries to cash rewards. Card Rush Race Points are also awarded through the cards. The number of Party Points and the amount of cash awarded vary from one card to another.

Card Rush Race Points can be earned only through the promotional tickets. Points collected through the Card Rush cards will contribute towards the leaderboard ranking of players. Based on their position, players are rewarded with cash prizes. The player who collects the maximum number of points at the end of the promotion will receive $9,000. The top ten scorers will also bank hefty sums of cash. $100 will be rewarded to players who are in any place between 151st and 200th place. Every 20th place finisher from 220th through 2000th is referred as ‘hot spots’. The players will receive $50 each.

Substitute Prizes will not be provided to Players Receiving Multiple Freeroll Entries

The promotion doesn’t have any provision for players who receive multiple freeroll entries. For the extra seats, these players are not offered substitute prizes. Although the Card Rush promotion is supposed to run throughout February, the number of cards offered is limited. Overall, 1.8 million Card Rush cards will be offered during the promotional period. Hence, it is expected that the promotion will end earlier than scheduled. Through an additional bonus, the poker room will award the first card to players once they collect 5 Party Points instead of 15.

VIP Rake Race Promotion Concludes at PartyPoker

An attractive promotion just ended at PartyPoker. The VIP Rake promotion ran throughout January. It was made available solely to players who belonged to the category of Palladium Elite and Palladium. Through this promotion, the poker room awarded cash prizes worth thousands of dollars to the top scorers every week.

Currently ranked as the second largest poker site, PartyPoker is one of the best platforms to gamble online. The site has huge player traffic especially at its cash game tables. A wide range of games are offered by the site. This includes Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo. The eCOGRA certified site is a reliable gambling platform. The lobby is well-designed and comes with a host of customizing options.

Hachem, who briefly held the record for the all-time biggest tournament prize when he won $7.5 million at the 2005 World Series of Poker, has said that most of the tournaments he’ll participate in will be those that take place close to his home country Australia. However, it is likely that the 13-time cash finisher in WSOP events will be seen in action in Las Vegas in July.

Hachem likely to Enter Asian Series Cebu

Hachem is also likely to enter the Asian Series Cebu that will take place in the Philippines between the 1st and 7th of February. This event is part of the second stage of the APT Asian Series. The poker tour, which is quite new in the region, will come with a buy-in of 50,000 PHP (Philippenes Pesos).

Last year, the event featured a PHP 46,500 main event. Andreas Lindblom, a Swedish poker professional won PHP 1,875,3000 at the event. Lindblom beat a field of 126 players which included Gereardo Lubas, a hot favorite for the event.

A high-roller event will be featured in the Cebu leg. With a buy-in of 108,000 PHP. Most people close to the tournament believe that the field for the upcoming event will be bigger and stronger than that of the previous events. The APT site is offering a host of additional online poker events, which will draw a fresh crowd. Players have the chance to qualify for the event by taking part in the satellite tournaments offered by the APT on their website.

The Cebu leg will also feature an event that will give 20% of the proceeds to the Philippines Red Cross. After the Asian Series Cebu event, the APT will go to India where between 21st and 27th of May, players will get to participate in the APT Asian Series Goa event. The tour’s final stop will be APT Macau. It is set to take place between the 25th and 31st of July.

APT Continues to Strengthen its Presence

With Joe Hachem at the helm as its ambassador, the Asian Poker Tour is taking big steps in the world of poker. The tour recently conducted its first European Main Event. It required a buy-in of ₤545 and had a field of about 125 players. At the end of the two-day event, William Dorey was crowned the APT London Champion and took home ₤17,130.

Some of the best poker players from all over the world took part in the event, including Barny Boatman, Romano Pizzo and Chuck Clark. By the end of Day 1, only 37 players made the cut. The official final table on Day 2 comprised of nine players, from which Dorey emerged victorious.

Mark Buford Leads in Chip Count

When the action began at the final table, Mark Buford led in chip count, with 2,575,000. Araya was one player behind him with 1,560,000. The other players at the table were Michael Sanders, Will Nguyen, Dejuante Alexander, Jack Miller, Daniel Lowery, Justin Gardenhire and Derek Browning. The first player to leave the table was Alexander.
In the cut-off position, the player went all-in, adding 1.3 million to the pot. The bet was called by Browning who had a K-Q suited. Alexander’s J-J did not fare well on a flop that brought a Q. When he left the game, Alexander took $26,069.

Gardenhire and Nguyen follow Alexander

Pre-flop, Lowery was three-bet by Gardenhire. Lowery went all-in with A-A, forcing Gardenhire to call with a K-J. The flop brought K-Q-T, giving Gardenhire the chance to complete his hand, but he could not do this when the turn and river disappointed him. Post dinner, Nguyen opened with 140,000. When Araya then went all-in, Nguyen remarked that he suspected that his opponent would make that move. But he called with A-K, and played against the T-T in Araya’s hand. When the board brought Q-J-2-J-9, Nguyen was sent to the rail.

Browning, who started as the leader, gradually went down as the short stack. On a board showing 7-5-3-T, Browning called with T-T. This move paid-off when his opponent was brought down with two over-cards. But, he called a few big draws which chipped away at his stack. In the final hand he played in the game, the flop brought Jh-5h-3d and the river, another heart. His pocket aces (unsuited), were no match for the 7h-6h in Araya’s hand. This put Araya in the chip lead with approximately 13 million.

Araya Sends Buford, Sanders and Lowery

On the button, Buford shoved and was called from the big blind by Araya. Buford’s A-Q was no match for Araya’s A-J when the flop brought a J. Buford was joined by Miller in a short while. On the button, Lowery opened and Miller went in. With A-7, Lowery called and Miller’s K-J did not hold up on a board with 2-6-5-3-4. Miller was sent out by the seven-high straight Lowery landed. Sanders’ elimination happened when he went all in with 7-7. Araya’s 4-4 held their ground when the flop brought Q-Q-4 and the turn and river refused to improve Sanders’ hand. Following this, Araya and Lowery entered heads-up play. By the end of an hour, Lowery had staked nearly 2 million without getting much out of it.

The field, which started with nearly 1,000 players, was 21% more than last year’s. This shows that more players are taking to the felt in the WSOPC event.

Lam Loses Place on Leaderboard

Day 2 of the event saw Lam lose his place at the top on the leaderboard. Over the course of the event, one player had been quite consistent in pursuing the spot of the chip lead – Phi Ivey. For a player who had been missing from the live tournament scenario for a few months, Ivey made an impressive return in the Aussie Millions. The field, which is quite strong with about 74 players, is putting up a fight to secure a place at the top of the leaderboard.

During Day 2, Lam managed to make a chip stack worth 225,000. However, he was overtaken by Tim O’Shea. With a chip count exceeding 920,000, O’Shea was ahead of all other players. Close behind him was Aage Ravn, with a stack that went above the 700,000 mark.

A Straight Lands O’Shea at the Top of Leaderboard

O’Shea was able to secure the top spot on the leaderboard after he played a hand against Josh Barrett. O’Shea, with nearly half a million in chips, from under the gun, raised Barrett pre-flop. The bet was called by Barrett who was the big blind.

The flop brought 3-5-7. Barrett and O’Shea raised and re-raised each other before a 4 hit the turn. Barrett checked to this and O’Shea placed 125,000 chips in the pot. Barrett called this. Soon after, the river brought an ace. Barrett opted for a check-call with 150,000. However, at the turn O’Shea had landed a straight draw. With help from the river, he had a straight with his A-6. On the other hand, Barrett had got a two pair. This hand saw O’Shea take his stack to 940,000. Barrett’s dropped to 245,000. A few hands down, his stack was reduced further to less than 200,000. However, he is still in the competition.

On Day 2, there were a few latecomers. After their arrival and an adjustment to the Aussie Millions prize structure, the money distribution was decided. With 659 players contending in the event, the prize pool went up to $6.59 million (AUD). The amount will be divided among the best 72 players. The winner of the event will take away $15,000 (AUD).

Two Eliminations to Set Final Table of Aussie Millions

Day 3 will commence with ten players. This means two players will have to be eliminated for the final official table. Patrick Lui and James Sin have stacks of just 7,000 and 10,500 respectively. Both are quite insufficient when compared to the antes and blinds required for Day 3. Three other players have stacks that will only allow them to play for eight to nine big blinds. They will have to either take their stacks up to post more blinds or will be among the first few to be sent to the rail quite early.

Field of 22 Holds Strong

Day 1 of the $100,000 Challenge had a field of twenty-two. The event, which has been a part of the tour for the past seven years, has a unique structure. Players start with a stack of 100,000 chips. Players don’t have to place antes. The betting format is split limit.

The field held strong through ten hours of play. It was after this that the final table, comprising eight players, came together. Joe Hachem and Gus Hansen were at the top in chip count. One of the first few players to leave the game early was Dan Shak. In 2010, he won the title for the $100,000 Challenge. But despite his experience in playing events with big buy-ins, he could not hold on to his place at the table. Just before Shak hit the rail, Mike Watson left the game. In a short while, Tony Bloom, Tom Dwan, Jonathan Karamalikis and Masa Kagawa joined them.

Tony G Joins Late

When just 15 players remained, the field was joined by Tony G. He managed to become a final tabler by the end of day. However, a few players were not successful in making it to the final. Daniel Alaei, was taken down by Hachem. Negreanu played with a short stack that refused to accumulate despite his best efforts. The next few players who joined them at the rail were JC Tran, Daniel Cates, Erik Seidel and Tobias Rettenmaier.

Jason Mercier too was unsuccessful in staying in the game when his 8-8 ran into the 10-10 held by Mikhail Smirnov. The last person to go was Phil Ivey, whose 8-8 failed to make a hand with the 9-7-6 flop and a turn and river that showed blanks for him. Hansen, who played against him with a 6-7, flopped 2 pairs. Ivey’s exit marked the burst of the bubble for the final table. The players who made it to Day 2 of the event were Dan Smith, Mikhail Smirnov, Sorel Mizzi, Sam Trickett, Joe Hachem, Nam Le, Gus Hansen and Tony G.

Smith takes down Smirnov

On Day 2, Smith took down Smirnov after hours of play. Four players were eliminated in the initial stages – Trickett, Hansen, Nam Le and Mizzi. They did not make money as the format allowed for only the top four players to get paid out. With a fourth place finish, Tony G took home $242,000 (AUD). His A-6 was unable to beat Smith’s A-Q. Joe Hachem left in third place with $330,000 (AUD) and the biggest score he has ever made in live tournaments in Australia. Hachem lost when his A-9 lost to Smith’s A-T. The final hand was played between Smirnov and Smith.