The $10,000 (AUD) Main Event of the 10th Anniversary Aussie Millions begins on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. local time (6:30 pm Saturday PST).
Throughout its 10 years of existence the Aussie Millions has awarded millions of dollars and produced such notable winners as Lee Nelson, Gus Hansen, Tyron Krost and Alexander Kostritsyn.
A favorite of big-name pros, the Aussie Millions final table has been home to Erik Seidel, Sorel Mizzi, Annette Obrestad, Peter Jetten, Andy Black, Shannon Shorr and Nenad Medic over the years.
Last year local poker veteran David Gorr outlasted 721 players to take down the $2 million first-place prize.
An Australian has won the tournament for the last three years running so it remains to be seen if a foreigner can buck the trend this year.
The Aussie Millions poker festival includes 26 events and there have already been several notable stories with Brendon Rubie winning the opening $1k No-Limit Hold’em event for $200k and Dan “djk123” Kelly winning the $1k PLO for $33k.
Sandeep Pulusani won the $1.1k Shootout for $37,500, Aaron Lim won the $1.1k NL/PLO Mix for $37k and Tom Middleton won the $1.1k Nl Six-Max for $84k.
The Crown Casino has also been known to host massive cash games during the Aussie Millions and both Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius have already been active in the games this year.
Surprisingly the $10k Main Event isn’t even the biggest tournament on the 2012 Aussie Millions schedule as there is also a $100k Challenge on Jan. 22, a $250k Challenge on Jan. 27 and finally a $25k Semi Shootout on Jan. 28.
Last year Erik Seidel did the unthinkable and placed third in the $100k Challenge for $618k and then won the $250k Challenge outright for $2.4 million.
Essentially Seidel left Australia with an extra $3 million in his pocket.
This year the Aussie Millions will also run a special Tournament of Champions featuring every Aussie Millions Main Event champion with the eventual winner walking away with a lifetime pass to the Aussie Millions.
PokerListings will be on hand at the Crown Casino for the Aussie Millions Main Event Jan. 20-28 with live updates, news, photos and blogs.
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