One of the most generous poker festivals in the industry is the Aussie Millions one which is currently in progress at Crown Casino Melbourne. The participants in the run for the big win are already at the stage of the culminating Main Event which features a buy-in amounting to some A$10,600. So far there are more than 787 poker players willing to bag the top payouts and this is proving to be the most popular poker event in the history of the Aussie Millions festival. Because of the big interest towards the event, the total prize pool is also expected to swell considerably.
This year’s edition of the Australian poker tournament which marks the peak of the festival was expected to feature more attendants, but the reality was nothing like previously forecasted. At the very beginning of the tournament structure a total of three starting flights have been introduced in order to give more people the chance to qualify for the coveted event. When the third and final starting day was well on its way it became clear that at that point there are more players entered than in the previous two flights.
Previous High Points in the Main Event History
It could be recalled that back in 2008 the poker tournament was also enjoying a lot of attention from poker players from all four corners of the world. Back then the participants set a record which has remained untouched up to this point, as it amounted to some 781 entries. Only six unique players helped breaking this record, marking another memorable day in the history of the Aussie Millions festival. One of the reasons for the large interest towards participation is the fact that the satellites for the culminating event began way back in March 2017, giving enough time for everyone to make up their mind and enter the race.
This resulted in as many as 400 players reserving their place at one of the tables at the Main Event. Then during Day 1a of the tournament, there were 212 entries, followed by 196 new applications on Day 1b. The last starting flight added as many as 379 entries to the field thus breaking the record. And there is still the opportunity to participate in the poker event, as registration is open until around 2.15p.m. on 31st January. There are many well-known names in the poker industry that are currently on their way to the big win and among them are three former Aussie Millions champions.
Shane Vijayaram, who deserved a seat at last year’s Main Event through a satellite event and claimed the first place worth A$1.6 million, Ami Barer, who won the 2014 edition of the Main Event and deserved an equal amount, as well as Ari Engel, who was crowned back in 2016. The Main Event promises to provide quite the riveting poker experience to both players and viewers in the upcoming days of action.
