In Melbourne, Australia, things just tend to be different than in good old Las Vegas, USA. The seasons are the opposite of each other, driving on the left side of the road means driving on the "right side of the road," cricket players get Nike contracts - and, heck, even the toilets don't flush in the same direction. Yet amid all the differences and disparities, one thing remains the same whether you're walking along the Yarra River or standing in front of Lake Bellagio: Poker rules.
No longer considered exclusively "an American pastime," poker's global domination continued in January as an international field descended on the city of Melbourne to participate in the Southern Hemisphere's largest and richest tournament, the 2007
Crown Australian Poker Championship.
Welcome to the
Aussie Millions.
The Full Tilt Factor
In Melbourne's Crown Casino, the site of the 2007
Aussie Millions, no other poker entity consumed the public conscience more than Full Tilt. Serving as an official tournament sponsor, the site provided travel packages/main-event entries for 95 online qualifiers, and nearly all of the pro representatives and Team Full Tilt members made the trip down under.
The group endured a media blitz at Melbourne International Airport, TV ads and posters displayed the faces of Clonie Gowen, Chris Ferguson, and Phil Ivey, and autograph hounds trailed Team Full Tilt players all around the Crown Casino.
While Erick Lindgren's win in the $100,000 event quelled some of the speculation, a question started to circulate in the days leading up to the
Aussie Millions championship event: Could the Full Tilt members live up to the hype?
Day One (A and B) - 747 - Australian for "Starting Field"
On Jan. 14 and 15, the Crown Casino's Las Vegas Room looked more like the "Poker United Nations," as a combined international field of 747 players participated on day one (A) and day one (B) of the main event: 358 on day one (A) and 389 on day one (B).
A day one (A) official opening ceremony included interviews with Full Tilt's Howard Lederer (who did not play in the event, but served as the color commentator for the FSN television broadcast) and Melbourne native Joe Hachem, and also featured a Vegas-style musical production of the song
Celebration.
While day one (B) lacked the previous day's festivities, players found plenty to celebrate about with the announcement that the starting field for the $10,000 buy-in tournament (nearly double the 418 in 2006) generated a $5,901,300 total prize pool, of which $1.2 million would go to the winner.
On both days, the most lucrative tournament outside of North America began with $50-$100 blinds, $20,000 starting stacks (or "banks," as they say down under), and seven 90-minute levels of play.
Packing the rails since the preliminary events, fans crowded every available piece of real estate in the Las Vegas Room, with the greatest numbers gathered around the tournament area's feature-table set.
While players like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Mike Matusow drew crowds (all three failed to advance to day two), and fans and media closely followed the progress of defending champ Lee "Final Table" Nelson, the biggest story of the two day ones belonged to the dominating play of Patrik Antonius.
The Finnish poker pro - who started day one (A) at the same table as tennis star Mark Philippoussis and Shane Warne, the Michael Jordan of Australia's national cricket team - accumulated a massive chip stack in post-dinner-break play. The first player over the $200,000 mark, Antonius finished as the overall day-one chip leader with $315,400.
Day Two - Kill the Lights and Pop the Bubble
After two first flights, 299 players returned to the Las Vegas Room for the official second stage. Along with having the entire field participating at the same time, the day also marked the unveiling of the
FSN TV feature-table/final-table set.
Located in the River Room on the second floor of the five-star Crown Tower Hotel, the closed stage (
FSN production crew only), complete with giant flat-screen TVs and a floor-to-ceiling map of Australia, became the de facto site for tables featuring the tournament's highest-profile players.
Few participants matched the popularity of Joe Hachem, but the 2005
World Series of Poker champion, and bona fide national hero, started day two in the Las Vegas Room. One of the reasons Hachem stayed among the masses, instead of playing on the
FSN stage, sprang from his short-stack status (as low as $4,000) and feared early exit from the tournament. But Australia's poker ambassador doubled up in the day's first level, and, after a move to the final-table set, proceeded to build his stack above $200,000.
"I have extra incentive this trip," Hachem said, following his comeback. "To win in your home city, at your hometown casino, in front of all of your friends and family, and everybody in Australia is rooting for you … that means a lot."
Gus Hansen, one player who did start action at the final-table set, also made a steady climb up the leader board on day two. A good portion of his success occurred in front of the
FSN cameras, as he battled with fellow Full Tilt member Jeff Madsen, and eliminated the 21-year-old pro when his A-Q spiked a queen on the river to top Madsen's paired jack.
In the wake of other Full Tilt eliminations, Hansen finished play in the top 10 with $562,500 in chips.
While Hansen played "lights out," portions of the Crown Casino, including the Las Vegas Room, literally went lights out midway through day two. The blackout lasted several minutes, but passed without incident.
The day's biggest shock, however, belonged to the earlier-than-expected money bubble. Nearly half of the field dropped out of contention in less than five hours, and by the end of the tournament's 13th level, only 88 players remained. Seven eliminations later, play switched to hand-for-hand, and at 2 a.m., Hansen popped the record-breaking money bubble by busting out Craig Burgess in 81st place.
As Burgess' elimination brought a close to day two, 80 players, including the
Aussie Millions defending champion, exited the Las Vegas Room officially "in the money."
Day Three - The Australian Open (Season)
Melbourne played host to two major events during the second half of January - tennis'
Australian Open and the
Aussie Millions. While the tennis stars wowed spectators with crushing serves and slicing backhands, day three of Australia's premier poker tournament provided fans with something arguably as entertaining: the elimination frenzy better known as post-money bubble play.
Already in the money, a quarter of the 80-player starting field exited the tournament area in the first 20 minutes of action. Dan Callaghan headed the growing line at the payout window, as he busted out in 80th place ($12,000) on the day's opening hand.
The rapid succession of eliminations continued, and by the start of the day's third level, the
Aussie Millions had lost one of its most closely watched participants. Donning his "Kill Phil" hat and dark sunglasses, defending champion Lee Nelson battled for two and a half days before his title defense ended courtesy of a missed straight draw and the flopped set of queens of Gus Hansen. Finishing in 36th place ($22,000), Nelson exited the tournament area to the applause of fans, media, and fellow
Aussie Millions participants.
While not defending any titles, Joe Hachem's departure in the second half of play arguably garnered more attention than any other elimination. Largely considered as the man responsible for Australia's poker boom, Hachem saw his stack steadily decline on a day three that he described as "terrible." Down to this last $67,000, the 2005
WSOP champ moved all in and received a call from Jonas Buskas, a Full Tilt online qualifier and the same player who eliminated Hachem's brother on day two. Holding the Q
7
against Buskas' A
Q
, the J
6
2
10
4
board offered Hachem no help, and the Melbourne native joined his hometown crowd as the 23rd-place finisher ($48,000).
Amid the high-profile eliminations, a new storyline developed around the emergence of Jimmy Fricke. The 19-year-old online player known as "Gobboboy" won a series of come-from-behind hands en route to becoming one of the final 14 participants. In one of the biggest wins during his streak, Fricke took out Full Tilt qualifier and veteran pro Shane "Shaniac" Schleger, when, calling all in on the Q
9
2
flop, his Q
10
caught a runner-runner straight to crack Schleger's once dominant Q
J
.
As Fricke ended the day in first place on the leader board ($2.6 million), four players with Full Tilt affiliation occupied spots in the top 10: Hansen (second place - $1.8 million), Full Tilt pros Andy Black (third place - $1.7 million) and Kristy Gazes (ninth place - $713,000), and Buskas ($819,000).
Day Four: The Melbourne Seven
After days of eliminations, and producing roughly 700 new tourists for the city of Melbourne, the 2007
Aussie Millions field stood at 14 players. By the end of action, half would be grabbing their cameras and Australia travel guides, while the other half would be moving on to the main-event final table.
The division between $1.2 million hopefuls and potential sightseers started on the first hand of the day when Andy Black turned a heart flush to top Patrick Fletcher's two pair (14th place - $72,000).
No player jumped around the leader board more than Patrik Antonius, whose wild ride finally crashed on day four. The overall day-one chip leader, Antonius bottomed out at $2,000 during the tournament's second stage, yet pulled off a comeback that propelled him to the final 14.
Coming into play fourth in chips, Antonius squared off against one of only three players with the ability to bust him, Gus Hansen. The Team Full Tilt member bet $500,000 on the A
J
9
flop, and called immediately when Antonius made a quick all-in raise. Hansen's J
J
flopped set gave him the lead over Antonius' A
8
top pair/flush draw. After the Q
turn and 8
river, Hansen raked in a pot that put his stack well over the $3 million mark, while Antonius ended a tumultuous Aussie Millions with a 13th-place finish ($72,000).
Following "Gobboboy's" elimination of Paul Wasicka in 12th place ($96,000), and a redraw to two tables, the last of Full Tilt's 95 online qualifiers fell as Jonas Buskas' A
Q
collided with Julius Colman's A
K
. The Swedish-born player, who uses the handle janpo_banon on Full Tilt, earned his highest cash ever via the 11th-place finish ($96,000).
Two short stacks, Emanuel "Curly" Seal and Dennis Huntly, dropped in 10th ($96,000) and ninth ($124,000) place, respectively. Seal became Black's second elimination of the day when his Q
J
failed to improve against Black's A
J
, while Huntly bowed out as a result of his J
10
all-in move, and Marc Karam's A
K
call.
Down to eight players, the remaining field made the long walk to the Crown Tower's River Room and took their seats amid the bright lights and sweeping cameras of the
FSN TV set.
One elimination separated the group from the "real"
Aussie Millions championship final table, and after an hour of play, "Gobboboy" delivered the deciding bust-out.
Fricke again entered an all-in hand behind when, holding the A
10
, he called Jakob Glassi's J
J
all-in raise. An ace on the flop cut the suspense short, and Fricke ended play by making Glassi the eighth-place finisher ($124,000).
The Final Table
Along with three Full Tilt players (a strong showing in light of the hype and attention), the battle for the Southern Hemisphere's richest prize also included: Marc Karam, a Canadian pro making his second major final table in three months; Hans Martin Vogl, the seventh-place finisher at the 2006
Betfair Asian Poker Tour event; Julius Colman, the lone amateur in the group and the last Australian-born player in the
Aussie Millions; and Jimmy Fricke, the chip leader.
The chip counts for the final table were as follows: Jimmy "GOBBOBOY" Fricke ($5,175,000), Gus Hansen ($4,845,000), Andrew Black ($2,100,000), Kristy Gazes ($1,050,000), Julius Colman ($785,000), Marc Karam ($535,000), and Hans Martin Vogl ($455,000).
Located in the appropriately named River Room (you'll see) on the
FSN TV set, play began with $15,000-$30,000 blinds and $5,000 antes.
Kristy Gazes, Last Woman Standing, Finishes Seventh ($176,000)
Earning the notoriety of being the last female participant in the
Aussie Millions, and doing so in dominating fashion (her closest competition, Katherine Hartree, busted out in 33rd place on day three), Gazes entered the final table in the middle of the leader board.
After beating Hansen on one hand, Gazes'
Aussie Millions run ended on her second confrontation with "The Great Dane."
A series of preflop raises culminated with Gazes moving all in, and Hansen, after asking for a chip count, making the call. Gazes' tournament life rested on a coin flip, as she turned over the A
Q
against Hansen's 9
9
. When the board came J
8
5
2
4
, Gazes, who placed seventh in the pot-limit Omaha prelim, netted her second cash of the 2007
Aussie Millions.
Marc Karam Takes Sixth Place ($240,000)
The short stack for most of the final table, Karam, who finished sixth at the 2006
North American Poker Championship, became Hansen's second straight elimination when he pushed all in with the K
J
and Hansen, holding the A
9
, called. The Full Tilt pro paired his 9 on the turn, and Karam dropped out of contention as the tournament's sixth-place finisher.
Fifth for Hans Vogl, Rivered in the River Room ($320,000)
While Hansen racked up eliminations and Fricke used his big stack to muscle everyone at the table, Vogl fought to stay alive. Forced to move all in with the blinds reaching $30,000-$60,000, the German-born player found himself all in against the tournament's hottest player, "Gobboboy."
Despite being in the lead with the A
9
and pairing his 9 on the flop, Vogl fell in fifth place when Fricke's K
J
spiked a jack on the turn.
Julius Colman: Australia's Fourth-Place Finisher ($400,000)
The last Australian standing at the 2007
Aussie Millions, Colman slipped into the last spot on the leader board following Vogl's elimination. With only $525,000, Colman moved all in preflop with the A
6
, only to have Andrew Black call him with pocket queens. The A
A
Q
flop gave Colman trips, but provided Black with the hand-winning full house.
Upon exiting the River Room, Colman, greeted by friends and family, received a standing ovation as Australia's final
Aussie Millions participant.
"I was just rapt to be there," Colman, a self-proclaimed amateur player, smiled after his elimination. "Rapt to make the final table, rapt to be the last Australian standing, gob-smacked to come fourth."
Andrew Black Places Third ($560,000)
Threehanded action lasted for more than three hours, with Fricke, in control of more than 50 percent of the chips in play, taking down pots with big preflop and post-flop raises. Despite briefly moving into second place, Black spent the majority of the three-way match as the short stack.
Ten minutes after doubling up through Fricke (K-5 versus 6-5), Black moved all in again against "Gobboboy" and turned over the K
Q
, only to have Fricke show the A
Q
. With no Fricke-like comeback on the 7
7
3
9
10
board, Black became the second Full Tilt pro to finish in the top 10 of the
Aussie Millions.
Heads Up: Hansen vs. Fricke - Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves
The chip counts were as follows:
Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke - $11,175,000
Gus Hansen - $3,770,000
Despite the deficit, Hansen doubled up early in play after he pushed all in with a paired ace, and Fricke, holding a paired king, called. The win moved Hansen within $240,000 of Fricke, and on the next hand, Hansen took the chip lead (and $700,000 from Fricke), courtesy of an uncalled all-in raise on a Q
J
8
flop.
Moments later, the fans watching the action via a live feed witnessed the final table's most dramatic hand. Hansen started the action when he raised $425,000 and Fricke called. After a J
10
10
flop, Hansen bet $500,000. Fricke immediately moved all in. Hansen talked himself through the hand, finally saying, "I could be up against that … I could be up against that … this could be the worst call ever … he could have that … wow … wow … I call."
His read proved to be correct, as Fricke turned over the K
Q
and Hansen flipped up the A
K
. Fricke's situation remained dire as the 10
came on the turn, but the 9
river gave Fricke the miracle straight.
The chip lead changed for the final time only minutes later. With the board showing the K
J
6
, Hansen called Fricke's all-in bet, and his K
10
put him ahead of Fricke's Q
9
. When the 5
and 6
landed on the turn and river, Hansen raked the pot and took back the leader board's top spot.
At 9 p.m., after eight hours of play, Hansen bet $1 million on the Q
8
6
flop, and immediately called when Fricke raised all in. Fricke reluctantly turned over the 9
7
, and frowned as Hansen showed the A
A
. The 2
turn gave Fricke more outs, but the 2007 Aussie Millions ended with the 9
river.
Fricke, who cashed earlier in the month at the
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, earned $1 million for his runner-up finish.
"It was a roller coaster," Hansen said in a post-win interview. "You have to play aggressively heads up, and he didn't slow down. So, I have to give a lot of credit to Jimmy, and his game."
As for Hansen, he received $1.2 million, a diamond-encrusted bracelet, the
Aussie Millions trophy, and a framed table felt signed by the seven finalists. His win also gave Full Tilt the unique privilege of crowning one of its own players the champion of the site-sponsored tournament.
In Hansen's eyes, the prize money and jewelry came second to the victory serving as a much needed return to form.
"I haven't been playing up to my A-game in recent tournaments," Hansen admitted. "The win means a lot. I've gained a lot of confidence by beating a field of 747 players."
Welcome back, Mr. Hansen.
Full Tilt Swing
What could make a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia even better? How about joining a busload of famous poker pros for 18 holes of golf at the country's most exclusive golf course, the Capital Golf Club. That dream scenario - especially for anyone who loves golf, poker, amazing prop bets, or any combination of the three - became a reality for a group of Full Tilt
Aussie Millions online qualifiers.
At 11 a.m., Phil Ivey arrived in a limousine and hit the practice range. Within an hour, the bus filled with the rest of the Full Tilt pros and online qualifiers pulled into the clubhouse driveway.
There's no point listing the players, as nearly all of the big names attended this Full Tilt-sponsored event, including Jeff Madsen, who, other than hitting balls at a driving range, had no real golf experience.
Players stretched, warmed up, and finalized prop bets and wagers before heading to the clubhouse for lunch. A ceremonial horn sounded as the groups piled into the small fleet of golf carts and hit the course.
The setup for the event went as follows: Play took place in groups of four or five, with at least one pro in every group. I obtained wheels of my own and proceeded to track the action as the Full Tilt pros and online qualifiers enjoyed a day of golf in the warm Australian sun.
The unintentional/sometimes in-tentional comedic award went to the group featuring Carlos Mortensen and John Juanda, dubbed by Erick Lindgren as "the two worst golfers in the history of the sport."
"They're awesome, absolutely hilarious," laughed the trio's third player, Adam Mouyal, who qualified for the
Aussie Millions through Full Tilt's Thursday $300 satellite. "This whole trip has been unbelievable. All of the pros have been so friendly and inviting. It's just been real cool."
Meanwhile, the mood in Ivey's party appeared to be slightly more "intense," as he and Ram Vaswani played for high, high (trust me, I'm talking superhigh) stakes per hole.
Sitting next to Lindgren, who had a beer and mini-burger in each hand, I had to ask, "So, what's better - a good day at the poker table or a good day on the golf course?"
"A good day on the golf course is way better than any day at the poker table," Lindgren grinned.
Australian Trip of a Lifetime: Full Tilt Style
Full Tilt provided a trip of a lifetime for its
Aussie Millions online qualifiers.
Here were some of the highlights (other than golf, of course):
1. An Outback tour to the Healesville Sanctuary, home to many of Australia's native animal species. The trip also featured a stop at the Rochford Winery.
2. A riverboat cruise and dinner through the city of Melbourne on the Yarra River (all you could drink and a three-course gourmet meal, no less).
3. A freeroll tournament with a $60,000 prize pool that included a bounty on Full Tilt pros ($250, with an additional $250 for each
World Series of Poker bracelet or
World Poker Tour title won by the pro; can you guess which Full Tilt pro was the most lucrative bounty?)*
4. A catered dinner (yes, all you could drink again) at the five-star Crown Tower Hotel. The night also featured a live band and yet another opportunity for online qualifiers to mingle with and pick the brains of the Full Tilt pros.
*Answer: Erik Seidel - $2,000
E-Dog Wins the Aussie Millions $100,000 Event
At the
Aussie Millions, nothing tops the championship event, but one prelim, the $100,000 buy-in pot-limit/no-limit hold'em event, which attracted 18 star-studded players, sure comes close. In the end, Full Tilt's Erick Lindgren beat Erik Seidel heads up to take down the $1 million first-place cash prize.
