It was a busy day at the Crown Casino with two big events starting off. We saw action for Day 1a of the Aussie Millions Main Event, as well as the $100,000 Challenge Event, where Gus Hansen is leading the final table.
It was a smaller starting field for both events as only 22 players completed in the $100,000 Challenge, down from the 38 that attended last year. The most talked about player was Phil Ivey, who has started to make more public appearances as of late, but his run for glory was halted by having the dubious honour of being the last player eliminated for the day ending in ninth.
When play resumes for Day 2, eight players will be battling it out for the top four prize-paying spots, with $1,012,000 being awarded for first place. Here is the current chip counts:
Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge Final Table Chip Counts
- Gus Hansen – 567,000
- Joe Hachem – 538,500
- Dan Smith – 346,500
- Mikhail Smirnov – 265,000
- Sorel Mizzi – 228,500
- Tony G – 102,000
- Nam Le – 79,500
- Sam Trickett – 73,500
The Main Event also had a much smaller turnout with just 153 players to start things off. Among the 68 survivors that will be back for Day 2 include current chip leader, Brett Watson, former champion Lee Nelson, Maria Ho and Michael Tureniec. Some of the more notable eliminations were Faraz Jaka, Patrik Antonius, Barry Greenstein, and Jeff Lisandro.
Here’s a summary of the current chip leaders:
- Brett Watson – 257,400
- Paul Sing – 177,100
- Benjamin Jenkins – 154,500
- Robert Angood – 133,200
- Andrew Hinrichsen – 132,900
- Elliot Smith – 132,900
- David Munday – 132,500
- Timothy O’Shea – 129,700
- Paul Colling 121,400
- Peter Parsons – 113,700
