The Star is to be home of this year’s $500,000* NPL500 III Event!

After 2 extremely successful FTP500′s, where NPL gave away $1,000,000 in cash and prizes and $200,000 in cash and prizes given away at NPLWT Trips in Manila & Macau, NPL is getting ready for their next Major Event, the NPL500 III. 250 of the finest poker league players in Australia plus the 9 NPL Masters will be brought together at The Star to battle for their share of $500,000* in Cash & Prizes in August, 2012.

When & Where
Venue : The Star, Sydney
Date : Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th August 2012

Qualifying
NPL500 III Tickets can be won via NPL satellite games, which includes, Giveaways, Special Events, Quarterly Finals, Regional Finals & Monthly Finals.

Please NOTE: Buy-ins only offered if there are seats unallocated 2 weeks before the tournament begins.

Keep an eye on the NPL website for NPL500 III Qualification Events.

Prizes
With a Lotus Elise and an Audi TT already given away, this year Audi is back on board with a stunning fully specced Audi A4!

2012 Audi A4 2.0L TFSI S-Line Multitronic Sedan with Phantom Black Paint, Xenon plus Headlilghts, S Line Sports Pack with 19″ wheels, Navigation package, Electric Glass Sunroof, Acoustic Parking System, Window Tinting, plus much much more!

1st-$200,000*-$102,000 Cash*
$95,000 Audi A4 2.0L TFSI S-Line
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

2nd-$80,000*-$77,000 Cash*
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

3rd-$50,000* -$47,000 Cash*
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

4th-$30,000*-$27,000 Cash*
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

5th-$20,000*-$17,000 Cash*
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

6th-$17,500*-$14,500* Cash
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

7th-$15,000*-$12,000 Cash*
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

8th-$13,000*-$10,000* Cash
$3,000 NPLWT Manila Ticket

9th-$9,500 Cash*
10th-$7,500 Cash*
11th-$6,500 Cash*
12th-$6,000 Cash*
13th-$5,500 Cash*
14th-$5,000 Cash*
15th-$4,500 Cash*
16th-$4,000 Cash*
17th-$4,000 Cash*
18th-$3,000 Cash*
19th-$3,000 Cash*
20th-$3,000 Cash*
21st-$3,000 Cash*
22nd-$2,500 Cash*
23rd-$2,500 Cash*
24th-$2,500 Cash*
25th-$2,500 Cash*

Actual car is Phantom Black.

* Prize breakdown above is based on 250 Players playing in the NPL500 III which excludes the NPL Masters Team.

Structure

To be annouced closer to the event.

NATIONAL POKER LEAGUE – NPL500 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Registration to the National Poker League (NPL) is required by all participants and is free of charge.
2. Participants must be 18 years of age or older to register.
3. The game played at NPL events is ‘No Limit Texas Hold ‘em”.
4. Standard No Limit Texas Hold ’em game rules are in play at all NPL events and such rules are available from the Tournament Director as well as our website – www.npl.com.au
5. Chips used at NPL events have absolutely no monetary value or otherwise. They CANNOT be exchanged for cash or any currency as prohibited by law.
6. *$500,000 (AUD) prize pool is based on NPL500 attracting 250 players plus 9 NPL Masters Team. Should there be less than 250 players the prize pool will be adjusted to compensate for the reduction in players. Please refer to : www.npl.com.au/npl500 for prize breakdown
7. Cash and Prize is up to* $500,000 (AUD) –should there be less than 250 players ( This number does no t include the NPL Masters Team) the prize pool will be adjusted to compensate for the reduction in players. Prizes will be paid after the event not at the event.
8. Any participant suspected or caught to be colluding, cheating or behaving inappropriately by the Tournament Director or fellow players or the respective licensee may be disqualified from the league and may be excluded from future participation in NPL events.
9. NPL has the sole right to disqualify any participant from the league or it’s event should they bring disrepute to the NPL brand and game.
10. Members agree that the NPL has the right to promote the member for marketing and promotional purposes for a period of three years from the date of winning our major prize at no cost to the league.
11. NPL members agree to be photographed whilst they are participating in any NPL event held at any authorised venue and agree to the publication of those images in various forms of media and agree to waive any rights that they may have in that regard.
12. Any or part thereof of these rules may change without notice. Please check our website www.npl.com.au or ask your Tournament Director for a printed copy.
13. All event rulings and decisions are left solely with the Tournament Director. They will settle all disputes and their decision is final. Their decision will be made in keeping the best interests of all NPL members in mind.
14. NPL500 Tickets incur a GST

The second biggest field in tour history has been slashed from 461 players to 207 after the opening two flights of the ANZPT Sydney Main Event at The Star.

The total number of Main Event entrants is more than both 2010 (446) and 2011 (373) and second only to the inaugural ANZPT Sydney in 2009 (493).

The day 1B field of 246 players – one of the biggest single-day fields ever seated at Star Poker – helped build the prizepool to $922,000 with the winner set to take home $226,812. A total of 54 players will earn a slice of the prizepool.

After yesterday eight 60-minute levels, Tam Truong finished with the biggest stack of 115,700 but that was only good for sixth overall on the chip count. Other prominent stacks at the end of day 1B belonged to veteran Bill Kennedy (108,775) and Sheldon Mayer (99,300).

Others returning for day two included Raemin Alexander, Vesko Zmukic, Leo Boxell, Gary Benson, Martin Rowe, reigning ANZ Player of the Year Daniel Chevalier, Graeme Putt, Mel Judah, Dennis Huntly and Lee Nelson along with international visitors Maria Ho and Angel Guillen.

As Ben Blaschke reported in the PMA live reporting blog, Boxell should have had more than his almost 70,000 had it not been for a remarkable lay-down by Ciaran Sharp who folded a set of 9s on an A-8-9 flop after correctly putting Boxell on a set of Aces. Incredibly, having faced elimination had he called Boxell’s shove, Sharp finished the day inside the top 10 with 72,325.

Those who were KOed during day 1B included 2011 Aussie Millions champion David Gorr, Mike Ivin, Josh Barrett, Tim English, Mark Iskander, Ali Khalil, Julius Colman and Haibo Chu.

ANZPT Sydney Main Event day 1B chip count

Toby Ryall 138,500
Nabil Edgtton 125,100
Gordon Huntly 121,400
Rhys Gould 119,600
Toan Nguyen 118,200
Tam Truong 115,700
Nicholas Heather 115,300
Justin Cohen 110,625
William Kennedy 108,775
George Marando 104,950
Sheldon Mayer 99,300
Zhixin Yao 99,150
Gerhard Niess 94,900
Daniel Ibrahim 91,700
Adam Bevis 86,775
Luke Edwards 85,150
Ludovic Citerne 85,150
Tommy Yi 83,700
Jason Pritchard 82,000
Dean Yuen 81,700
Daniel Bang Ortmann 81,400
Did not report 81,225
Jonathan Dangio 81,000
Mishel Anunu 80,600
Suzy Khoueis 78,300
Andrew Li 77,600
Nam Le 75,900
Ben Pockett 75,500
Carl Knox 74,300
Craig Blight 73,000
Ciaran Sharpe 72,325
Quoc Nguyen 71,750
Paul Raseta 71,350
Oliver Speidel 70,900
Daniel Kelly 70,600
Michael Kanaan 70,200
Mario Ljubicic 69,250
Damien Walsh 69,075
Didier Guerin 69,000
James Collopy 68,500
Brent Taunton 67,300
Sam Capra 66,300
Paul Whitehouse 65,800
Mark Griffiths 65,350
Jason O’Brien 64,625
Seyed Nasab 64,050
Joshua Foster 62,600
Mathew Rolfe 61,700
Charbel Boustani 60,150
Luke Brabin 58,875
Michael O’Grady 57,200
Jason Hamilton 57,100
Matviy Bilenky 56,925
Chad Awerbuch 55,450
Raemin Alexander 55,050
Manny Stavropoulos 55,000
Theodor Lothman 54,775
Ian Parnell 54,300
Alec Smith 54,200
Luis Arrilucea 54,075
Brett Daphne 53,500
Did not report 53,425
Stewart Ballard 53,000
Peter Aristidou 52,400
Did not report 51,875
Dale Marsland 51,200
Evan Martin 50,700
Rod Meneses 50,000
Todor Kondevski 49,250
Vesko Zmukic 49,000
Tony Hachem 48,100
David August 47,775
Nick Georgoulas 47,700
Stephane Fontes 47,550
Christian Glissmann 47,300
Erich Stadler 47,025
Alan Bustany 46,900
Leo Boxell 45,700
George Cotaidis 45,400
David Campbell 45,050
Martyn Poytress 44,350
Peco Stojanovski 44,275
David S Lloyd 44,100
Scott Ricotta 43,750
Martin Rowe 43,575
Chris Ayoub 43,500
Darren Potts 43,100
Richard Talaber 42,700
Jing Jie 42,400
Matthew Yates 42,350
Kristina Griffiths 42,150
Dean McIver 42,125
Bradley Lancken 42,050
Ronnie Shabtay 41,100
John Parker 40,150
Martin Drewe 39,550
Anthony Aston 39,350
Tony Sama 39,050
Eric Sclavos 38,800
Did not report 38,425
Stephen Lindeblad 38,300
Omer Silatozija 38,150
Daniel Laidlan 37,200
Nicholas Polias 36,900
John Thomson 36,750
Gary Benson 36,375
Robert Sova 35,675
Minh Hau Nguyen 35,650
Jim Sachinidis 35,200
Sean McMahon 34,900
Manuel Hansimikali 34,550
Louie Elias Srour 34,000
Daniel Chevalier 33,775
Andrew Mellado 33,725
Did not report 33,400
Liam O’Rourke 33,300
Trent Flitcroft 33,200
John Jolly 33,100
Ryan Hong 33,100
Con Angelakis 33,000
Graeme Putt 32,625
Did not report 32,450
Sarah Beard 32,100
Wei Zhu 32,000
Robert Turvey 31,900
Jeff Brian 31,300
Gabriel Cafios 31,250
Stefan Post 31,175
Rined Namrood 30,425
Sebastian Pagana 29,675
Christopher Moutzouris 29,650
Jarrod Holmes 29,475
Guang Yan Yu 29,000
Gary Retallick 28,900
Phillip Hiruwai 27,900
Nurlan Boobekov 27,800
Roy Vandersluis 27,775
Did not report 27,250
Michael Fadersen 27,100
Gaetano Scaravilli 27100
Qi Xu 26,550
Steven Lilley 26,400
Michael Schiffer 26,300
Hung Tu Wang 26,175
Gregory Zabawa 25,125
Kevin Clark 25,000
Laurence Hall 24,925
Edgar Montenegro 24,900
Eric Grigaux 24,775
Trudie Sultana 24,600
Jackson Zheng 24,000
Angelo Hamataj 23,500
Angel Guillen 23,475
Paul Elliot 23,425
Victor Fong 22,650
Michael Mayar 22,650
Billy Argyros 22,600
Simon Jeremy 22,375
Jim Condylis 22,100
Kamel Bekhaled 21,850
Nicholas Lamport 21,700
Alexander Antonios 21,675
Peter Skouteris 21,375
Joel Dodds 21,300
Martin Kozlov 21,000
Mel Judah 19,925
Anthony Wright 19,700
Dennis Huntly 19,650
Adam Agresta 19,600
Peter Apostoleou 19,400
Trevor Saunders 19,300
Jonathan Gamerov 19,200
Michael van Vegchel 19,200
Guy Delahaye 18,850
Shane Eastley 18,750
Adam Brown 17,650
David Hulum 17,300
Mike Comer 17,275
Mark Sarkis 17,200
Xiaobo Wu 17,075
Reza Vakili 17,000
Brandon Huynh 16,875
Alan White 16,800
Hun Wei Lee 16,600
Luke Downers 16,600
Kevin Buckley 15,775
Rana Wilkinson 15,700
Vince Galluccio 15,300
Peter Louskos 15,025
Lee Nelson 14,875
Alan Bertenshaw 14,600
Shaun Elliott 14,200
Robert Bechara 14,050
Maria Ho 13,800
Daniel Iwikau 12,500
Travis Moore 11,475
Aaron Stenlake 11,475
Sefehr Naderi 11,400
Sandy Retallick 11,200
Paul Pedersen 11150
Simon Moshi 11,125
Ryan Boswell 9700
Aaron Lim 9675
Manuel Rodrigues 9400
Andrew Stolz 8800
Did not report 7250
Peter Matusik 7125
Did not report 4650

Payouts

1 $226,812
2 $144,754
3 $80,214
4 $62,696
5 $48,405
6 $39,185
7 $29,965
8 $23,511
9 $17,518
10-12 $11,525
13-15 $9220
16-18 $7837
19-21 $6454
22-24 $5532
25-27 $5071
28-36 $4610
37-45 $4149
46-54 $3688

By Poker Media Australia

The ANZPT has returned to Sydney, and kicking off the series is the Opening Event that attracted poker players from around the country.

The Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) has began season four in Sydney at The Star Casino, and starting on Wednesday saw the $330 Opening Event take centre-stage. With three day one flights, each player began with 10,000 in starting chips and endured a fairly decent structure with 40-minute levels.

Day 1a was an early and complete sell out with the 250-player cap being reached with the field being trimmed right down to just 42 players with the top five chip counts being:
Ricky Lim – 248,000
Tristan Earl – 167,400
Ryan Davis – 114,700
Gary Levien – 96,400
Aaron Benton – 91,700

Day 1b however was a smaller turnout with just 228 players taking to the felt, but it was another big day with only 42 players remaining at the end of level 11 as the top five counts sit as follows:
Mark Longhurst – 128,100
Osama Hassan – 103,300
Troy Parkinson – 96,500
Peter McCarthey – 94,800
Florian Taube – 83,700

Day 1c would see the total number of players exceed 700 entrants with the prizepool reaching over $217,000 with the top 72 in-the-money and first taking home $51,836 as the top counts for the final flight as follows:
Laurence Hall – 128,100
Hussein Mrad – 120,800
Kenrick Leh – 109,700
Chris Tran – 108,200
David Pham – 97,800

Saturday is set to host all the Day 2 action before the final table will take place on Sunday – the eve before all the big ANZPT action takes place.

By Poker Asia Pacific

The schedule has been released for the first ANZ Poker Tour event of 2012, with the national poker spotlight set to shine on The Star in Sydney from March 14-25.

ANZPT Sydney has consistently been among the larger events on the tour since Paren Arzoomanian won a staggering AUD $246,000 in 2009, which was the largest ever ANZPT event. Since then, he’s been joined on the honour roll by Angelo Hanataj (2010) and Michael Kanaan (2011).

The series kicks-off with the $330 Opening Event that offers three day one flights and a repechage format, meaning players can re-enter if eliminated on either day 1A or 1B. Next up is the PokerMedia Australia $1k Special, offering a generous start stack of 15,000 and 40-minute levels.

The schedule also includes a $440 NLHE Semi-Shootout, $550 NLHE Six-Handed event, $440 NLHE Teams Event, $220 NLHE Turbo along with a $$0 Pot Limit Omaha tournament.

The highlights of the series are the $2200 ANZPT Main Event – one of only three such events scheduled so far for 2012 – and a $5000 buy-in NLHE Challenge on the final day.

Join the Star Poker team of Grant Levy, Aaron Benton, Brendon Rubie, Daniel Neilson and Jonathan Karamalikis at The Star for one of the highlights of the 2012 Australian tournament schedule from March 14. Check out www.starpoker.com.au for details of satellites in coming weeks.

2012 ANZPT Sydney schedule

March 14 (6.15pm) Event 1: $300 + $30 No Limit Hold’em Opening Event day 1 flight 1 (start stack 10,000, 40-minute levels)

March 15 (6.15pm) Event 1: $300 + $30 No Limit Hold’em Opening Event day 1 flight 2 (repechage, start stack 10,000, 40-minute levels)

March 14 (12.30pm) Event 1: $300 + $30 No Limit Hold’em Opening Event day 1 flight 3 (repechage, start stack 10,000, 40-minute levels)

March 17 (12.30pm) Event 1: $300 + $30 No Limit Hold’em Opening Event day 2

March 18 (12.30pm) Event 2: $1000 + $100 PokerMedia Australia No Limit Hold’em Special (start stack 15,000, 40-minute levels)

March 18 (4pm) Event 1: $300 + $30 No Limit Hold’em Opening Event final table

March 18 (6.15pm) $220 + $30 ANZPT Mega Satellite (start stack 5000, 20-minute levels)

March 19 (12.30pm) Event 3: $400 + $40 No Limit Hold’em Semi-Shootout (start stack 8000, 30-minute levels)

March 19 (4pm) Event 2: $1000 + $100 PokerMedia Australia No Limit Hold’em Special final table

March 19 (6.15pm) $220 + $30 ANZPT Mega Satellite (start stack 5000, 20-minute levels)

March 20 (12.30pm) Event 4: $500 + $50 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed (start stack 10,000, 40-minute levels)

March 20 (6.15pm) Event 5: $400 + $40 No Limit Hold’em Teams Event (start stack 8000, 20-minute levels)

March 21 (12.30pm) Event 6: $400 + $40 Pot Limit Omaha (start stack 8000, 30-minute levels)

March 21 (4pm) Event 4: $500 + $50 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed final table

March 21 (6.15pm) $220 + $30 ANZPT Mega Satellite (start stack 5000, 20-minute levels)

March 22 (12.30pm) $220 + $30 ANZPT Last Chance Mega Satellite (start stack 5000, 20-minute levels)

March 22 (6.15pm) Event 7: $2000 + $200 ANZPT Main Event day 1 flight 1 (start stack 20,000, 60-minute levels)

March 23 (12.30pm) Event 7: $2000 + $200 ANZPT Main Event day 1 flight 2 (start stack 20,000, 60-minute levels)

March 24 (12.30pm) Event 7: $2000 + $200 ANZPT Main Event day 2

March 25 (12.30pm) Event 8: $200 + $20 No Limit Hold’em Turbo (start stack 6000, 20-minute levels)

March 25 (2pm) Event 7: $2000 + $200 ANZPT Main Event final table

March 25 (4pm) $5K ($4750 + $250) Challenge No Limit Hold’em (start stack 15,000, 45-minute levels)

By Poker Media Australia

It was a case of “third times’ a charm” for Andrew Davis as he defied all comers in the $1K Sydney Special (Event3). Andrew had previously made deep runs in Events 1 and 2 of this years Summer Series finishing 11th and 5th respectively, so the spoils were just desserts for this retired poker lover from Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. It was certainly a day of twists and turns, and starting the day with a meagre stack of just $59K (4% of all chips in play); even Andrew’s most ardent supporters wouldn’t have given him much hope.

The day was only three hands old when we had our first casualty. Seasoned poker pro Sam Khouiss would be the first to go after shoving all-in after hitting top pair on the turn. Unfortunately for Sam, chip leader Ali G was “slow playing” his flopped trip 7’s and Sam would have to settle for $2,700.

One of the more “sicker” hands of the tournament would be responsible for the demise of our next player. Martin Rowe would open the action with his “standard” button raise, only for Paul Elliott to come over the top from the SB. Martin would then re-fire with a four bet hoping to push Paul off his hand, but Paul was going nowhere having “woken up” with Aces. Martin rolled over 96 off! A flop of 46J still seen Paul nicely out in front, but when a 9 appeared on the turn, Paul was heading to the bar for a “stiff” drink. Martin’s two pair held on the river and Paul had to settle for $3,240 to accompany his bad beat story.

Roni Makeem, who had been fairly quiet all morning, was the next to “ship” all his chips in the middle. Unfortunately for Roni his KJ was dominated by Alec Smith’s AJ and he would be calling it a day in 8th position ($3,780). Overnight chip leader Ali Ghezelbash failed to recover from his flopped top two pair being run down by Alec Smith’s bigger two pair and he was next to go. His final hand would see him shove with “big slick” only to run into Andrew Davis’s Aces. Ali would walk away with $4,590 for his efforts.

The two perennial short stacks for the day, Mark Griffiths ($5,670) and Todor Kondevski ($7,650) were next to go after both shoving fairly “light” and being unable to improve. Given the plight those two lads were in with their short stack all day, I think they “overachieved”, and should be mighty proud of their efforts.

Our next major confrontation would be of gigantic proportions, with the two big stacks colliding head on. All the money would go in on a flop of K43 with Alec Smith beautifully playing bottom two pair after being the pre flop aggressor. Unfortunately for Alec, Martin Rowe was running like “god” at the time, and after making the call with KJ another “cowboy” would appear on the turn giving Martin an unbeatable lead. Just to add further salt to Alec’s wound, the river was a 4, giving both players a “full book”. Alec had to settle for $10,260 today, but I’m sure there are bigger pay days ahead for this exciting young prospect.

It seemed at this time Martin was untouchable, however he lost a few crucial “races” not long after and quickly came back to the field. Frustrated by this, Martin was quick to put all his chips in the middle with T8 suited. Andrew Davis made the call with QJ and after the board ran out Jack high, Martin was heading for the exits $15,120 better off.

Heads up play would start fairly evenly with Andrew holding a slight lead on Fred Alam. It would be just two hands in, when we would find our winner. With blinds $20K/$40K/$4K, Fred would move all-in for his remaining $750K, Andrew made the call. Fred tabled A8. Andrew showed AT. The flop was 632 before an 8 would appear the turn, much to the delight of Freddy’s “raucous” cheer squad. However, with Freddy having one hand on the trophy, the T of spades would appear on the river giving Andrew a much deserved victory.

Catching up with Andrew after the victory, it was great to see the amount of joy the win had brought him. As most Star poker regulars would know, Andrew lost his beautiful wife Helen to cancer just over a year ago, so to see him grinning from ear to ear was very heart warming indeed.

1st Andrew Davis $29,700
2nd Fred Alam $20,520
3rd Martin Rowe $15,120
4th Alec Smith $10,260
5th Todor Kondevski $7,560
6th Mark Griffiths $5,670
7th Ali Ghezelbash $4,590
8th Roni Makeem $3,780
9th Paul Elliott $3,240
10th Sam Khouiss $2,700

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

Julia Alqahtani has been crowned this year’s ladies champion after taking down the $400 Ladies NLH (Event 4). 21 enthusiastic poker loving ladies made their way to the felt, not only searching for a nice pay day and some finely crafted crystal ware, but also the chance to grab the illustrious tag of Sydney’s finest female poker player. With some of the best female names in Sydney taking part, including Sydney Champs opening event victor Kristina Jeney, Catherine Owens (who has 3 Star Ladies events to her name), Jane Howard (a regular earner at The Star weekly tournaments) and Suzy Khouiss (sister of the legendary Sam Khouiss) it was certainly going to be no easy feat to come out on top.

But it would be part-time poker playing student Julia Alqahatani who would take down the coveted prize. Julia showing nerves of steel against her much more fancied rivals, built up a good stack early, held the chip lead at the start of the final table and at no stage looked in any real danger. The first big surprise of the day came when Kristina Jeney was one of the first eliminated. It capped off a rare bad day at the “office” for Kristina who was earlier bundled out of the $1K Sunday Special (Event 3). With a further two big names in the form of Suzy Khouiss and Catherine Owen following not long after, it was certainly a case of anyone’s title.

It wouldn’t take long for Julia to put her opponents to the “acid test” on the final table and assert her authority. Almost one by one Julia and the other big stack Carolyn Kohlman were picking opponents off at will, until we reached the final four where the screws started to tighten somewhat. Unfortunately for Shelley Maclean she would toil hard for just over 7 hours for no reward, ultimately finishing in 4th (top 3 getting paid) after being outdrawn by Carolyn Kohlman. Susan Bunt would finish 3rd, a very solid performance given her relatively short stack throughout. Heads up play commenced with Julia holding a 3 to 1 chip lead and it didn’t take long for all the chips to end up in the middle. On a board of K♣7♥3♥ Julia would raise Carolyn all-in. Carolyn made the call with Q♥10♥ for a flush draw whilst Julia tabled K♦9♣ for top pair. The board bricked out on 4th and 5th street and Julia would take the title.

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

No, Not the Andy Lee that has formed one half of that great Australian comic duo Hamish & Andy, but the young gun poker player Andy Lee. Andy outlasted a small but select field of 42 in Event 2 (6-Handed $660 PLO) of The Star Poker Summer Series held in the plush surrounds of the Oasis Lounge. Some of the players who had come and gone during the day were the likes of Grant Levy, Daniel Nielsen, Barry Forrester, Rhys Gould and last years Omaha champ James Siu.

It was actually a case of so close yet so far for last year’s winner Siu who would make another final table but end up with the unenvious bubble tag finishing 6th with only the top five being paid.

Andrew Davis would be the first of the players who made the cash to be eliminated. A 5th place finish would wrap a pretty fair couple of days for Andrew who also finished 11th in Event 1 the previous day.

Walter Holt would be next to vacate the building after getting his money in good with KKQ8 against Andy Lee’s AJT7 pre-flop, the “window” card would be that dreaded Ace, and that being enough for Andy to take the pot. Walter would walk away with a 4th place finish.

Our next magic moment would involve the “doyen” of The Star poker room Antonis “Toothpick Tony” Kambrogliou who after seeing a flop of A♦10♣5♣ would ship all his money into the middle. Big stack Andy Lee made the call. Tony showed A♥J♣5♥2♦ for a flopped two pair whilst Andy tabled A♣J♠7♣2♥ for top pair with the nut flush draw. Whilst Tony was in front there, things went from bad to worse as firstly the turn card was the 10♦ giving both players two pair with a Jack kicker, and then the ultimate blow when the 8♣ landed on the river giving Andy the nut flush and in the process ending Tony’s tournament, sending him to the rail in third place.

This gave Andy a commanding 3 to 1 chip lead ($315K-$105K) over Russel Davies when play went heads up. Similarly to event one, it didn’t take long for all the money to go into the middle. With blinds $8K/$16K, Russel raised “pot” with Andy calling. Russel would go all-in “blind” before the flop. The flop of A25 (rainbow) would see Andy instantly call rolling over 3456 for the nut straight. Russell showed JJ54. The board blanked out on 4th and 5th street and Andy was victorious.

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

A clinical display from Mladen Avramovski has seen him take down Star Summmer Poker Series’ first event ($330 NLH repechage). On the final table of nine, young Central Coast gun Will McKay held a stack more than double his nearest opponent. Unfortunately for the likeable kid, a few early missteps in proceedings saw his big lead dwindle away. There wasn’t a lot of action in the first 20 minutes, with most players who opened the pot being successful.

Our first big collision saw Vlastimil Kral eliminated in 9th position ($2,973). All the money went in on a board of 9♣8♣9♦, after Kenney Troung was “priced in” and called Vlastimil’s three bet all-in. Vlastimil rolled over KK whilst Kenney showed A♣10♣. Vlastimil needed to dodge an Ace or a club if he was to survive, but unfortunately for our friend from the Czech Republic the A♥ appeared on the turn and it was off to the rail for Vlastimil.

Our next elimination would be Adam “The Rat Attack” Ratten. Getting rather short Adam shoved pre-flop with KJ and Tri Nguyen made the call with 88. A “miracle” flop of KK3 saw Adam take the lead but an 8 on the turn gave the lead back to Tri with the river blanking out and Adam heading to the rail in 8th position ($4,197).

Alan Bustany would be next to go, shoving his small stack from the small blind with pocket 3s. Kenney Troung was only too happy to accommodate and rolled over 88. The 8’s held and Alan would be our 7th place finisher ($5,684).

You had to feel for young Matt Cauchi who had his kings cracked by Matviy Bilenky’s A3 in the next major altercation. Matviy made the move from the cut-off, with Cauchi snap calling. It was a “dirty” flop for Cauchi of A25 and things only got worse on the turn when a 4 appeared, giving Matviy a wheel. Cauchi, although proud of his efforts, would be left pondering “what could have been” as he made he exited in 6th position with an additional $7,433 in his “sky rocket”.

Tri Nguyen would be next to go as he moved all-in pre-flop with A♣K♣. Mladen Avramovski made the call with JJ and we were handed the classic hold’em race situation. Unfortunately for Tri, the Jacks held and Tri would have to settle for 5th and $9,182 for his efforts.

With blinds and antes creeping up to $50K/$100K/$10K, Will Mckay decided to shove pre-flop for his last $950K with 9♣8♠. Mladen immediately called from the big blind rolling over A♦J♣. Mladen turned “broadway” ensuring Will McKay would be packing his bags in 4th position ($11,280).

Our next elimination would turn out to be the most crucial of the tournament. Down to three handed, Avramovski and Bilenky both holding similar chip stacks would soon collide head on. With blinds still $50K/$100K Avramovski opened the pot for $275K. Bilenky called from the big blind. The players saw a flop of J28. Bilenky checked with Avramovski moving all-in. Bilenky tanked for a couple of minutes before making the call and putting his tournament on the line. Avramovski showed T9 for an up and down straight draw and Bilenky rolled over his top top (AJ). In a cruel twist of fate for Bilenky a 7 appeared on the turn giving Avramovski the nuts which left Bilenky drawing dead and settling for the bronze medal ($14,604).

This left Avramovski with an almost 4 to1 chip advantage over KenneyTroung as heads-up play started. We wouldn’t have to wait long to crown our first champion, with all the money going in on the first hand. Avramovski’s KQ dominating Troung’s QJ. Avramovski held, and took down first place and $42,588 to boot. Whilst Kenney was more than content to be walking away with $26,672 for a few days work.

Speaking to a delighted Mladen, I was interested to learn that this wasn’t his biggest cash and that he had won $45K in the very first Anzac poker tournament at The Star. Mladen also informed me he was down to $6K on Day 1 but just held in there and played the game of patience. He is looking forward to re-investing some of his winning in the upcoming 6-Handed and Main Event later in the week. If he retains the rich vein of form he is in at the minute, he’ll certainly prove something to stoush.

By Perry J Tilted
Sponsored by The Star

December used to be the month all the poker

When it comes to poker in Australia, the month of December and The Star have been intrinsically linked since Grant Levy became the first Australian player to win AUD $1 million on home soil back in 2007.

The Star can proudly announce that to help celebrate the launch of its new poker brand Star Poker that the first Star Poker Summer Series has been scheduled for 29 November to 11 December.

Star Poker manager Stephen Ibrahim said he was thrilled to announce the schedule for the Star Poker Summer Series and build on the Big Game Poker brand. “The Star Poker Summer Series will offer a minimum prize pool of AUD $1,000,000. Along with major tournament series such as this, we’ll continue to offer our regular weekly and monthly games,” he said.

The Star Poker Summer Series will feature 10 events, and kicks-off with the traditional Opening Event. The buy-in of $330 means this event is accessible to aspiring pros and enthusiastic amateurs alike, who’ll take their seats alongside some of Australia’s best players. The event will be played under a repechage format, which means if players are eliminated in either flight one or two, they can re-enter the event in flights two or three.

Next up is a short-handed Pot Limit Omaha event with a buy-in of $660, a starting stack of 10,000 and 30-minute levels. This format is growing in popularity and is sure to attract a crack field of the country’s finest PLO exponents.
Sunday, December 4 promises to be one of the biggest days in the history of the Star Poker room with the first Sydney Special No Limit Hold’em event. With a buy-in of $1100, a deep start stack of 15,000 and 40-minute levels, organisers are expecting a field of both quality and quantity. Later the same day, the spotlight shifts to Australia’s premier female players and the $400 Ladies Event. This is the biggest buy-in event for female players in Australia, and unlike other ladies events, the start stack of 8000 and 30-minute levels will provide ample opportunity for their skills to shine through.

Event five is another innovative addition to the schedule, and is sure to bring the poker equivalent of adrenalin junkies out of the shadows. It’s a $220 Turbo Rebuy event, with a start stack of 5000 and just 20-minute levels. Expect a big prizepool to build in the early stages of this one!

The schedule continues with a testing $440 buy-in Mixed No Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha tournament (10,000 start stack and 30-minute levels) before the ultra-popular $440 Team Event (10,000 start stack and 25-minute levels).
Now we get to the business end of the Series, starting with one of the most popular events on any major tournament schedule – the No Limit Hold’em Six-handed event. The buy-in for this event is $660, start stack in 10,000 and the levels are 40 minutes.

Later in the day is the $10,500 No Limit Hold’em High Rollers tournament, which looms as the ultimate battle between our young guns and old guard. It’s been a banner year for some of our most experienced players but High Stakes events at The Star have been owned by our best young stars in recent years. Players will start with a stack of 20,000 with levels of 45 minutes.

Now, for the culmination of the Star Poker Summer Series – the $5000 buy-in Main Event. The best players from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region will turn out in force for a shot at one of our nation’s most prestigious titles. Levy, Rowe, Benton, Karamalikis … who’ll be the next to add his or her name to the honour roll? Players will have plenty of time to stake their claim, with a start stack of 30,000 and 60-minute levels.

Players ill have plenty of chance to win into the Main Event for a slice of the full buy-in via one of the numerous satellites scheduled in coming weeks.

Click here to check the tournament schedule.

By Poker Media Australia