Aaron Lim has won the third gold ring of the Aussie Millions Poker Championships after taking down the $1,100 No Limit Holdem / Pot Limit Omaha rotation event late on Thursday.

After entering the heads-up battle with a near ten-to-one chip advantage over Ali Ghezelbash, the blinds were at 12,000-24,000 when Lim moved all in from the button during No Limit Holdem.

Ghezelbash made the call with K♣8♦ for the best hand as Lim tabled Q♠3♠. However the board of J♥3♥A♦J♠J♣ paired up Lim to take the title and $36,735 prize money.

At the start of the day it was Casey Kastle with the chip lead as Crown Poker Room regular Dean Francis was first to take a brutal hit. Francis was on the verge of moving into a strong position when he looked down at his K♠K♥ during No Limit Holdem and was shoved on by Eric Sclavos and his A♣K♣. Sometimes the poker Gods can be cruel as the 4♠A♠6♣3♣Q♠ flop rewarded Sclavos, as two other players commented that they had folded an ace. Sclavos doubled up as Francis tumbled down the leaderboard.

However Francis did manage a pay jump after Sam Vakili was first to visit the cashier in 9th place. During Pot Limit Omaha he got his chips in the middle with top pair and a gutshot straight draw against the bottom pair and nut flush draw of Aaron Lim. A third club on the turn was enough for Lim to complete his flush to end the tournament for Vakili.

With the blinds at 5,000-10,000, Francis was down to his last 40,000 chips which he committed preflop in a battle of the blinds with Casey Kastle in No Limit Holdem. Francis held 9♠7♥ and was happy to have live cards against Kastle’s K♠Q♥ , however the board ran out Q♦3♥8♠3♣4♥ to pair up Kastle and eliminate Francis in 8th place.

Kastle could manage no better than 7th, and he was soon followed by Eric Sclavos in 6th place who backed up from his final table in the Shootout event yesterday with another strong performance. Michael Benvenuti departed in 5th before the elimination of Khiem Nguyen in 4th place during the PLO orbit. Nguyen committed holding K♠K♣3♠8♣ and was called by Aaron Lim and his A♦Q♣J♣10♣ , but when the board of 8♠Q♦5♣2♠Q♥ was dropped by the dealer, Nguyen hit the rail.

Cheng Liu was next to go in 3rd place before Lim disposed of Ghezelbash to wrap up the title.

While the final table took over the feature table in the Crown Poker Room, there were just 47 players remaining at the dinner break from a starting field of 385 for today’s $1,100 No Limit Holdem 6-Max event.

Stefan Jedlicka was out in front with Brian Roberts of “Two Months, Two Million” fame and Australia’s World Champion Joe Hachem also with the chip leaders.

It was a stacked field for the 12:30pm start with the Asia-Pacific well represented by the likes of Simon Watt, Leo Boxell, Andrew Hinrichsen, Tony Hachem, David Gorr, Van Marcus, Aaron Benton, Jackson Zheng, Daniel Neilson, James Obst, Amanda De Cesare, Phil Willcocks and Jackie Glazier.

Jonathan Karamalikis, Jai Kemp, Peter Aristidou and Poker Asia Pacific blogger Matthew Wakeman were among the early casualties, with Wakeman’s pocket aces cracked by an opponent’s pocket jacks.

Michael Pedley also joined them on the ropes after he recalled to us that he got his chips in the middle with top set against two opponents who were drawing to straight and flush possibilities. Unfortunately for Pedley, an ace on the turn gave his opponent a straight to win the massive pot and send Pedley to an early exit.

Chris Moorman and Jesse “On The Mac” McKenzie were the early moves with McKenzie gaining most of his chips after turning a flush to leave his opponent drawing dead. On a multi-way flop, McKenzie called a bet of 2,100 on the flop of betting 3,100 on the 9♦ turn. His opponent check-raised to 6,200 before McKenzie moved all in. His opponent made the call with ace-queen for top pair but, without a diamond, he was without hope as McKenzie showed 7♦6♦ for the flush.

Later in the evening, the players got a chance to kick off their heels at the official player’s welcome party. The doors opened at 8pm at Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons with some quality food and plenty of beverages enjoyed. The evening also included the official Australian Poker Hall of Fame ceremony where Danny McDonagh and Leo Boxell were inducted as part of the class of 2011, while Jason Gray and David Gorr were announced as the new inductees for 2012.

By Poker Asia Pacific

American online superstar Dan ‘djk123′ Kelly has taken down the second event at this year’s Aussie Millions, the $1,100 Buy-in Pot Limit Omaha.

While it’s widely known that No Limit holdem is the most popular card game in the world, Pot Limit Omaha is game for those seeking to play cash games at a high level. Pot Limit Omaha (Widely knows as PLO) is generally the one game that garners the largest pots, the biggest action, and without doubt the biggest names in the game. Even though the majority of the international super stars of the poker world are yet to arrive, there is still a very strong contingent of internationals here early to play out the Aussie Millions Series. Players such as Richard Ashby, Tony Bloom, JP Kelly, Vitaly Lunkin and Sam Holden are all here soaking up the Australian sun as well as taking in the early events on offer in the series.

Because Pot Limit Omaha is such a specialised game, the fields are generally smaller, but there is no question that the level of skill of the players in the fields are generally of the highest calibre.

The second event on the Aussie Millions calendar saw 129 players take their seats generating a prize pool of $129,000 with $33,400 up top for the eventual winner.

While the American Kelly may have succeeded in taking down the title of the second Aussie Millions event and the gold ring, there were several high profile Australian Omaha specialists at the final table vying for the title including Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros, Van Marcus and ANZPT Melbourne Champion Martin Kozlov.

It was Kozlov that eventually managed to find his way into the heads up battle with the American, however in the end the yanks were simply too good on the day.

Aussie Millions Event 2 $1,100 Pot Limit Omaha Results

1st – Dan Kelly $33,400
2nd – Martin Kozlov $25,000
3rd – Van Marcus $18,050
4th – Charles Cuschieri $14,270
5th – Geoffrey Smith $10,800
6th – McLean Karr $8,250
7th – Michael Guzzardi $6,100
8th – Billy Argyros $4,190

By Rob Huxley of Miller’s Guide

When the day started at the PokerStars.net APPT Melbourne Main Event, we knew we were in for a cracking final table. In fact, we knew that on day one when we looked around the field of 260 players and realised how stacked this field truly was. APPT champs, ANZPT winners, Aussie Millions gold rings and WSOP bracelets. Whoever would win this event was going to have to earn it.

So it’s fitting that the man to rise above them all is a man who has a decorated poker career that is the envy of most players in the Australasian region. While Leo Boxell is definitely part of poker’s old guard, his last 18 months have produced some incredibly consistent results as he continues to defy the trends of the modern game to keep the Internet whizz kids under control.

There was certainly a new school versus old school feel to this final table, as well as an intriguing Trans-Tasman rivalry between Australia and New Zealand.

In the thick of both wars was Phil Willcocks who was a dominant force throughout the final table, whether it was pounding on the blinds of Steve Bouya and Leo Boxell, or three-betting the youngsters in Jackson Zheng and Will Jones.

However it was Van Marcus who drew first blood when he doubled up with A♦A♥ against the Q♦Q♣ of Julius Colman. Unfortunately for Colman he just never got out of the blocks and when his 9♠9♥ ran into the K♠K♣ of Will Jones, Colman was first to the cashier in 9th place.

Will Jones and Steve Bouya were the early movers with some big cards, while Jackson Zheng and Phil Willcocks slipped down the chip count leaderboard. Zheng would be next to go when he three-bet shoved his K♣Q♥ to find himself racing with Willcocks’ 4♦4♣. Zheng couldn’t pair up and he was eliminated in 8th place.

The big-ball strategy of PokerStars qualifier Eddie Mascardi saw him come unstuck in 7th place when he ran his A♥8♦ into the A♠A♣ of Will Jones, while Michael Frydman’s similar game plan saw him shove his 9♠9♥ into Leo Boxell’s T♦T♥ to bust out in 6th.

As the dinner bell tolled, it was Will Jones who held a narrow lead over the final five, but the deadlock couldn’t be broken for some time as play became tight and intense. Eventually it was Van Marcus who would be first to crack as fell just short in his quest to become the first player to win two APPT titles. Marcus committed his short stack on a Q♥K♥5♥ flop with K♣J♦ but a sneaky Phil Willcocks had laid the perfect trap with his A♥A♦. Willcocks improved to a flush on the turn to leave Marcus drawing dead and departing in 5th place.

Tasmania’s Will Jones was also gunning for a unique double as he was seeking his second trophy of the week after being part of the successful Tasmanian State of Origin team earlier in the series. He may have picked up the nickname “Willy Lowball” in that event for his Razz prowess, but he proved that No Limit Holdem is his true calling with a strong showing on this final table. In fact, he was unlucky to be eliminated in 4th place in one of the key hands on the final table.

The action flop was 9♠K♦5♠ as Willcocks let out for 175,000. Steve Bouya folded but Jones raised it to 425,000 before Willcocks moved all in. Jones insta-called with 9♥9♦ for a set but Willcocks was far from gone with his 7♠6♠ combo draw. Willcocks made his straight on 8♥ and rubbed salt into the wound with the 3♠ river.

It was the difference between elimination and a monster chip lead as Willcocks set out to pound on his last two foes. He was the most aggressive player, but he was left as merely a bystander when Steve Bouya shoved all in with 9♦9♠ on a J♦5♦2♣ flop. It backfired when Boxell called and opened A♠A♣ as the turn and river bricked out.

Bouya had to be content with 3rd place as Boxell nabbed the chip lead entering heads-up play. From there it was a titanic two-hour struggle where both players had chances to win it all.

After shoving all in preflop on the very first hand of heads-up play, Boxell continued to swing wildly. He regretted this approach when he shoved his 2♥2♦ into the Q♠Q♦ of Willcocks to give the Kiwi a big double up, but he quickly recovered after making a backdoor flush to trump Willcocks’ top pair.

Boxell had a chance at the title with a coinflip holding ace-king against pocket jacks but the bare board gave Willcocks another double up before it was Willcocks’ turn to sweat the trophy. The 6♠5♣7♦ flop saw Boxell call it off with 6♥3♠ for a pair and straight draw against Willcocks’ K♠K♥. Boxell spiked the 4♥ on the turn for a straight to leave Willcocks a dejected man.

Willcocks slid backwards from there until he made his final stand with a triple barrel on a board of 2♥Q♠6♦4♠J♥. Boxell deliberated before calling with 4♣2♠ for two pair which was too good for Willcocks’J♠T♥.

The rail gave Boxell a tremendous round of applause as everyone respected the incredible achievement of the future Australian Poker Hall of Famer. While the APPT trophy is his, he also grabs $330,000 in prize money and the lead in the ANZ Player of the Year race. Congratulations Leo!

Final Table Results

1st Leo Boxell (Australia) – $330,000
2nd Phil Willcocks (New Zealand) – $207,600
3rd Steve Bouya (Australia) – $116,000
4th Will Jones (Australia) – $88,600
5th Van Marcus (Australia) – $73,300
6th Michael Frydman (Australia) – $58,000
7th Eddie Mascardi (Australia) (PokerStars Qualifier) – $45,800
8th Jackson Zheng (New Zealand) (PokerStars Qualifier) – $36,700
9th Julius Colman (Australia) – $27,500

The next event on the local calendar is the APPT Snowfest event in Queenstown, New Zealand which kicks off August 23rd. This is one you won’t want to miss, so make sure you qualify now on PokerStars!

By Heath Chick