LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge Dia 1 | 2014 Aussie Millions

2014-02-09 20:44 UTC+10

Another Record-Setting Day of the Aussie Millions Complete

[user68268]

Nível 9 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

Day 1 of the 2014 Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge has come to a close, and it was another record-setting day of action here in beautiful Melbourne, Australia. At the completion of play, a total of 37 entries were generated, setting a new record in this event. Of those, 18 survived to make Day 2 with none other than Erik Seidel leading the way with 944,000 in chips.

Seidel has a nice gap of over 100,000 in chips between him and Tom Dwan in second place with 815,000. From there, Isaac Haxton (800,000), Jason Mercier (767,000), and Yevgeniy Timoshenko (705,000) round out the top five. Timoshenko is currently riding a bit of a hot streak after taking down the $100,000 Challenge in the early hours of the morning for AU$2,000,000.

Much like the $100,000 Challenge event, this event saw several players fire multiple bullets. Igor Kurganov finished the day on 235,000 and entered three times, while Rono Lo bagged up 325,000 and fired two bullets. PokerStars Team Online's Haxton famously fired six bullets in the $100,000 Challenge and busted all of them before coming into this event and firing off two worth AU$250,000 each. He did end up making the second bullet a very successful one by finishing third overall heading into Day 2.

Daniel Negreanu, Philipp Gruissem, and Mike "Timex" McDonald also fired two bullets, but all three of them busted both and did not return for a third time. Registration and reentry will remain open until the start of Day 2 on Monday, so we'll have to wait and see if anyone rocks up for a first, second, or third attempt in this prestigious event.

Speaking of Day 2, the cards will be in the air at 12:30 p.m. local time. The plan is to play down to a winner, and Day 2's levels will be extended to 60 minutes in length. While you wait for Day 2 to roll around, though, be sure to head over to PokerNews' coverage of the Main Event final table. With AU$1,600,000 up top to the winner after a field of 668 runners showed up, it's an exciting event you won't want to miss the conclusion of.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow! Have a good night.

Tags: Erik Seidel

2014-02-09 14:42 UTC+10

Fabian's Green Tea

[user68268]

Nível 2 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

Fabian Quoss showed up and asked the Crown Poker staff why the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge wasn't being held in the same room as it was last year. Last year, the event was held upstairs in a special high-stakes lounge for Day 1, the Teak Salon. While the Teak Salon was super nice and allowed for a bit of privacy while playing the large buy-in event, it didn't allow for spectators to watch, and that's the main reason the Crown staff opted to hold things downstairs in the poker room this year.

"Are we able to get the green tea from the other room?" asked Quoss with a smile to Jim Preston, Director of Poker for Crown Casino.

Preston laughed, but Quoss was actually being serious with his request, and he had good reason.

"That was the best green tea I've ever had, seriously," Quoss continued. "Even since that event, I've never had any green tea like it. I tell everyone about the green tea I had while we played in that room."

With a smile, Preston nodded his head and said that he would see what he can do. Crown strives for superb player hospitality, and our guess is that Quoss will be getting his special green tea from upstairs at some point today. The question then will be: How many more players will want the same?

Tags: Fabian Quoss Jim Preston

2014-02-09 12:51 UTC+10

One More Big, Bad, Massive Buy-In Event To Go: the $250,000 Challenge!

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This is it, folks. The biggest buy-in tournament outside of the World Series of Poker Big One for One Drop is upon us yet again with the kickoff of the 2014 Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge. With already 24 names confirmed for the event, plus the addition of Yevgeniy Timoshenko after his win in the $100,000 Challenge last night, this is expected to be a massive day of high-stakes poker action.

Last year, Brit Sam Trickett took down the title and the AU$2,000,000 top prize after he bested a field of 18 entries to earn the title. The top four spots were paid out, and Trickett had to defeat quite the tough trio of players in Tobias Reinkemeier (2nd - AU$1,250,000), Fabian Quoss (3rd - AU$750,000), and Igor Kurganov (4th - AU$500,00) to come out on top.

While it doesn't look sharp for Trickett to return to Melbourne to defend his title, there will still be plenty of marquee players in the field including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Dan Smith, Richard Yong, Antonio Esfandiari, and Erik Seidel.

Play for the $250,000 Challenge will begin at 2:30 p.m. local time, so be sure to stay tuned right here to PokerNews for all of the live coverage straight from the tournament floor. Day 1 will last nine levels, with each being 40 minutes in length, and players begin with 250,000 in chips.

Don't forget, the final table of the Aussie Millions Main Event will also be going on today, and that coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. You can read those updates by clicking here.