For many poker players from outside of Australia, it takes a long time to get to the land down under. From the East Coast of the United States, it takes roughly a day to fly here. From Western Europe, it takes roughly 22 hours.
The flight from Johannesburg, South Africa is a bit shorter, averaging around 13.5 hours. That's where Raymond Rahme, who finished third in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, flew to the 2014 Aussie Millions from.
Rahme is grinding away on Table 50, looking to record his first cash since April of 2013, where he finished 17th in the WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event. The South African is a big fan of the Aussie Millions, calling the tournaments "unbelievable."
"The Aussie Millions is one of the best tournaments in the world."
Fans of the Aussie Millions may recognize Paul “The Voice” Khoury, who happens to be playing in today’s field. That’s because in 2012 Khoury hosted and co-produced the Aussie Millions, which aired on GSN in the United States.
Khoury has also provided commentary for the Crown Australian Celebrity Poker Challenge and hosted Miss World Australia. Only time will tell if the Australian TV personality can make a name for himself as a poker player.
The PokerNews MyStack App is available for players here in the 2014 Aussie Millions Main Event, allowing players to directly update their chip count on the PokerNews Live Reporting page for their friends and family to see.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Be forewarned, however, any abuse of the app will result in account suspension or termination.
When we reached Table 33, John Nelson and an opponent were heads up on a board of . The player in the small blind checked, Nelson tossed out 5,000, and the player moved all in for effectively 11,725.
Nelson tanked for a considerable amount of time - so long that the clock was called on him. With only one second remaining, he tossed in a handful of chips, signifying a call.
His opponent showed for an air ball, and Nelson happily showed for a flopped straight.
We caught up with 2012 World Series of Poker third-place finisher Jake Balsiger on the first break of the day. He talks about his hot start, tennis, and why he loves Australia so much.
Australian Daniel Laidlaw, who finished 12th in the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event, opened to 600 in middle position, and his fellow countryman Oliver Gill called in the cutoff. The button and both blinds folded.
The dealer fanned , the pair checked, and the turn brought the . Laidlaw led out for 1,000, and Gill called.
The completed the board, Laidlaw tossed out 7,000, and Gill ripped the hood off of his head. Perplexed at the size of the bet, the Aussie flicked his cards into the muck, and Laidlaw silently raked in the pot.
Eoghan O'Dea opened for 400 from the hijack and Michael Weiss defended from the big blind. Both players proceeded to check the flop, and the dealer burned and turned the . Weiss led out for 525, O'Dea called, and the completed the board on the river, which they both checked.
Weiss wasn't excited to tabled his for a missed flush, but as it turned out the ten high was good enough to win as O'Dea double checked his cards and then sent them to the muck.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. The player in the small blind checked, Nelson tossed out 5,000, and the player moved all in for effectively 11,725.
for an air ball, and Nelson happily showed 
for a flopped straight.
, the pair checked, and the turn brought the 
. Laidlaw led out for 1,000, and Gill called.
flop, and the dealer burned and turned the 
. Weiss led out for 525, O'Dea called, and the 
completed the board on the river, which they both checked.
for a missed flush, but as it turned out the ten high was good enough to win as O'Dea double checked his cards and then sent them to the muck.
