Mark Ericksen opened to 1,200 on the button and 2017 Aussie Millions Main Event champion Shurane VIjayaram moved all in for around 7,000 from the small blind.
The big blind folded and Ericksen called.
Ericksen:
Vijayaram:
The flop came giving Ericksen the lead, and he made a straight on the turn. There was no chop on the river as Vijayaram was eliminated.
Vijayaram was eliminated with the same hand - red fives - that he won the 2017 Main Event with
Ami Barer opened and was shoved on by Sadan Turker. Barer called it off with for his last 25 big blinds.
Turker held and the flop came . The turn brought Barer a flush draw, but the river bricked and the Barer became the latest former champion to exit this year's Main Event.
According to his tablemates, David Wu has been the lucky recipient of a big pot after a three-way all in.
The board read when the money went in. One player held , another for the straight and Wu was drawing with .
The turn was a brick, but the river completed his royal flush. Earlier, Wu also eliminated Anthony March who did the shuffle up and deal on Day 1b bringing his chip stack to almost 200,000 with just over an hour left in the final level of the night.
On a flop defending champion Toby Lewis and current chip leader David Wu checked to a third player who bet 2,500. Lewis then check-raised to 10,000, Wu called and the third player folded.
The turn was checked by both players.
The river was the putting a straight on the board. Lewis bet 15,000 and after a short tank, Yu folded.
The 2019 Aussie Millions Main Event is tantalisingly poised heading into Day 2 after 364 players entered on Day 1c, leaving the tournament just three players short of equalling the record field set twelve months ago.
Late registration remains open for one more level when play resumes tomorrow, and with recent years attracting anywhere from three to 13 new entries, the figure of 800 looks within reach.
Year
Entries
Day 1a
Day 1b
Day 1c
Day 2
2019
797*
165
268
364
2018
800
212
196
379
13
2017
725
212
184
322
7
2016
732
180
207
337
8
2015
648
183
173
289
3
*denotes entry still open for one level into Day 2
It was a case of déjà vu with the Day 1c chip leader, with Cole Swannack bagging 208,200, just over 10,000 chips more than he managed when bagging the Day 1b chip lead last year. With two cashes under his belt this year in Aussie Millions side events, he'll be aiming to banish memories of 2018 where he failed to make the money.
Also bagging big in 1c was Pim De Goede (187,100), 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event seventh-place finisher Richard Ashby (180,000), Ben Lai (153,000), Ben Wu (140,100) and Sosia Jiang (139,200).
Other notables through to Day 2 include Tobias Ziegler, Dara O'Kearney, Maria Ho, Michael Soyza, Ana Marquez, Thomas Muehloecker, Martijn Gerrits, Dominik Nitsche, and Terminator Champion Ioannis Angelou-Konstas.
Former cricket star Shane Warne administered the shuffle up and deal
Shortly after former international cricketer, Shane Warne announced 'Shuffle up and Deal,' there was a cry of "Seat open" as Julien Martini's aces were cracked by the straight of Weiming Yu. Warne would later join him in busting on Day 1c.
Former champions Ami Barer and Shurane Vijayaram were both in attendance, but unfortunately both would bust midway through the day, Vijayaram losing out fives against ace-jack, and Barer losing a flip with ace-king against fives.
It was better news for defending champion, AU$25,000 Challenge runner-up and AU$50,000 Challenge champion Toby Lewis. Seemingly the man to beat this week in Melbourne, Lewis will join fellow former champions Tyron Krost and David Gorr in Day 2.
AU$50,000 Challenge Winner Toby Lewis is through to Day 2
Other players from last year's final table enjoyed mixed fortunes, with Stefan Huber busting but Mike Del Vecchio making it through to Day 2 with an above-average stack.
Players to bust on Day 1c included Kitty Kuo, Gautam Dhingra, former AU$25,000 Challenge champion Alexander Trevallion, Michael Addamo, Artur Koren, Kristen Bicknell, Natalie Teh, AU$25,000 Challenge winner Rainer Kempe and Yevgeniy Timoshenko.
For the players advancing, they will be part of the 425 players returning for Day 2 which gets underway at 12:30 pm on Wednesday. Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of what looks like being another record-breaking Aussie Millions Main Event.