The 2016 Aussie Millions gets underway Wednesday afternoon in Melbourne. Fitting this premier event into an already tight poker calendar gets harder and harder ever year, but the great hosts at Crown Casino have figured it out and are ready to roll. For most of the next 2.5 weeks, the attention of the poker world will be on Melbourne as the world’s poker elite make their to Crown to play alongside the best players a poker-crazed Australia has. With that in mind, here are ten things to know about the 2016 Aussie Millions.

Nineteen Years and Running

This is the 19th Aussie Millions. Held annually at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, the tournament was actually originally called the Australian Poker Champions, but officially became the Aussie Millions in 2003. That first year, 1998, the Main Event was a $1,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em event won by Alex Horowitz. He beat 73 other players and walked away with $25,900.

Jam-Packed Schedule

This year’s schedule includes a total of 24 events with buy-ins ranging from $1,150 all the way up to $250,000. There are 18 events on the schedule that are some form of No Limit Hold’em. The opening event, the $1,150 Repechage, comes with a $1,000,000 guarantee and allows players who bust out of any of the four starting flights to re-enter the event the following day (up to a total of four entries).

Other NLHE variants on the schedule include three events with a shot clock and the Accumulator event. Crown will also spread Pot Limit Omaha ($1,150, $2,500, $5,000), Eight-Game Mixed ($2,500), and HORSE ($2,500).

There are satellites running each day through January 16 with buy-ins as low as $65.

The full schedule is available here.

Twitching with Jason Somerville

Just last month, Crown announced it had partnered with Jason Somerville and his Run It Up Twitch channel to live stream the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event. Somerville will be live on his Twitch channel from January 24 to February 1.

“I am eager to help pioneer a modern poker broadcast that will not only showcase Crown Melboune as the premier poker destination that it is, but also highlight live streaming, an unparalleled platform in delivering engaging and compelling content to fans of the game we love,” said Somerville.

The Main Event

Since the “poker boom,” the field sizes at the Aussie Millions Main Event have been some of the most consistent for a $10,000 buy-in. In 2005, Jamil Dia beat out a 263-player field, becoming the first Aussie Millions champ to score at least $1,000,000 AU. The next year, the field size jumped more than 50% to 418. That’s when things got crazy.

In 2007, Gus Hansen beat out 746 other players to win $1,500,000 AU. The next year, Russian sensation Alex Kostritsyn came out on top of the 780-player field – still the largest Main Event field ever – to win $1,650,000 AU. Since Hansen’s big win, the Aussie Millions Main Event has averaged 698 players per year.

Last year, Australian Manny Stavropoulos won $1,385,000 for beating out 647 other players.


The Main Event hasn’t always been won by Australians, though. Going all the way back to the first incarnation of this event in 1998, Australian players have won ten Main Event titles. Two Brits (Peter Costa and Tony Bloom), two Kiwis (Dia and Lee Nelson), a Dane (Hansen), a Russian (Alex Kostritsyn), a Canadian (Ami Barer), and a Malaysian (Mervin Chan) have taken home the Aussie Millions Main Event. An American has never walked away with the Main Event title.

The Birthplace of High Roller Tournaments

Richard Yong made his first tournament appearance at the Aussie Millions in 2011

The first stop on a poker tour to ever host regular six-figure buy-in events was the Aussie Millions. The $100,000 Challenge debuted in 2006 and, at the time, was the biggest buy-in poker tournament ever. Ten players entered that first year, with John Juanda taking home the winner-take-all $1,000,000 AU first place prize. Other winners of the event include Howard Lederer (2008), Dan Shak (2010) and Sam Trickett (2011).

In 2011, Crown did the unthinkable (at the time) and added the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge. The inaugural event drew 20 players, most notably the debut of the “Macau Businessmen”: Richard Yong, Paul Phua, and Wang Qiang. Erik Seidel won the first year, but Phil Ivey won in 2012, 2014, and 2015 for over $6.25 million US in earnings.

From Independent to the APPT

Until 2014, the Aussie Millions was the biggest unaffiliated poker tournament in the world. That’s when it joined forces with the PokerStars-backed Asia-Pacific Poker Tour for the first time. Prior to that, the Aussie Millions had been courted by the biggest tours running including the World Poker Tour and even the short-lived Epic Poker League. Given the size of the Aussie Million and Crown’s place in the Asia-Pacific gaming market, the APPT marriage just made sense.

“The Aussie Millions is regarded as one of the marquee poker events globally. Aligning with the biggest poker tour in the region, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, will further guarantee the event’s success in the coming years,” said APPT President Danny McDonagh.

Another World-Class Event: The Australian Open

Nobody ever plans to bust out of a $10,000 buy-in poker tournament, but if things don’t go well, the Aussie Millions has a world-class sporting event just a short boat ride away. The Australian Open tennis championship is the first of four tennis majors on the schedule and it attracts the best tennis players in the world.

This year, the event runs for two weeks and actually wraps up a day before the Aussie Millions Main Event. Getting to the event is relatively easy and inexpensive if you’re okay getting on a water taxi. The short ride up the Yarra River starts just outside Crown and drops you off at the Rod Laver Arena, where the Australian Open is played. Water taxis will also get you back to the casino once the matches are over.

From Five Star to Take Away, Dining Options Are Abound

There might not be a casino anywhere in the world that is better prepared than Crown to host poker players and their various dining requirements.

The ballers of the poker world – or those who aspire to be seen as one – will find a number of high-end restaurants on property just a short walk from the poker room. Included here is the world-renowned NOBU, featuring all of the Japanese culinary delights you’d expect, and Mr. Hive Kitchen & Bar, which features Australian-inspired cuisine.

For those on a tighter budget, there is the Sho Noodle Bar, which specializes in, you guessed it, noodles and Dim Sum. Those looking for possibly the best hamburgers in the Southern Hemisphere should try The Merrywell and their signature burger, The Merrywell. If you’re feeling adventurous, maybe give the Oz Burger a shot – it comes with pickled beets.

And lastly, if you’re in an absolute hurry and hoping for cheap eats, the food court at Crown has something for everybody: noodles, sushi, curries, sandwiches, pizza. It’s all there and just two short escalator rides from the poker room.

It’s Summer Time There

While the Northern Hemisphere is locked down in the doldrums of winter, Melbourne is in the middle of summer. Temperatures outside can get as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that if you bust out of any tournament or otherwise get a day off, you can head into Downtown Melbourne and seek out some of the things that are best enjoyed during nice days.

The Queen Victoria Night Market runs every Wednesday from 5:00 pm and has handcrafted items from local artists as well as some of the more unique (and inexpensive) food around.

If you’re looking to enjoy a sporting event with more local flair, check out the Big Bash League. It’s professional cricket with a few rules twists meant to speed up the game. The BBL playoffs are right around the corner, with the semifinals running January 21 and 22 and the Big Final running January 24.

Mariah Carey Might Be There. Might Not.

Celebrity sighting at the Aussie Millions is nothing new, but things could go to a new level this year. It seems that Mariah Carey is dating James Packer, the billionaire owner of Crown Resorts. The pair have only been an item for six months, but if 1990s divas are your thing, keep an eye out.