Melbourne, if not the whole of Australia, has poker fever, thanks to casino king James Packer's brainchild, "Aussie Millions".
Media Man long time friend, associate and eyes and ears of the industry, Keith "Bendigo" Sloan, tipped us off that it would be huge and he was right on the money.
Let's start with some big picture stuff.... poker has been widely acknowledged in a court of law as primarily a game of skill. Sure, there's some luck involved, but over time on measured tests, the skill factor comes through. This is a key point in some of the arguments put forward by the Poker Players Alliance. Folks, professional poker is big business and is also a form of sports tourism, something that's been picked up on by the Victorian government, but something Australia's Labor government is still trying to grasp. Maybe it will be covered in the Aussie version of "Casino Jack"!
Let it be said from the get-go that Crown's Aussie Millions gives some much needed balance into the news media coverage of Australia's casino sector, which has been copping a bit of a battering of late. Crown's connection with tourism, sports tourism and high rollers is undisputed, and the powers that be at Crown do give back to society in a number of capacities, some of which is reported and other elements that are done on the quite. It was impossible to miss Warnie and Joe Hachem on Network Ten's 7PM project last month.
It's a given that when so many whales, high rollers and the like are in town, there's vast financial resources not far from felt.
The Salvation Army and Unicef are just a couple of worthy causes that Crown and the powers that be have assisted over the years.
This year sees a reported 1,143 entrants have a punt at Aussie Millions...a record for major poker tournaments in Australia.
A $1,143,000 prize pool will be split amongst the top 108 players, with first place set to collect the first Aussie Millions Gold Championship Ring over $200,000 in cash.
Numerous big names were in attendance for day one including Tony G, Clonie Gowen, Sorel Mizzi, David Saab, Jason Gray, Paul Khoury, Kenneth Damm and 2005 WSOP Champ Joe Hachem. Players who returned to the felt for a second chance included Tony Dunst , Emad Tahtouh, Billy Argyros, Lee Nelson, Josh Field, Ben Delaney, Andrew Jeffreys, Leo Boxell, Amanda De Cesare, Tino Lechich, James Akenhead and 2009 Aussie Millions Champion (and PartyPoker sponsored) Stewart Scott.
Nick Haidaris has emerged with the chip lead of 165,300. Eighty-three players remained from Day 1's starting field. Those back for Day 2 include David Saab, JP Kelly, Antonis Kambouroglou, Brendan Edmonds, Con Tsapkounis, and Jim Sachinidis.
Players not back for day 2 include Tony Dunst, 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event Champ Stewart Scott, Emad Tahtouh, Barny Boatman, Matthew Pearson, Rayan Nathan, Joe Hachem, Tony G, Lee Nelson, Billy Argyros, Jonathan Karamalikis, Michael Guzzardi, James Akenhead, Ben Delaney, and Sorel Mizzi.
Day 2 at Crown Casino kicks off at 12:30 p.m where approximately 200 players will be giving it all they have in their quest for the championship.
Media Man encourages players (and management) on a winning streak to continue to give back to society, and of course the world is aware of those less fortunate including in Haiti which was recently rocked by an earthquake. Casinos and big gaming companies have much bigger resources than most, so let's see if they can even come close to helping to the extent that they did when the Aussie Victorian bushfires hit last March.
*The writer holds shares in Crown Limited
*The writer is the founder and director of Media Man
*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour, by Dan Cypra - 7th January 2010
Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.
Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.
PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).
At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.
Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.
Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).
In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.
Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.
Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Website
PokerStars.com
Profiles
PokerStars.com
The Venetian
Las Vegas
Poker
Poker Tours
Poker Tournaments
ESPN
Fox Sports Net
World Series of Poker
News
Poker News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Global Gaming News
Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.
PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).
At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.
Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.
Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).
In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.
Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.
Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Website
PokerStars.com
Profiles
PokerStars.com
The Venetian
Las Vegas
Poker
Poker Tours
Poker Tournaments
ESPN
Fox Sports Net
World Series of Poker
News
Poker News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Global Gaming News
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
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