2011 January 28, Rich Ryan

Golf has the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. Tennis has the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. It’s time for poker to follow suit and establish four super-high-roller majors each year.

There is clearly a market for tournaments with six-digit buy-ins. This month alone there have been two $100,000 super-high-roller tournaments with a total of 76 entrants and a mind-boggling $250,000 super-duper high-roller tournament with 20 entrants. The combined prize pool of the three tournaments was $12.6 million, and by upping the ante, they captivated the entire poker world because fans love to see the best players compete for senseless amounts of money. They also enticed a slew of wealthy businessmen to play, including Bill Perkins who said at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure that a super high-roller in America could attract up to 60 players.

It seems obvious then that there should be four major $250,000 tournaments each year to showcase the most fearless players competing for ludicrous amounts of money. Some may disagree because the buy-in is too high, but the public wants to see the best of the best on the biggest stage, and right now, all of the major tournaments are only $10,000 buy-ins. That means they’re going to have huge fields and most likely produce a final table of unknown players. Let’s eliminate that chance by upping the ante. Unlike golf’s Masters, the events would be open to anybody — you just need a big wallet or the right backer to play.

In an interview with our own Lynn Gilmartin, Tom Dwan said there should be two, maybe three $250,000 tournaments a year. Upon busting, he tweeted that there should be five, and they should be held in Macau, Australia, Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and London. These locations are all appropriate, but let’s axe Macau and focus on the other four.

Don’t worry Tom, you still have the rest of the year to go there and crush the cash games.

The Poker Majors

The Australian Open (Aussie Millions, January)

Every year the Crown Casino proves itself to be one of the best poker venues in the world. The popularity of the Aussie Millions isn’t restricted to the tournament series; however, the summer weather is fantastic and tennis’ Australian Open is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year. Jonno Pittock and the rest of his team at the Crown deserve a ton of credit for impulsively hosting the most expensive poker tournament of all time this January. With just a few days notice, they were able to wrangle 20 players. Just imagine what they could do with more time to prepare and advertise. They could easily increase the field if they ran $12,500 and $25,000 satellites. Then the high-stakes players who are unwilling to directly buy in could win their way in. Also, if the Million Dollar Cash Game and the cash games in Maccau are any indications, there are plenty of Asian businessmen willing to gamble it up, as well.

The Monte Carlo Open (EPT Grand Final, April)

Monte Carlo, Monaco, is one of the most extravagant cities in Europe and, like the Aussie Millions, the EPT Grand Final at the Le Grand Casino always attracts wealthy elites along with the best players in the game. This year, however, the EPT Grand Final is being moved to a yet undisclosed location. But, convincing players to travel to a waterfront paradise is rarely difficult, and when you add great tournaments and juicy cash games, it becomes a no-brainer. Unlike Melbourne, Monaco is very accessible for the majority of poker players. Flights from North America and the rest of Europe are much shorter than the day-long trek players must take to go Down Under and with the tournament calendar as crammed as it is, it’s important that such a major event be as accommodating as possible. The combination of wealth, backdrop and accessibility make Monte Carlo a perfect fit as the setting of one of our four major tournaments.

The U.S. Open (World Series of Poker, July)

Every summer the entire poker world travels to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, making it an ideal setting for any poker tournament. The WSOP Main Event is always the biggest $10,000 tournament of the year, and since its inception in 2006, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E./Poker Player’s Championship has averaged more than 100 participants. Not to mention the action in Bobby’s Room, Ivey’s Room and any other side game is exponentially crazier during the WSOP because there are so many players and so much money in Vegas during June and July. If what Perkins said at the PCA is right, and wealthy American businessmen are willing to play in a super- high-roller tournament held in the States, then a $250,000 event at the WSOP has the potential to be massive. The only downside is the WSOP is such a long grind. Like the Poker Player’s Championship it would have to take place toward the beginning so that players being stuck wouldn’t affect the turnout.

The British Open (WSOPE, September)

In a perfect world this event would happen later in the year, but London is too good a venue and the WSOPE is an important tournament that continues to grow. England is on par with America in terms of popularity of the game, and Sam Trickett’s first and second place finishes in both of the super high roller events this month will only create more buzz for the country. In recent years, the London Stock Exchange surpassed the New York Stock Exchange as the strongest in the world, and the city is widely considered to be the financial capital of the world. There are plenty of wealthy businessmen in the city with the bankrolls to play in a super-high-roller event and the established pro’s enjoy playing at the Empire Casino as well. In an interview with our own Gloria Balding, Phil Ivey admits he loves the city. “I come here every year for a month and I love it,” he says.

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2011 January 24, Elaine Chaivarlis, Elissa Harwood

There was no rock band, no confetti, and the “shuffle up and deal” was given by the tournament director on Monday for the Day 1b flight of the Main Event of the 2011 Aussie Millions. Nonetheless, plenty of players came out, putting down AUD$10,600 to buy in all with the hopes of becoming the 2011 Aussie Millions Champion.

After seven levels of play, the 209-player field was whittled down to just 80. Jeff Rossiter is the man at the top, bagging 154,900 at the end of the day. Martin Drewe, 2011 Aussie Millions Event #1 winner, clocked in with 136,100, and that puts him third on the leaderboard. Australian online phenom, Jay “SEABEAST” Kinkade is just below him with 128,700, and European Poker Tour regular Jeff Sarwer sits fifth in chips with 120,500. Also in the top ten, is PokerNews Strategy instructor Randy “nanonoko” Lew (110,000) and Gavin Griffin (101,700) in ninth and tenth respectively.

Sorel Mizzi, Jeffrey Lisandro, Eric Assadourian, Team Full Tilt’s Chris Ferguson, Full Tilt Poker Red Pros Scott Montgomery and Roland de Wolfe, Neil Channing, and Lee Nelson have also all made it to Wednesday’s Day 2.

With those who made it through however, come the list of those who weren’t so fortunate. Full Tilt Poker $25,000 Shootout Invitational winner David Oppenheim, Annette Obrestad, Carlos Mortensen, Andy Bloch, David Benyamine, Andrew Feldman, Gus Hansen, Joe Hachem, and David Steicke all had their day cut short and can now take the rest of their time here in Melbourne to enjoy some of the Australian Open, or go sightseeing. The hope of a back-to-back Aussie Millions Champion is also non-existant anymore, as Tyron Krost was eliminated in a hand against Gavin Griffin where his ace-queen couldn’t improve against Griffin’s aces.

The third and final Day 1 flight kicks off on Tuesday in Melbourne, Australia at 12:30 p.m. local time and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there to bring you all the action from the Crown Poker Room.

Million Dollar Cash Game

While there was plenty of Main Event action going on downstairs, there was even more upstairs in Studio 3 where the Million Dollar Cash Game was being filmed. It all got under way around 4:00 p.m. local time and while the usual suspects were involved, three new faces graced the felt as well. Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Eli Elezra, and John Juanda were joined by three wealthy Chinese businessmen who are regulars in the high-stakes cash games in Macau.

The game was $500/$1,000 no-limit hold’em with a $100 ante. Juanda was paid in full for a flopped wheel and then won a few other pots to finish up nearly $250k and Dwan found himself scooping a $250k pot with a missed flush draw and jack high. Antonius lost a $300k flip and had to reload, but he was back in the black after flopping a boat 20 minutes later. He won a $435k pot with and a few more after that to make him one of the night’s biggest winners. Then, with the production crew on break, Paul Phua stacked Ivey and decided to call it quits. His friends joined him, and the game broke about five hours after it started.

Soon after, those seats were filled, as Andrew Feldman, Sam Trickett, David Benyamine, and Daniel Cates joined the game for the second session. Trickett and Benyamine were that sessions biggest winners.

Once the game was under way, Lynn Gilmartin went up to Studio 3 to check it out and brought us a look at the action.

Another line up of pros will take their seats for the televised Million Dollar Cash Game and you can bet that PokerNews will be there to bring you all the big pots and missed flops. So keep it locked to the Live Reporting Page from 4:00 p.m. to midnight local time.

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