The Aussie Millions Main Event field moved above 700 on Wednesday, capping a hugely successful return to Crown Melbourne following a six-year absence.
With registration to remain open through the first two levels of Day 2, kicking off shortly after midday today (Melbourne time), Day 1C saw another 320 players take their seat – lifting the combined field to an impressive 706. Of those, 491 remain.
While the final field will fall below the all-time record of 822 players set in 2019, the fact that the Crown Poker team has successfully attracted more than 700 players to the Main Event – which features a hefty AU$10,600 buy-in (US$7,675) – is significant. When the idea of bringing the Aussie Millions back was first discussed over a year ago, anything above 450 would have been considered a success.
Instead, the series has massively exceeded expectations with record fields across many of this past week’s side events culminating in healthy participation in the Main Event.
From a starting stack of 60,000 chips, Thomas McMahon takes the overall chip lead into Day 2 with 329,800, while Andrew White, who recently finished runner-up in the Sydney Champs Main Event, is strong with 252,900. Andy Lee, fresh off winning the $25K Challenge just 24 hour earlier, sits with 250,700.
Other notables in good shape include Didier Guerin (219,300), Stevan Chew (190,500), Michael Gathy (180,000), Nelson Dong (176,300), Warwick Mirzikinian (175,000), NBA star Josh Giddey (168,000), Michael Kanaan (154,100), Malcolm Trayner (147,500), Joe Hachem (130,900) and former Aussie Millions champ Tyron Krost (130,700).
Inside Asian Gaming Vice Chairman and CEO Andrew W Scott finished the day with 93,500 chips.
The prize pool currently sits at a healthy $7.6 million.
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