ANZPT Melbourne Main Event Sets a New Record

Australia New Zeland Poker Tour may not be the biggest tour out there, but it is certainly the one quite popular amongst the players. And since this year seems to be the year of breaking records, ANZPT Melbourne Main Event is following the suit. With total of 516 entrants who paid their entry fee of $2,200, this event will enter the history as the first one on the ANZPT to shatter a $1,000,000 prize pool.

Lions’ share of the prize pool will belong to the winner, total of $253,000, while the minimum guaranteed payout for 63 players is $3,100. Many of them have, in fact, already received their money, as after the Day 2 has been completed earlier today, only 34 players will return tomorrow with a shot at the title. Bryan Huang was one of those who have fallen just short of the money.

Bubbled #ANZPTmelbourne was fun and can't wait to return to the next event at @crownpoker :)
— Bryan Huang (@BryanHuang_) August 31, 2014

The Crown Poker Room in Melbourne has become a home for numerous players over the weekend offering them a variety of poker and non-poker action – to keep everyone, including the casino, happy. Probably the most famous face in the crowd was 2005 World Poker Champion and Australia’s own Joe Hatchem, but he was in the company of the likes of Tristan Bain, David Gorr, Jackie Glazier and former ANZPT champion Martin Kozlov.

When the players finally ran out of the time to play for the night, 34 of them were still alive for the final day to take place tomorrow. Sitting on top of the chips leaderboard is Vincent Chua, who was able to accumulate 684,000 chips. Not far behind him are Joe Reina with 665,000 and Dennis Huntly with 643,000.

Tomorrow will likely be a long day as there will be no stopping until the champion is reached, but considering a big prize that players are competing for, we can expect a lot of fun and excitement at the tables. And, if nothing else, all these record-breaking events certainly restore some faith in poker and reassure us of the fact that the game we love is still well, alive and growing with every day.

Come tomorrow, another champion will be crowned and in addition to all the money and the trophy, he will bear an honor of being the winner of the Tour’s record-breaking tournament in terms of the prize pool, and that is no small matter!

Picture - Vincent Chua, taken from PokerStars Blog