Aussie Millions to Go It Alone

(Photo: Pokerasiapacific.com)

On the back of the news that PokerStars are to ‘retire’ the EPT brand and many others, replacing them with new ‘Championship’ and ‘Festival’ tours, the Aussie Millions has decided to return to its ‘stand-alone’ status.

The annual January shindig, held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, has been part of the Stars-sponsored Asia Pacific poker Tour (APPT) since 2014 and has been a ‘must-play’ event for many of the world’s top pros since its inception back in 1998.

Crown Melbourne TD Joel Williams said in a press release:

"On behalf of Crown Management and the Poker Team, we would like to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone from APPT including the management and operations teams, along with the poker community for their ongoing support."

The first major championship, known as the Australasian Poker Championship, was held in July 1998 with a $1000 buy-in Main Event which attracted 74 entries with a total prize pool of $74,000. It has since gone on to become one of the premier events in the poker calendar.

In 2007 the ‘Great Dane’ Gus Hansen took down the Main Event for $1.5million, while last year saw Canadian Ari Engel scooping the title and $1.6million. Another famous visitor and winner at the Aussie Millions has been Phil Ivey, winner of the $250k Challenge in 2012, 2014 and 2015 as well as a host of other events for a total of over $8million.

What the recent PokerStars changes will mean to the Aussie Millions is unclear; they will not be part of the new official PokerStars tours but may remain within the industry leader’s sponsorship portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Asia-Pacific's richest and most prestigious poker series 2017 schedule is already out and the festival will run from Wednesday 11 January to Monday 30 January 2017, with the ‘Main Event' beginning Sunday 22 January 2017.

Crown Melbourne's Tournament Director Joel Williams said:

" Crown's Aussie Millions Poker Championship continues to absolutely stamp itself on the global ‘must-attend' list for both recreational players and seasoned pros alike. With a schedule now featuring 26 official Championship events, 2017 looms as one of the biggest years yet."

According to their website:

"Every year in excess of 6,000 players from all across the world descend on Melbourne for the three week poker festival - all with hopes of taking home part of the estimated AUD$30 million total prize pool that's generated each year."

There are few tournaments in the world that offer the kind of prize pools that the Aussie Millions delivers each year and in 2017 the schedule will consist of 26 separate poker events with buy-ins ranging from AUD$1,150 to AUD$250,000. A comprehensive slate of the game's most popular variations will be on offer and a total of 25 coveted Aussie Millions ‘Championship Rings' will be awarded to each event winner.

The winner of the Aussie Millions ‘Main Event' will not only walk away with an estimated AUD$1.6 million first prize, but also the coveted ‘Main Event' Champion bracelet valued at over AUD$25,000.