Crowne Melbourne announced that Australia’s most storied poker tournament is returning.
The Aussie Millions returns to the casino next year. The 18-tournament series kicks off on April 24 and concludes on May 10. It will have a combined AU$14 million prize pool ($9.2 million).
The revived festival will include buy-ins ranging from AU$1,500 ($985) to AU$25,000 ($16,400). The AU$10,000 ($7,000) main event highlights the series. Casino management was pleased to see the tournament series return to the property.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming the Aussie Millions back to Crown Melbourne after six years and reestablishing the tournament as a must-visit on the international calendar for amateurs and elite competitors alike,” Crown Melbourne CEO Ed Domingo said in the announcement. “The return of Aussie Millions is not just a celebration of poker, it’s a celebration of Crown and the world-class experiences and entertainment we offer guests.”
The first Aussie Millions poker tournament was held at Crown in July 1998 and was known as the Crown Australian Poker Championship. Tournament officials changed the name to Aussie Millions and held the series in January starting in 2001.
From there, the tournament became a staple on the tournament circuit throughout the online poker boom of the early and mid-2000s.
Prestigious Series Back in Action
The Aussie Millions was mothballed in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. Crown also faced regulatory issues regarding Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. At one point that included a AU$450 million ($295 million) fine.
Previous main event champions have included Gus Hansen, Ari Engel, and Bryn Kenney. Kenney is the only American to win in the event’s history.
Players like Joe Hachem, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu, Andrew Robl, Nick Petrangelo, and Dan Smith also regularly took part in the action, including the high roller events on the schedule.
The last series in 2020 saw 820 entries in the main event for a AU$8.2 million ($5.6 million) prize pool. Melbourne’s Vincent Wan bested the field for AU$1.3 million ($909,420).
“I’m lost for words,” Wan said after the win. “I’m just tripping out at the moment. I was just wanting to min-cash at one point so I’m struggling; I’m just delirious at the moment. I can’t believe my luck. Thank you to all the other players. Basically it’s 10 years of my life just grinding and working and trying to get here. I can’t believe I did it.”
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