Last year at the Aussie Millions Main Event we saw excitement, nervousness, and anticipation on each of the faces that were competing. This year it is no different and with the first day under way things are already starting to look interesting. 294 players met together on the first day of the tournament each having one goal in mind – to take home the prize and beat out all the other 293 players that were there

There were a few new faces and there were also a few faces of some of the high end poker stars including; Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Shannon Elizabeth, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen (2007 champion), and Joe Hachem (champion of 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event).

With all of these experienced players you can imagine the nervous faces of the people who were playing against them. Table 17 was the table that had many of the high end female poker players from around the world including; Clonie Gowen, Annie Duke, and Amanda “MandyB” Baker. All of these women were placed on one table – which ensured us that someone was going to fall hard.

Table 14 was another table that was full of the top poker players which included; Erik “Erik123” Sagstorm, Kevin “BelowAbove” Saul, Karina Jett Phil, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

The day started off exciting at the table and we noticed that Phil Laak and Shannon Elizabeth had been placed at the same table together. However, the game ended early in the day when Laak placed down pocket aces to flop a set – which sent Shannon straight to the rail.

Jordan Morgan was able to get the upper hand against Hendon Mobster Barny Boatman after he was able to outdraw him during the river. Morgan took a risky move by gambling all that he had during the turn on the board with 8d 7s 4d 6h. Boatman decided to call with only 5d 3d hoping that he would be lucky enough to keep his eight high straight. At this point Morgan was behind – but he caught up during the river when the 5c was drawn giving him a bigger straight than Morgan’s. At the end of the hand Boatman was left with only 500 chips – which he lost shortly after.

We were eager to see how well Gus Hansen would do this year. He was last years winner and we know that he was looking forward to bringing home and repeating the victory two years in a row. Unforunately it didn’t look as if was luck on his side this year. The famed player went all in with only 7s 7d . His opponent was holding Qd Jd. We could tell that he was looking forward to how much the flop could help to improve his hand – but when the dealer laid down Ah Js 2h he was far from happy. He finally realized that his time was up when the board came out with 9d 9c.

Joe Hachem and Jeff Lisandro were seated at the same table and were both rolling around in high stacks throughout most of the day. We could tell that both players were wary of each other making sure that neither made any fatal mistakes that could cost them the game. They both played some interesting and intense hands – but neither one of them were kicked out of the game.

Other important eliminations that occurred during the day consisted of Josh “JJProdigy” Field, Joe Sebok, Ferguson, Damien Oborne, Laak, and Patrik Antonius. Phil Ivey all but dominated by taking out two players in one hand.

End Of Day Top Ten Chip Stacks: