A Crown Like No Other
One of life’s greatest pleasures is being able to hop on a plane and be transported to an entirely different and new place; a place so unlike what you are used to that even something as simple as the local corner restaurant feels like a magical place. The ability to travel and explore new worlds is one of the biggest upsides to playing poker on the tournament circuit, whether you are a professional or an amateur. With so many great international stops, there are always new bars to check out, new dishes to try, new people to meet, and plenty of eye-popping sites to be seen when you’re not on the tables. Many potential travelers brush off the idea of heading down under to Australia, as the long trip discourages those who don’t like fl ying. Don’t be a blockhead! The trip is not only well worth the long fl ight, but after you spend some time in Oz, you’ll be thanking us for introducing you to this poker player’s dream destination.
THE CENTER OF IT ALL
No matter how many layovers and fl ights it takes you to touch down on Australian soil, there is only one spot you should be considering for your stay in Melbourne, and that spot is the Crown Casino. With over 510,000 square meters (you’re not in the States any more, so get used to conversions), Crown offers up two unique hotels, over forty unique bars and restaurants, countless designer shops, a perfectly central location on the Yarra River, and enough gambling to keep even the most insane action junkies happy. Since the Crown is huge and guests are likely to feel a bit overwhelmed, we’ve broken this massive complex down, doing all the dirty work in order to provide you all with some tips that will not only help you get by from day to day, but will also make you feel like a total Crown insider.
Crystal Club – Since you’ve just fl own around the world for this, treat yourself a little by selecting a Crystal Club room – for $150 AUD more per night/per room (which is just under a hundred bucks US and about half a buy-in for the $1/$2 NL Hold’em game) you get breakfast, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and canapés, and a front row seat to watch all of your poker idols recounting bad beat stories at the table next to you, in a private, beautifully accented dining room on the 29th fl oor.
Gold Class Cinema – We know what you’re thinking, you didn’t travel all this way to watch a movie, however Gold Class offers up so much more than that. You and your poker buddies can catch a fl ick in this hip, lounge-like setting, with only a few dozen reclining chairs and tables with call buttons that will summon your server to bring freshly prepared appetizers, entrees, and cocktails, ensuring that your movie will be a once in a lifetime experience.
Best Burger – Miserable sessions at the poker table are a fact of life, but no miserable session is complete without some serious comfort food to get your mind off things. Head over to Rockpool Bar & Grill and order up the best burger down under, made with premium wagyu beef, homemade tomato relish, and, of course, plenty of bacon. If, on the other hand, it was a terrifi c session, you’ll be more apt to check out some of the perfectly aged steaks and the selection of over 1,200 wines.
Late Night Cocktails – Poker players have weird hours – it’s the price you pay for waiting on the drunken fi sh that mosey in after dinner with the wife. Once you’ve suffi ciently fi lleted yourself a winning night, head down to Le Bar – a subterranean, moody, dark, sexy hideaway – to sip on a cold beer and munch on small plates and tapas into the wee hours of the morning, all while mentally prepping for another day of battle on the felt when you wake up the next day…
WHAT TO SEE?
Between all the poker action and the plethora of things do see and do at the Crown, there’s a whole city out there waiting for you to explore it. Don’t get so obsessed with chasing fl ush draws to miss out on it.
City Circle Tram – There’s no better way to see the city than a free ride on the city’s circle tram. The circle tram takes you around the city center allowing tourists to hop on and off at their leisure, while pointing out major attractions such as the Old Treasury building, the Parliament House, and the Princess Theater. Trams run in both directions, and come by every twelve minutes or so, seven days a week between 10am and 6pm.
Federation Square – Located a short walk from the Crown, Federation Square is not only a perfect meeting place for a great lunch or an evening cocktail, but also a cultural epicenter in Melbourne, with unique museums and galleries including the art-fi lled Ian Potter Centre, the National Gallery of Victoria, Champions: Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.
Melbourne Zoo – Who doesn’t like a zoo? Melbourne’s version is home to more than 300 species of animals living amid lush Asian and African man-made rainforests. It may be your only opportunity to run into some of Australia’s unique wildlife – kangaroos, wombats, and koalas – that is, unless you plan on going knee-deep into the wild Australian bush.
The Great Ocean Road – Although it takes about an hour to get to the start of the Great Ocean Road, it’s well worth the drive, but be warned: driving on the other side of the road is a bit tricky. Starting in Tourquay the road takes you about 150 miles along the southeastern coast of Australia and is one of the greatest scenic coastline drives in the world. Being a confi dent driver is a plus, as the sharp curves and speeding locals make the trip to see landmarks like the Twelve Apostles very challenging.
THE 2009 AUSSIE MILLIONS
Although there is a buzz in the poker room all year long with events like the Joe Hachem Deep Stack Series, the Melbourne Champs Series, and the Crown Victorian Poker Championships, it’s during a few weeks in January that Melbourne and the poker world turns its attention to the Aussie Millions.
This year, the event included eighteen tournaments with over 2,000 entrants, 400 international visitors, and a Main Event prize pool of over $6 million AUD, with the winner taking home $2 million AUD. The Aussie Millions is the sixth-largest tournament in the world, using prize pool as an indicator. Unlike many events that focus on a plethora of NL Hold’em, the Crown puts together a unique and diversifi ed series which includes two H.O.R.S.E events, a heads-up tournament, a team event, a PokerTek automated tables event, and a Two-card Manila championship, all of which is capped off by the $10k Main Event and the whopping $100k high roller event.
For the fi rst time in seven years the Aussie Millions Main Event title stayed within the country. Stewart Scott outlasted a fi eld of 680 players to take home the $2,000,000 AUD fi rst-place prize and the status of hero amongst his countrymen. Scott entered the fi nal table with a considerable chip lead but only eliminated the fi nal player, second- place fi nisher Peter Rho, to capture the title. The fi nal hand gives an indication as to how hot the Australian Scott ran during the tournament.
After Scott opened with a raise to 250,000 Rho moved all in for 2.175 million and Scott called instantly. Rho had A-J but the local was in prime position for the title with pocket aces. The board didn’t deliver a bad beat and Scott claimed the title. Rho walked away with $1 million AUD for his runnerup fi nish.
The last Australian-born player to win the Aussie Millions, also known as the Australian Poker Championships, was John Maver in 2002. Russia’s Alexander Kostritsyn won last year’s event and Denmark’s Gus Hansen won in 2007.
In the $100k challenge, a total of 23 players signed up including Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Tony G, Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Patrik Antonius, J.C. Tran, and John Juanda. But it was David Steicke who destroyed the fi nal table and outlasted everybody to take home the $ 1,200,000 AUD fi rst place prize.
Steicke, whose poker resume includes a World Series of Poker fi nal table and a fi fth-place fi nish at the Asia Pacifi c Poker Tour High Roller Event in Macau, eliminated Tony Bloom, J.C. Tran, Dan Shak, and Bill Jordanou at the six-handed fi nal table. Juanda, who was eliminated by Tran, was the only player to not suffer the wrath of Steicke on his way to the win.
BLUFF’s own Editor in Chief, Matthew Parvis, fi nds success down under
Let’s be honest, my poker resume isn’t exactly championship caliber. Other than a cash at the 2005 WSOP Main Event and my Dream Team Championship win (in which my results did nothing to help my team) I’ve found very little success in live tournaments.
After my twenty-four hour journey from Vegas to Melbourne, I was exhausted to say the least, but when Crown media relations darling Natasha Stipanov reminded me of the media/celebrity challenge later in the day, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.
The structure wasn’t exactly player friendly, with a small starting stack and blinds increasing every few minutes, so I went in looking to get it all in pre-fl op any chance I got, and always be the aggressor. The fi rst hand I was dealt A-K, which is always a good sign, and even better after PokerStars Pro Emad Tahtouh moved all in with A-Q and amazingly my hand held up.
I made a pretty crazy lay down after Mark Vos moved all in, and I peeled off A-Q myself. It’s pretty much an insta-call in these types of tournaments, but after Mark pleaded that I fold, I did. He was amazed at how simple it was, and told me the karma I got for folding would win me the tournament.
After a few hours of moving all in repeatedly, getting lucky a few times, and having my hands hold up a few times I found myself at the fi nal table with an above average stack – although above average was still less than ten big blinds with the structure. Although the only prize was $5,000 AUD donated in your name and a sweet Aussie Millions trophy, I made a concerted effort to play to win. I made some crazy laydowns due to the short stack dynamic, knowing that although I may have been a small favorite, the best play was to survive and utilize position to chip up, as opposed to showing down too many vulnerable hands.
My last two hands were no-brainers. In the fi rst, my pocket nines amazingly spiked a set against A-rag, and then held up against a fl ush draw to get us three-handed, in the “money” (top three won sweet trophies), and give me a nice chip lead. A few hands later I picked up two eights, moved in, and was surprised to get not one, but two callers: I was racing against one player and had the other dominated. Déjà vu – again I fl opped a set, the turn brought the fl ush draw again, and the river bricked, giving me the win!
It was a great fi rst day in Australia, and I was proud to donate the $5,000 to the Ardoch Youth Foundation, which educates underprivileged children in Australia.
THE POKER
Of course, we can’t forget about the poker. The Crown’s poker room, a massive space appropriately dubbed “The Las Vegas Room”, houses fi fty-fi ve perfectly arranged tables spreading Limit and No Limit Hold’em, Omaha, Stud and Two-card Manila for all bankrolls. For those looking for a more fun, relaxed game, the poker room also offers PokerTek tables with lower limit games. These tables are fully automated, so there is no dealer, no chips, and no cards – it’s like online poker, except you are sitting at a real poker table, face to face with real, live opponents.
For tournament players, there is also a full slate of weekly action to keep you occupied, ranging in buyin from a $25 NL Hold’em rebuy tournament to a $340 No Limit “Terminator” tournament – a unique twist on a bounty format where every player receives a “Terminator” button at the beginning of the tournament, and when a player is eliminated their button gets passed to the player that knocked them out, while the busted player keeps any buttons they had accumulated. Players then collect $100 for each button once they are eliminated from the tournament. The Crown also offers a wildly popular Aussie Millions qualifying series, where on top of cash prizes the top ten fi nishers accumulate points towards an Aussie Millions Main Event seat.
