Action from the 2010 Aussie Millions AUD $100,000 High Roller Event continued on GSN on Saturday night at 9:00pm ET. The hour-long show, presented by Full Tilt Poker, included a final table stacked with sponsored pros of the world’s second largest online poker site.
Paul Khoury and Grub Smith once again had the call of action in the 24-person tournament, which had seen a single elimination since it began. The on-screen product is weak compared to other GSN shows like “High Stakes Poker.” No pot sizes are shown and bets are displayed for only a few seconds, making the action rather difficult to follow. However, it’s refreshing to see two non-American announcers sharing poker insight from other parts of the globe. The Aussie Millions emanate each January from the Crown Casino in Melbourne, which received several commercial spots during the telecast.
Erik Seidel was the first casualty of the evening. The eight-time bracelet winner raised to 6,000 pre-flop and Gus Hansen made it 20,000. Seidel moved all-in over the top for another 35,000 and Hansen called, flipping up A-Q of hearts. Seidel showed pocket nines to set up a race, but Hansen turned Broadway to send Seidel packing.
Fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Chris Ferguson followed shortly thereafter. On a flop of 8-7-8, Ferguson bet out 25,000 with pocket kings and Erick Lindgren called for extra time with pocket tens before electing to move all-in. Ferguson called for his tournament life and a running 9-6 gave Lindgren a runner-runner straight.
DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dani “ansky” Stern then moved all-in with A-10 pre-flop and received a call from Lindgren, who held A-Q. Despite being dominated pre-flop, Stern watched as the board ran out K-Q-4-J-10, giving both players an ace-high straight and chopping the pot. Stern was one of the few non-Full Tilt Poker pros at the feature table, but his trademark green DoylesRoom logo was clearly visible. Stern was one of the four cast members on the short-lived G4 online poker reality series “2 Months, $2 Million.”
Then, 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champion John Juanda bet 19,000 on a K-8-3-9 board holding K-J for top pair. Hansen called with A-8 and the river was an ace, improving the Dane to the Dead Man’s Hand for two pair. Juanda bet out 25,000, Hansen min-raised to 50,000, and Juanda called all-in after using both of his extra time buttons. Just like that, Juanda was ousted from the prestigious AUD $100,000 buy-in tournament.
Hansen continued his rampage, firing out a bet of 16,000 with 10-8 for top pair on a flop of 3-7-10. 2009 WSOP Player of the Year Jeffrey Lisandro pushed all-in for 63,500 with 8-7 for middle pair and Hansen tanked before calling. The turn and river were both nines, sending Lisandro out and giving Hansen his third elimination of the evening.
Following Lisandro’s exit, the tables were balanced, adding Tony Bloom, PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein, and Dan Shak to the mix. Greenstein made his presence known, betting 14,000 with pocket queens on a flop of 3-6-8. Hansen came along with 7-6 for middle pair and the turn was a nine. Hansen led out for 100,000, Greenstein called all-in, and a river king ensured a double up for “Bear” to 240,000.
Aussie Millions coverage airs on Saturday nights on GSN at 9:00pm ET.
