The Aussie Millions

The Aussie Millions poker tournament, also known as the Crown Australian poker tournament, is the richest poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. Held annually at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, the event attracts some of the biggest names in world poker, and in recent years has boasted some of the biggest main event prizes in the game.

Aussie Millions History

The first major no limit Hold ‘em poker tournament was held at Australia’s Crown Casino in 1997. The tournament got off to a modest start, attracting fewer than a hundred players who competed for a modest cash prize.

Things were soon to change, with the rise in popularity of the World Series of Poker in the United States and the first televised tournaments, public interest in poker in Australia increased exponentially in just a few years. By 2003 the main event at the Crown Australian poker tournament was renamed the Aussie Millions as the prize money exceeded A$1,000,000 for the first time.

With prize money now over the crucial million dollar limit, the Aussie Millions began to attract serious attention from some of the big names in poker, and the field competing in the main event changed virtually overnight as players from around the world jetted in to Melbourne to participate in the 2005 Aussie Millions tournament.

The next two years saw interest in the event and the associated prize money increase exponentially, and in 2007 the Aussie Millions main event boasted a prize pool of over 7 million Australian dollars. Sensationally, the biggest ever Aussie Millions prize went to a 21 year old Russian, Alex Kotsritsyen.

Aussie Millions Format

The Aussie Millions poker tournament is held annually in January at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. The cost of a tournament buy-in has fluctuated in recent years, with the buy-ins for the 2008 Aussie Millions setting participants back A$10,500. Players finishing within the top 80 qualify for a payout from the prize fund.

Aussie Millions Winners 2000-2008

2000: Leo Boxell
2001: Sam Korman
2002: John Maver
2003: Peter Costa
2004: Tony Bloom
2005: Jamil Dia
2006: Lee Nelson
2007: Gus Hansen
2008: Alexander Kostritsyn