Aussie Millions Nears Final Table, Poker-Playing Olympians Featured

Less than 36 Remain in Aussie Millions Main Event

It may seem like the Aussie Millions just began, but the $10,600 NLHE Main Event is already nearing the final table. The action heated up on Day 3 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.

When it started, there were 668 players in the running for a prize pool of AU $6.68 million. Day 2 thinned the field from 355 survivors to only 109, but only 72 players were going to make the money.

Day 3 started to approach the bubble without much delay, but players like Paul Newey, Dean Schneider, and Randy Lew busted prior to that bubble. After the 74^th place elimination of Vladimir Stepanov, hand-for-hand play found Luke Downes doubling his short stack but pushing again on the very next hand with K-J. But Patrick Healy had A-Q to send Downes out in 73^rd place.

Julian Track was the first player to cash for AU $15K, and others who followed included Dennis Huntly, Angel Guillen, Aaron Lim, and Antonio Esfandiari. Play stopped with 36 players still holding chips and Salvatore Fazzino with 1.54 million of them. Darren Rabinowitz was in second place with 1,232,000 chips, followed by Scott Seiver and Sorel Mizzi.

Article Features Poker-Playing Olympians on Team USA

As the Winter Olympics gear up to begin in Sochi this weekend, PokerNews featured an article about several members of Team USA who enjoy the game of poker.

David Wise is a freestyle skier who grew up in Reno, Nevada, and learned poker from his grandmother. Texas Hold’em is his favorite game, and he plays smaller tournaments in Reno when he has time, comparing the mental toughness required for poker to that of freeskiing.

Katie Uhlaender is a skeleton racer who learned poker from her professional baseball-playing father. She plays Texas Hold’em often in Las Vegas and hopes to win a WSOP bracelet someday, though she considers an Olympic gold medal her top goal.

Nick Goepper is a freeskier from Indiana who now lives in Oregon. He learned poker during his first skiing competition at the age of 15, and he enjoys the competition involved in the game.