Given the rich history of this tournament, we thought it'd be worthwhile to take a look back at the 2004 Aussie Millions, which took place a full decade ago! That year saw an extra tournament added to the schedule and Americans Seth Towle, Steve Zolotow, and Andy Glazer win side events.
2004 Aussie Millions Results
Event
Winner
$100 No Limit Hold’em
Marty Wilson (U.K.)
$500 Limit Hold’em
John Homann (Australia)
$500 Limit Omaha
Arul Thillai (Australia)
$500 Pot Limit Hold’em
Andy Glazer (USA)
$500 Pot Limit Omaha
Seth Towle (USA)
$1,600 Limit Hold’em
Sam Korman (Australia)
$1,600 Limit Seven-card Stud
Andy Glazer (USA)
$5,200 Heads-up NLHE
Per Werner Swennson (Sweden)
$2,100 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Michael Guttman (Australia)
$1,100 Pot Limit Hold’em
Mike Ivin (Australia)
$5,200 Pot Limit Omaha
Steve Zolotow (USA)
$10,500 NLHE Main Event
Tony Bloom (England)
The Main Event final table that year was comprised of two Americans, two Englishmen, and five Australians, making the probability of a local capturing the national title quite high. Unfortunately, that hope diminished significantly when the first four eliminations were Aussies. Not long after, the last Australian, David Hatzis, was sent packing in fourth place, leaving Americans Kenna James and Jesse Jones to take on England’s Tony Bloom.
James was the first to fall in third place, and Jones followed him back across the Pacific in second. Bloom became the second Englishman in a row to win the title, and took home AUD$426,500 for his performance.
Daniel Neilson opened for 300 under the gun only to have another player three-bet to 600. The small blind flatted, Neilson called the additional 300, and three players took a flop of . The small blind checked, Neilson bet 1,400, and the three-bettor called. The small blind also made the call, a turned, and both players check-called a bet of 4,200 from Neilson.
When a completed the board on the river, the small blind checked for a third time and Neilsen moved all in for 14,000. The three-bettor called, and the small blind folded an ace-high flush face up. Neilsen showed for a full house, and won the pot.
Christoph Vogelsang checked to an opponent on a board of . His opponent tossed out 350, the German called, and the completed the board. Vogelsang checked.
"Fourteen," the player said, tossing forward three red T500 chips.
Vogelsang studied his opponent for a bit, then made the call. The player instantly mucked his hand, and the German showed for a pair of sevens.
Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari recently took his seat in the tournament, and he couldn't have picked a better time. We didn't actually catch the hand, but we do know that Esfandiari eliminated an opponent on just the third hand he played for an 8,000 boost or so. Apparently it happened when Esfandiari held on an ace-high board.
We missed the action, but we do know that Christoph Vogelsang took an early hit here on Day 1b. From what we could piece together, the German lost nearly half his stack when Sassine Ghazale flopped the nuts holding the on an board. The two got some chips in, though we're not sure what Vogelsang had as he sent his cards to the muck unseen on the river.
Not long after, Vogelsang opened for 225 under the gun and received four calls including Ghazale in the big blind. After the small blind checked the flop, Ghazale bet 450 and only Vogelsang called. Both players then checked the turn, and Ghazale bet 1,000 on the river. It was enough to get the job done as Vogelsang folded.
The action folded to Paul Newey, who raised to 250 out of the small blind. A player in the big blind defended, the flop fell , and both players knuckled.
The turn was the third spade - the - and Newey checked again. The player fired out 300, Newey called, and the completed the board.
The Brit knuckled a third time, the player checked behind, and Newey showed for a king-high flush. The player flashed what looked like paint, then mucked.