The first of three starting day of the 2016 Aussie Millions drew a crowd of 180 players, and it was top Australian pro James Obst who came out on top with a massive 212,100-chip stack. On one of the last hands of the night Obst grabbed the lead when a player six-bet shoved on him holding ten-jack suites, while Obst held aces.
After a word from defending champion Manny Stavropoulos the action got underway, and Stavropoulos took his seat as well. The man who won nearly $1.4 million last year didn't have a very spectacular day, but he still managed to bag up 19,500 chips.
Plenty of familiar faces played on Day 1a, Philipp Gruissem was among those that did very well, bagging up 97,900. Other top pros that advanced include Max Silver (84,300), Michael Egan (133,600) and Jonathan Karamalikis (70,000).
Things didn't go well for Jack Salter, who was among the first players go get knocked out, and the same could be said for Leo Boxell. Christopher Frank and Oliver Gill were among the early casualties as wel while former WSOP Europe Main Event winner Kevin MacPhee ran pocket tens into aces, and that made sure wouldn't make a deep run in this event.
Last year's Day 1a chip leader, Jan Suchanek, had another successful day, took 104,800 to Day 2 today, and that means in contention once again.
Play will continue tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. local time with Day 1b, and PokerNews will be right there with you for all the coverage.
On one of the last hands of the night Australian pro James Obst found himself in one of the best situations possible. The player under the gun raised to 1,500 after which one player called before Obst made it 5,500 on the button.
The initial raiser four-bet to 14,000 and the player in-between folded before Obst made it 26,000.
"He then jammed about 100k into me," Obst said, as he called right away holding pocket aces.
Obst's opponent held and flopped a pair, but couldn't crack the top starting hand of his opponent.
We just spotted one of Australia's most successful poker players, Jonathan Karamalikis seated on the upper deck of the room with about 41,000 chips after winning an early pot.
A player raised to 500 from the hijack and Karamalikis three-bet from the button to 1,200 after which the small blind and initial raiser called.
The flop brought out and the action was checked to Karamalikis who bet 1,400 and only the player on his right called.
On the turn the hit and now both players checked, putting the on the river. The player in the hijack now lead out for 2,600 and the man from Adelaide gave it some thought before putting in a raise to 6,400. Karamalikis' opponent folded rather quickly, and the Aussie pro is already up to 41,000 chips.
Karamalikis clearly feels confident on home turf, judging by a Tweet he sent out involving a guessing competition regarding the underwear brand he launched in 2015. The number six on the Australian all-time money list has quite a bit of work to do before bagging up 232,000 chips, but at least he's off to a good start.
Manny Stavropoulos after winning the Main Event in 2015
The 2016 Aussie Millions started on January 13th with its preliminary events, but it has all been in anticipation of today. One of poker's majors, the Aussie Millions Main Event, always draws a big crowd and today the first of three starting days will be played out.
Last year the Main Event drew a total of 648 players, and local Manny Stavropoulos came out on top, collecting A$1,385,000 (US$1,094,737) for his efforts. The entire final three came from Australia, with James Rann from the UK finishing in fourth place. Top pros Brian Rast (5th - A$315,000) and Richard Lyndaker (7th - A$160,000) made the final table as well.
The Aussie Millions has a long history of amazing final tables, as top pros Ami Barer, Alexander Kostritsyn and Gus Hansen are among the previous winners. Seven out of the last nine Main Event champions have been from Australia, and never has there been a winner from the United States.
Each level of the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event is 90 minutes in length, and seven of those will be played on Day 1a. A 15-minute break is scheduled at the completion of every level, and the 75-minute dinner break is set to commence after the fourth level.
PokerNews.com will bring you all the Main Event live updates throughout this event, as it will without a doubt garner a star-studded field with lots of local players as well.
and flopped a pair, but couldn't crack the top starting hand of his opponent.
and the action was checked to Karamalikis who bet 1,400 and only the player on his right called.
hit and now both players checked, putting the 
on the river. The player in the hijack now lead out for 2,600 and the man from Adelaide gave it some thought before putting in a raise to 6,400. Karamalikis' opponent folded rather quickly, and the Aussie pro is already up to 41,000 chips.
