Proving that he is as equally adept at poker as he is at cricket Shane Warne is continuing to move his stack in the right direction.
After a table mate raised to 600 preflop from late position Warne made the call from the big blind taking the action heads-up to a flop of .
Warne checked his opponent continuation bet 400 and the cricket legend made the call bringing both players to the turn.
With this completing a possible spade flush both players checked and a non-spade hit the river. This brought a 1,100 bet from Warne, which after some careful consideration his opponent called, only to pitch his cards into the muck after Warne rolled over for a rivered two pair. Warne climbs to roughly 43,000 or so after the hand.
As we approach the later stage of Level 2 here more players are finding their way among the action.
Recently spotted joining the hunt was prominent Australian pro Jonathan Karamilikis. He just took a seat at Annette Obrestad’s table and we’ll be keeping an eye on his progress on Day 1a.
Also seen making the most of late registration were fellow Australians Sam Higgs, Rory Young and Ukraine’s Yevgeniy Timoshenko.
On a flop reading Dan Shak checked his option from the hijack. His opponent on the button bet 1,200. Shak called.
The turn brought the and both players checked.
After the completed the board Shak tapped the table indicating a check. His opponent reached for his chips and tossed out 2,500. Shak paused for a moment then raised to 6,000. The player on the button took a moment and called.
Shak then tabled his for two pair before his opponent flipped over for a straight.
Shak just shook his head and smiled in disbelief as his opponent raked in the pot.
While Phil Laak may have departed, several more notables have joined the action bringing the total number of entries up to 202.
David Gorr will be a familiar face to many as he has been a Crown regular for decades. With over $2.1 million in career tournament earnings, the 74-year old Malvern native is currently 9th on the Hendon mob Australia All Time Money List and as a former Aussie Millions Champion is no stranger to success. Gore defeated the UK’s James Keys to win the 2011 Main Event for $1.9 million and will be hoping to repeat chance once again.
Also joining the field is lawyer, businessman and philanthropist Julius Colman, co-founder of the Colman Foundation, an educational charity providing grants for books and educational needs to disadvantaged children across Victoria. Colman is also a pretty decent card player sitting in 37th on Australia’s All Time Money List with over $800,000 in tournament earnings and an Aussie Millions Main Event final table on his poker resume – Colman finished 4th in 2007 for a $397,640, the year Gus Hansen emerged victorious.
Another notable is entrepreneur Andrew Bassat – CEO and cofounder of SEEK Australia, the country’s largest employment, career, and recruitment site. Bassat too boasts a very respectable poker resume with over $127,000 in tournament winnings including a deep run in 2016’s Asia Pacific Poker Tour Melbourne Main Event. Bassat already has a cash under his belt at this year's Aussie Millions with a 43rd place finish in the AU$1,150 Six Max Event #6 and will undoubtedly be hoping to go a little farther here in the Main.
Sam Higgs was off to a great start after late registering but a recent clash with his tablemate sent him hurtling back down to just over starting stack.
Players went five ways to the flop and after two checks, a player made it 500 to go. Higgs was next to act and he bumped it up to 1,400. Following him was Ben Richardson who flat called and after two folds it was back to the initial bettor.
He wanted to play for more and put in another raise to 4,200. After seeing how much his opponent was playing Higgs put in the fourth bet for a total of 11,400. Despite the action Richardson still gave it some thought but ultimately decided to let it go. The other player, however, pushed all in for 16,825 and Higgs called it off.
Higgs:
Opponent:
“I had nine-four” revealed Richardson as the cards went on their backs.
It was the top pair and flush draw of Higgs against middle set and while he was live Higgs couldn’t find a spade on the turn or river.
The action started with the player under the gun raising to 500 and getting called by the player in the hijack. Annette Obrestad then bumped it up to 2,100 from the cutoff before the decision fell back on the original raiser. He called. The other player mucked.
The flop came down and Obrestad was met with check. She tossed out 2,600 which was matched shortly after.
The turn brought the and a quick check followed. Oberstad stared down her opponent for a minute before splashing out 5,700. The bet was enough to take down the pot as her opponent instantly mucked his hand.
Right now, 204 players have entered Day 1a of the 2017 Aussie Millions Main Event. While registration remains open for the rest of the day, it's already bigger than the Day 1a fields in recent years. Here's a look at the numbers for the past few Aussie Million Main Events:
.
turn. 
hit the river. This brought a 1,100 bet from Warne, which after some careful consideration his opponent called, only to pitch his cards into the muck after Warne rolled over 
for a rivered two pair. Warne climbs to roughly 43,000 or so after the hand.
Dan Shak checked his option from the hijack. His opponent on the button bet 1,200. Shak called. 
completed the board Shak tapped the table indicating a check. His opponent reached for his chips and tossed out 2,500. Shak paused for a moment then raised to 6,000. The player on the button took a moment and called. 
for two pair before his opponent flipped over 
for a straight. 
flop and after two checks, a player made it 500 to go. Higgs was next to act and he bumped it up to 1,400. Following him was Ben Richardson who flat called and after two folds it was back to the initial bettor. 
turn or 
river.
and Obrestad was met with check. She tossed out 2,600 which was matched shortly after. 
and a quick check followed. Oberstad stared down her opponent for a minute before splashing out 5,700. The bet was enough to take down the pot as her opponent instantly mucked his hand.
