2010 Aussie Millions 'Main Event' CHAMPION Tyron Krost

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!

SAY G’DAY TO 23-YEAR-OLD SYDNEY LOCAL TYRON KROST WINS $2 MILLION AND CROWNED AUSSIE MILLIONS CHAMPION

The new king of poker was crowned this evening, when 23-year-old Australian poker player Tyron Krost won Crown Casino’s 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ‘Main Event’ and took home AUD$2 million, one of the largest prizes ever awarded in a live poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.

Krost outlasted a field of 746 players who anted up the AUD$10,500 buy-in for the ‘Main Event’ creating a prize pool of AUD$7.46 million. The ‘Main Event’ at Melbourne’s Crown Casino was the culmination of the 20 Championship Events, which this year generated more than AUD$15 million in total prize money.

After playing a marathon session at the Final Table that lasted 13 hours, 23-year-old Krost from Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs had it in the bag, it unfolded like this…

Frederik Jensen raised to 200,000 from the button and Tyron Krost called from the big blind.  The flop came down    and Krost checked. Jensen bet 225,000 before Krost put in a raise to 650,000. Needing to at least call 425,000 more to continue with the hand, Jensen had another option in mind. He reraised to 1.1 million. Krost wasted little time in moving all in and Jensen was right there to meet him with a call.

Jensen held the dominated hand and needed to find some help on the turn or river or else he would be sent home as the runner-up. As everyone rushed to get a close view on what might be the final hand of the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event, the dealer burned and turned, placing the  on the turn. Jensen now needed a six and a six only to stay alive.

The river card was the  and it was all over. Chants of "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" rang through the arena for the champion from Sydney, Tyron Krost.

Danish poker player, Frederik Jensen played amazing poker and held his own against some of the best players in the world, busted out in second place winning a tidy AUD$1.1 million.
 

‘We congratulate Tyron on his tremendous accomplishment,’ said David Courtney, Crown Casino’s Chief Executive Officer. ‘He played superb poker over a prolonged period against a field that included virtually every top professional and hundreds of talented amateurs from Australia and around the world.’

Finishing third and collecting AUD$715,000 was 23-year-old Canadian, Sorel Mizzi, better known for his online poker prowess as “Imper1um”.

Champion: Tyron Krost - AUD$2million  5th place: Peter Jetten - AUD$350,000
Runner Up: Frederik Jensen - AUD$1.1 million  6th place: Steve Friedlander - AUD$250,000
3rd place: Sorel Mizzi - AUD$715,000 7th place: Annette Obrestad - AUD$175,000
4th place: Kosta Varoxis - AUD$450,000 8th place: Stephen Shelley - AUD$125,000

For further media information including media interviews and images please contact:

Natasha Stipanov
Media Relations Manager - Gaming
Crown Entertainment Complex 
Telephone: +61 434 187 828
Email: natashas@crownmelbourne.com.au 

Ann Peacock
General Manager - Public Relations
Crown Entertainment Complex 
Telephone: +61 3 9292 8607
Email: annp@crownmelbourne.com.au

ABOUT
Crown’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the Southern Hemisphere and is ranked fifth in the world. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the Aussie Millions is also poker’s longest running tournament in the Southern Hemisphere, dating back to 1998.

In 2009, the event attracted more than 2,500 entrants from a cast of nations and awarded just under AUD$10 million in prize money, as players competed for game’s most coveted trophy, the Aussie Millions ‘Main Event’ Champion.

FACTS AND FIGURES
- The Aussie Millions is held each January at Crown Casino, in Melbourne Australia
- The Aussie Millions ranks as the fifth largest poker tournament in the world by player number
- The championship includes over 20 tournaments culminating in the AUD$10,000 No Limit Holdem ‘Main Event’
- The 2010 Aussie Millions is expected to reach a prize pool of almost  AUD$15 Million with an expected first prize of AUD$2.5 million for the AUD$10,000 No Limit Holdem ‘Main Event’
- Over 2,500 individual entrants will participant in the two week series of 20 tournaments
- More than 600 international visitors are expected to attend including players from the United States, England, Ireland, South Africa, Scandinavia, Canada, Israel, Estonia, Portugal and Russia
- Huge growth in the number of Australian participants is expected, reflecting the increasing popularity of the game locally
- The Aussie Millions generated approximately 8,000 room nights across Melbourne in January 2009, including over 5,000 at Crown alone
- The 2009 Aussie Millions held the largest, cash buy in tournament ever with a $100,500 event attracting 30 players
- The AUD$10,000 No Limit Holdem ‘Main Event’ will be televised nationally and internationally
- It is expected that there will be almost 1,000 individual players in the $10,000 Buy-In No Limit Holdem ‘Main Event’

HISTORY
‘The Crown Australasian Poker Championships’ really became the first ‘Aussie Millions Poker Championship’ in 2003, when the event was increased to a AUD$10,000 buy-in and reached AUD$1 million in prize money. It was very well received and supported by both our local players and some well known international players as well. Since, has been re-branded to become known internationally as the ‘Aussie Millions Poker Championship’ and has become one of the major stops on the international circuit.

The first Aussie Millions was held in 1998 with a AUD$1,000 buy-in and AUD$74,000 prize pool and 10 international participants mainly from New Zealand. The tournament has grown to become a major event on the international poker tournament schedule.

GROWTH OF THE AUD$10,000 NO LIMIT HOLDEM ‘MAIN EVENT’:

Date Entrants ‘Main Event’ Buy-In  Prize Pool   1st Prize
1998 74 $1,100  $81,400  $25,900
1999 109 $1,500  $163,500 $38,150
2000 109 $1,500 $163,500 $65,225
2001 101 $1,500 $151,500 $53,025
2002 66 $5,000 $330,000 $150,000
2003 122 $10,500 $1.22 million $394,870
2004 133 $10,500 $1.33 million  $426,500
2005 263 $10,500 $2.63 million $1,000,000
2006 418 $10,500 $4.18 million  $1.3 million
2007 747 $10,500 $7.47 million  $1.5 million
2008 780 $10,500 $7.80 million  $1.65 million
2009 681 $10,500 $6.81 million $2 million

CROWN ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX
Covering 510,000 square metres (the equivalent of two city blocks), Melbourne’s premier entertainment complex is recognised as one of the largest and most diverse in the Southern Hemisphere. Crown’s integrated facilities feature Crown Casino, with 350 tables and 2500 gaming machines; Crown Towers, Crown Promenade and Crown Metropol (open mid-2010) hotels; the Palladium, which is Australia’s largest ballroom; more than 50 restaurants and bars; an extensive collection of international designer boutiques, 14 cinemas, two nightclubs, a live entertainment theatre and Crown’s Capital Golf Club, designed by British Open champion Peter Thomson. Built at a cost of $2 billion in 1997, Crown is one of Victoria’s leading tourism icons attracting over 16 million visitors each year, 12% from overseas, 20% from interstate.

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