A small but impressive field of 42 action junkies and online whiz kids took part in the 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Event #12 - $3,250 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys. Contributing a whopping 87 rebuys, top pros such as Chris Ferguson, David "Chino" Rheem, Tony G and James Obst lined up with their rebuy chips at the ready. After an amazing 18-hour day, Michael Binger busted Josh "JJProdigy" Field to claim the championship ring and the accompanying AUD $123,840 first place prize.
Take the draw-heavy nature of pot-limit Omaha, add in some of the world's toughest poker players, sprinkle in a rebuy format, and the recipe for action is complete. The 42 entrants in Event #12 created plenty of action, with Jeff Lisandro promising that if his amount spent on rebuys got to "$25,000, I'll announce it so everyone can laugh!"
Some of the big names in the field busted early, without even sniffing the money. Among the early eliminations were Van Marcus, James Obst, Billy "The Croc" Argyros and Tony Bloom. Chris Ferguson became one of many victims of Josh "JJProdigy" Field when he busted just off the final table.
The final-table seating assignments and chip counts looked like this as the money bubble neared:
- Seat 1: Sam Youssef - 3,700
- Seat 2: Michael Zowie - 47,000
- Seat 3: Michael Pesek - 35,000
- Seat 4: Josh Field - 121,500
- Seat 5: Tony G - 46,000
- Seat 6: Jason Gray - 53,000
- Seat 7: David Ewing - 23,000
- Seat 8: Chino Rheem - 36,000
- Seat 9: Michael Binger - 22,000
Sam Youssef busted just short of the money, and then Tony G was the bubble boy as he fell in eighth place to eventual champ Michael Binger, leaving the remaining seven players to make the money.
David "Chino" Rheem picked up $15,480 for his seventh-place finish as the first post-bubble casualty. Michael Pesek was the next to fall, taking $23,220 with him for sixth place, when he saw a four-way flop with Jason Gray, Binger and Josh Field.
Daniel Ewing lost his straight to Michael Zowie's king-high straight, making $30,960 for fifth, with Jason Gray exiting with $42,570 soon after in fourth place.
Three-handed play was a 'round-and-'round affair, with players trading chips for over an hour before Michael Zowie exited in third place with $61,290.
Michael Binger took the lead into heads-up play, and it didn't take him long to bust Field as the runner-up ($89,010) and capture the title. As alarm clocks chimed 6:00am all over Melbourne, the final hand of Event #12 unfolded and Binger was $123,840 richer with the championship ring valued at over $4,000.
Links:
Crown Poker Gallery | PokerNews Video - Michael Binger $3,250 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys Winner
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