Bonaccorso bags the Day 1B chip lead; that’s a wrap!
After a frenetic day of action on the felt, Luci Bonaccorso has been confirmed as the Day 1B chip leader in the Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event!
The former Treasury and Star Gold Coast croupier, who won $21,329 in the $1,100 NLH Event two nights ago, was at the wrong end of a four-way all-in pre-flop scenario earlier in the day, but elected to fire one more bullet and eventually bagged up 588,000 in chips, with Robert Spano, Cam Adams and Tony Seremet not far behind.
Not to be outdone, 2022 Treasury Brisbane Poker Festival Main Event Champion Adrian Sportelli and tablemate Jeison Berdugo capped off the evening session with an epic celebration after the successive eliminations of Mike Maddocks and Ali Zebarjad.
Other feature players to have bagged to Day 2 include Yita Choong, Ricky Kroesen, Hussein Hassan, Zac Duce, Bert Perry, Anthony Cierco and Josh McSwiney.
STAR GOLD COAST CHAMPS MAIN EVENT DAY 1B – TOP 10 CHIP COUNTS
| Name | Chips |
| Luci Bonaccorso | 588,000 |
| Robert Spano | 580,000 |
| Cam Adams | 531,000 |
| Tony Seremet | 500,000 |
| Adrian Sportelli | 492,000 |
| Jeison Berdugo | 488,000 |
| Zac Duce | 445,000 |
| Andrej Senic | 409,000 |
| Brett Marshall | 392,000 |
| Anthony Cierco | 383,000 |
In all, 87 players will return tomorrow for Day 2 and the top 62 players are guaranteed a minimum payout of $2,392, while the winner will take home $131,311.
PokerMedia Australia‘s Live Reporting coverage of this tournament continues tomorrow from 11:30am AEST, so make sure you’re logged on and settled in for what will undoubtedly be a battle for the ages! Until then, from all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, it’s ‘bye for now!
All done!
The final three hands passed with no significant action between our survivors and they have all now bagged and tagged. Our wrap-up of Day 1B will be posted soon – stay with us!
It’s a celebration!
Treasury Poker Festival Main Event Champion Adrian Sportelli has now earned himself honorary Parcero status after he and Jeison Berdugo took out Mike Maddocks and Ali Zebarjad in the late stages of Day 1B.
Earlier, Berdugo got his money in good with K♠K♥ against the A♦K♦ of Atilla Bognar and doubled up to almost half-a-million in chips after the dealer fanned out a board of 3♦8♣2♦J♥9♠.
Zebarjad then got in on the action, taking out Maddocks after he called him off with K♥Q♣ and turned a king on the 2♠7♣6♣K♣8♥ board against Maddocks’ J♠J♦.
Cold-blooded!
But just before the clock was paused for the last three hands of play, Zebarjad jammed with K♣J♣ and found himself up against the A♦8♥. Sportelli jumped out of his seat and clung onto Berdugo’s shoulder as he screamed at the board.
“All right, dealer! Keep it low baby, let’s go!” Sportelli bellowed.
Flop: 4♣10♠7♥.
“Good, that’s a good start, keep it going!”
Turn: 6♣
“HOOOOOLD! Hold, hold, hold!”
River: A♠
“VAMOOOOOOOOOOS!” cried Berdugo, high-fiving Sportelli as Lucho Vargas jumped in from the rail to embrace the pair.
Unity!
| Jeison Berdugo | 495,000 |
| Adrian Sportelli | 480,000 |
| Ali Zebarjad | BUSTED! |
| Mike Maddocks | BUSTED! |
Spano skewers Andreas
Alex Andreas has been hung out to dry by Robert Spano, having been crippled in an earlier hand before falling to the Sydney high-stakes specialist in the final level of the night.
Earlier, Andreas got his hand caught in the cookie jar trying to make a move with K-9o, but Spano had him beat all the way down a 10-high board with pocket queens.
Andreas got the remainder in the middle a short time later with Q-J, but Spano had him beat with A-K that held all the way down the eight-high board to end Andreas’ run in this Main Event.
| Robert Spano | 680,000 |
| Alex Andreas | BUSTED! |
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Brown takes one down
Just as we reached the final level of play for the night, action folded around to an unknown player in the hijack position who moved all-in and Adam Brown quickly called from the cut-off before the others got out of the way.
Brown: A♣Q♦
Hijack: K♦8♦
Board: 7♥A♠K♣9♣10♠
Both players paired up on the flop, but Brown was with his aces and another one bit the dust.
| Adam Brown | 304,000 |
Berdugo doubles
As Phil Stamler headed to the exits, Jeison Berdugo – who finished runner-up to Stamler in the same QPC Main Event – just took a huge chunk out of APT Ambassador Mike Maddocks.
Maddocks got his money into the middle pre-flop holding J♠J♥, but although Berdugo was at risk, he was in good shape with his K♠K♦.
Neither hand improved on the board of 3♥10♦9♦5♣7♣ and Maddocks was left with just 13 BBs.
| Jeison Berdugo | 335,000 |
| Mike Maddocks | 33,000 |
Stamler smashed
Our reporter caught up with Phil Stamler, who informed us that he had just been eliminated before the start of Level 14.
As he recalled, he had been up and down for most of the day at the feature table before open-shoving for his last 105,000 with pocket tens, only to see his opponent Antonios Fares wake up with pocket queens.
With the board improving neither hand, the QPC Main Event Champion was sent to the rail, while Fares moved up to almost 340,000. He’ll still have some work to do though if he wants to catch his tablemate Tony Seremet, who’s on track to reach half-a-million!
| Tony Seremet | 478,000 |
| Antonios Fares | 339,500 |
| Phil Stamler | BUSTED! |
Level 14: 3,000/5,000 (5,000)
Abernethy ascending
Craig Abernethy has permanently felted Antoine Follet in a massive pot just before the blinds went up.
From under the gun, Abernethy raised to 8,500 and action folded to Ken Demlakian who called from the button before Follet three-bet-shoved from the small blind for his last 150,000.
Abernethy then came in over the top for 202,000 and Demlakian thought about it for a good couple of minutes before eventually letting his hand go.
Abernethy: J♠J♥
Follet: A♠Q♦
“Oh wow, I had Jacks too!” said Demlakian.
It mattered little though as the board of 4♥K♠K♦2♦8♥ improved Abernethy to two pair. Au revoir.
| Craig Abernethy | 350,000 |
| Antoine Follet | BUSTED! |
Vinecombe vanquished
From under the gun, Hasian Hyde limped in, as did the the player in the +1 position before action folded around to Adrian Sportelli who completed his small blind.
Joseph Vinecombe then shoved from the big blind with 4♥4♣; Hyde was the only caller, rolling over A♣7♣ and it was off to the races.
Hyde then hit middle pair after dealer spread a flop of 7♦9♣6♦, but the 3♥ on the turn opened up a few more outs for Vinecombe.
However, a repeat 7♠ on the river gave Hyde trips and send Vinecombe on his way.
| Hasian Hyde | 140,000 |
| Joseph Vinecombe | BUSTED! |
Oosthuizen ousted
Pocket sevens have been none too kind to Belinda Oosthuizen, who has just been eliminated at the hands of Tala Posala.
In an earlier hand, Oosthuizen got her money in good with A♥A♦ against the 7♠7♣ of Posala, but incredibly, Posala spiked a set on the flop of Q♣9♣7♦ to take the lead before freerolling to a flush as the turn and river ran out K♣, A♣.
Then in one of the first hands back from the break, Oosthuizen jammed with 7♠7♦, only to see Posala wake up Q♦Q♣ and it went set over set on the board of 7♥Q♠6♦3♠10♥. Brutal.
| Tala Posala | 294,000 |
| Belinda Oosthuizen | BUSTED! |
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Break it up
Our Main Event players are now on their final 10-minute break of the day. Three more levels of play and then we bag and tag!
Ragozzini rakes one in
Having come oh-so-close to making the final table of the 2021 WSOP Main Event, Melbourne’s own Sean Ragozzini is back in action on home soil for the first time since taking out the QPC Alpha Event last June.
We caught up with Ragozzini in a hand against Derek Greico on a flop of K♣8♥3♠, where Ragozzini had check-called Grieco’s bet into a pot worth about 32,000; Ragozzini then check-called again after Grieco opened for 16,500 on the turn of the A♣ before they both checked the river 2♦.
“Last aggressor shows first, right?” Ragozzini asked the dealer.
Before the dealer had a chance to respond, Grieco turned over 4♠4♦, but reeled after Ragozzini tabled 8♦5♦ for the overpair.
| Sean Ragozzini | 102,800 |
| Derek Grieco | 83,500 |
Med-winning!
Action folded around to the player on the button who moved the last of their money into the middle; they found two callers in Luke Medwin and Zac Duce to make it heads-up to a side pot between them on a flop of 6♣5♣8♣.
Medwin checked to Duce, who opened for 26,000 and Medwin check-called, then repeated his action after Duce’s bet of 53,500 after the turn of the J♥.
Both players then checked their option when the 8♦ appeared on the river, with Medler rolling up 9♦9♣ that were good enough to take the pot down and reduce the field by one.
| Luke Medwin | 343,000 |
| Zac Duce | 174,000 |
Level 12: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
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The Hildebrandt heist
Alba Qi has just taken out Aidan Hildebrandt in a big three-way all-in as the Main Event Day 1B field moves below 120 players.
Our reporter picked up the action as the cards were being tabled; Hildebrandt was at risk with A♣J♣ and ahead of the 9♠7♠ of an unknown opponent, however they were both trailing Qi’s 10♠10♥.
Nothing changed after the flop of 6♣7♣6♥, but the 10♦ on the turn left Qi’s adversaries both drawing dead and increase her stack to almost 200,000.
| Alba Qi | 198,000 |
| Aidan Hildebrandt | BUSTED! |
Level 11: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Turner takes one out
The action on the felt has slowed down significantly, however Ben Turner is still well and truly in contention after taking out another player.
We caught the result just before the dealer swept up the cards, with the all-in opponent tabling A♦J♦ for top pair on a board of A♥10♦7♣8♦2♣, but Turner had turned two pair with his A♠8♠.
No doubt that Turner is looking to add to his final table finish in the $660 Big Wave – and then some!
| Ben Turner | 188,0000 |
Assorted chip counts
As our team grabbed our latest round of chip counts, floor staff have informed us that the Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event has officially been locked out.
And while the full payout figures are still being finalised, we can confirm that we have received a total of 495 entries for a total prize pool worth $668,250.
The top 62 players will be paid a minimum of $2,405, while Monday night’s Main Event Champion will take home a whopping $111,311! Let’s go!
| Name | Chips |
| Mike Maddocks | 241,000 |
| Najeem Ajez | 240,000 |
| Adrian Sportelli | 202,000 |
| Anthony Cierco | 183,000 |
| Zac Duce | 159,000 |
| Chin Wang | 152,000 |
| Nikki Lewis | 149,000 |
| Tala Posala | 124,000 |
| Chuck Caris | 123,000 |
| Mark Brown | 116,000 |
| Jaisan Patel | 113,000 |
| Martin Ward | 51,000 |
| Alba Qi | 38,000 |
| Lucho Vargas | 33,000 |
| Liam Murray | 25,200 |
Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Let’s eat!
And with that, our remaining players are now on a 30-minute dinner break. Our PMA Live Reporting Crew will grab some chips, and then when we get back … we’ll grab some chips!
Pongrass clips Bromley
Jordan Bromley – who last year became the first player to win the mid-tier Triple Crown – has just been sent to the rail at the hands of Matt Pongrass.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop; Bromley was at risk with A♠Q♥, but he found himself flipping against Pongrass’ A♣6♣.
Bromley then took the lead after hitting top-top on the flop of 4♣8♥Q♠.
“Five of Clubs for the sweat, please dealer!” Bromley said.
Bink! The 5♣ was peeled from the shoe.
“Gotta make it a bit sweaty!” Bromley said. “Now dealer, Jack of Diamonds please.”
The dealer failed to comply, completing the board with the river 7♥.
Can’t win ’em all.
| Matt Pongrass | 127,300 |
| Jordan Bromley | BUSTED! |
Marshall on the march
Brett Marshall has recovered beautifully after copping a huge hit in the all-in-pre-flop madness earlier, eliminating Faraz Ayyaz in one of the first hands of this level.
Marshall raised pre-flop from late position with Q♦10♣ and action folded around to Ayyaz, who shoved from the blinds with A♣J♦.
Marshall called, but the flop of 7♦10♥7♠ gave Marshall two pair and was enough to eliminate Ayyaz.
| Brett Marshall | 175,000 |
| Faraz Ayyaz | BUSTED! |
No es bueno
It’s a case of swings and roundabouts for QPC Main Event Champion Lucho Vargas, who despite picking up a monster pot in the previous level he copped a beatdown from Zac Duce.
With the blinds at 600/1,200 (1,200), Vargas raised to 2,500 and action folded to the blinds who both called to make it three-handed to a flop of 8♥5♥6♥.
Both blinds checked and Vargas led out for 4,500; only the small blind called and then they check-called Vargas’ bet of 6,500 after the turn of the K♣.
The small blind then check-called Vargas’ bet of 22,000 when the 4♦ came down on the river, but although they had pocket sevens, Vargas showed down A♥10♥ for the nut flush.
All that hard work, however, came undone when he clashed with Duce two hands later, coming in with a four-bet of 16,000 from the button after Duce raised to 4,800 from the cut-off.
Both players checked the flop and turn of Q-Q-8-8 and then Vargas called Duce’s opening bet of 45,000 after an ace appeared on the river. Vargas rolled up A-K, but Duce had him beat with the boat, tabling J-8o.
| Lucho Vargas | 33,000 |
Level 9: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Keen as a Bean
Ron Bean is now up to almost 160,000 after scoring a huge double through Nick Wright.
Our reporter caught the action just as the dealer had finished fanning a board of 5♥4♦8♣3♦9♥; Wright had got it in good with his J♥J♣, however Bean’s 5♠4♠ had flopped two pair and left Wright running on fumes as we approach the final level of play before the dinner break.
| Ron Bean | 158,500 |
| Nick Wright | 11,000 |
Ward gored
Martin Ward has just been taken out at the hands of Najeem Ajez, getting the last of his money in pre-flop with A♠5♠, but found himself up against Ajez’s 7♠7♣.
The dealer then spread a board of Q♣9♥J♠2♥10♠ to eliminate the affable Queensland poker veteran.
“One more, then!” Ward said as he headed over to the rego desk to re-enter.
| Najeem Ajez | 173,500 |
| Martin Ward | 50,000 |
Bye-bye Mai
Mai Nguyen approached the PMA Live Reporting Team to inform us that she had taken a big hit to her stack earlier in the day before moving over to Table 8, hopeful that her luck would change.
When we got there, we found Nguyen all-in for a main pot worth 7,500, with Carlos Youssef and Mishel Anunu checking down a flop of K♠8♥3♦.
Youssef then check-folded to Anunu’s bet of 8,000 after the turn of the A♠ before Anunu and Nguyen went to showdown.
Anunu: A♥J♠
Nguyen: 10♥2♥
With Nguyen drawing dead, the river 9♠ was merely a formality.
| Mishel Anunu | 57,500 |
| Mai Nguyen | BUSTED! |
Level 8: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Double for Duce
Zac Duce has just doubled through Mark Brown, who has quietly amassed a monster stack as action continues in this Main Event.
We picked up the action as Duce and Brown went to showdown; Brown had called Duce’s all-in bet of 26,100 with 9♦9♣, but got no help against Duce’s A♥A♣ on the board of 8♣2♦3♠Q♠Q♥.
‘Tis but a scratch for Brown, who is still on almost 250,000 after that hand.
| Mark Brown | 248,700 |
| Zac Duce | 54,700 |
Kassam shattered
It wasn’t the best start to Rehman Kassam’s day, as he revealed to PokerMedia Australia this morning that his $550 Big Bounty trophy – which he had received not even 24 hours ago – was accidentally broken at the hands of one of his friends.
Kassam has also had a tough time at the tables today, crippled to as low as 7,000 after losing a crucial flip against Hong Nguyen.
All the money was in the middle on a flop of 8♦9♣6♣; Kassam had managed to hit the straight with his 7♦5♦, but Hong still had a chance with his Q♠10♠.
No change with the turn of the 8♣, but Hong spiked the J♠ for the queen-high straight; Kassam, however, has managed to double up a couple of times since then but is now nursing a stack worth 20 bigs.
| Rehman Kassam | 20,000 |
Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Take a breather
It’s break time! See you back in 10 minutes!
No, seriously … WHAT is happening?!
“All in, call!”
As our players headed off for the break, the PMA Live Reporting Team were hurriedly beckoned over by floor staff to another table where we came across – yep, you guessed it – our third four-way all-in pre-flop showdown!
This time, it was Kipo Puyat who was leading with A♦A♣, up against A♠K♠, 9♠9♥ and 8♠7♥, but Puyat scored the triple K.O. after the board fanned out 8♣J♣J♠2♥7♣.
We may need to take a moment here to get our heads around all of this.
| Kipo Puyat | 163,000 |
“Watts” happening?
“All in, call!”
Over to Table 20 now, where we picked up another four-way all-in, this time between Luci Bonacorrso, Taylor Grube, Michael Watts and Brett Marshall.
Grube: A♠A♦
Marhsall: K♠K♣
Watts: 10♠10♥
Bonaccorso: 3♠3♣
Board: Q♠2♣4♠9♥2♥
“Oh, man!” said Michal Jalc. “If [Marshall] had have just flatted before me pre-flop, I would have jammed with deuces and hit quads!”
Watts promptly jammed the rest of his stack into the middle in the very next hand, gambling with 10-6 against Ron Bean’s A-K, but although Watts hit a 10 on the flop, Bean hit an ace on the river to send him to the rail.
In the midst of it all, a shell-shocked Marshall kept staring at the table in disbelief.
“Dude … is this real life?”
| Taylor Grube | 226,000 |
| Ron Bean | 78,600 |
| Brett Marshall | 66,000 |
| Luci Bonaccorso | BUSTED! |
| Michael Watts | BUSTED! |
Tsai high
“All in, call!”
A crowd gathered around Table 12, where APT Brisbane Main Event Champion Charles Tsai found himself as the shortest stack in a four-way all-in-call situation against Andrew White, Tala Posala and Antoine Follet.
Follet: K♠K♦
Posala: Q♥Q♦
Tsai: J♠J♥
White: A♣K♥
Board: 3♦4♥J♦10♠A♠
After the dust settled and the chips were cut down, Tsai scored the quadruple-up, White took the sidepot and Follet was felted.
| Charles Tsai | 139,000 |
| Andrew White | 110,000 |
| Tala Posala | 91,100 |
| Antoine Follet | BUSTED! |
Adam!
Adam Andrews has just taken out 2019 APL Million Main Event Champion Hussein Hassan over the course of two hands.
The PMA Live Reporting Crew caught the action as Andrews had ripped it in from the small blind with A♥K♥, but found himself ahead of Hassan’s A♠J♥ and held after the board was spread Q♣6♦7♦2♣8♥.
“Adam! My God, dude! Just a 125 BB shove?” exclaimed Andrews’ mate on the rail.
“C’mon, man, I had to … I don’t wanna play with this superstar!” Andrews joked, nodding in Hassan’s direction.
Cut back to around 15,000 in chips, Hassan jammed them in the very next hand with 4♦4♣, but although he was flipping against Q♥J♥, Andrews turned a straight on the K♥10♣5♦9♠9♣ board.
| Adam Andrews | 179,000 |
| Hussein Hassan | BUSTED! |
Evans above!
Over on Table 13, the action folded around to Kelvin Evans who raised to 2,000 from late position before Josh Emerton re-raised out of the blinds to 5,100.
Evans then pushed for 14,300 total and Emerton snapped him off.
Emerton: J♦J♣
Evans: A♦Q♦
Emerton was in great shape after the flop and turn of 2♥4♦10♣10♠, but Evans jagged the river A♠ for the double-up.
| Kelvin Evans | 31,400 |
| Josh Emerton | 86,700 |
Level 6: 400/800 (800)
No fuss for Huss
Hussein Hassan’s run in the Main Event rolls on after he took out another player on Table 19.
Our reporter caught the action as the all-in player tabled 10♥9♥ and found himsef up against Hussein’s A♥J♣, but despite both players making two pair on the board of 2♦A♣2♠Q♥9♦ Hassan was best with aces-up.
A few hands later, Dennis Huntly open-shoved from early position with A♣Q♣ and found one caller in Zac Duce, who rolled up10♥10♣, but neither hand improved on the 8♥Q♠9♦3♦5♦ board and Huntly doubled through.
“You get a lot of pairs, don’t you Zac?” Dennis asked.
“So do you, apparently!” Duce replied.
| Hussein Hassan | 102,300 |
| Zac Duce | 92,000 |
| Dennis Huntly | 41,000 |
Ajez drops one
Najeem Ajez has just lost a pot to Neb Blanusa, getting his money in holding 3♠3♦ and found himself flipping against Blanusa, who was at risk with K♠Q♦.
Blanusa, however, paired up on the flop of Q♥A♣2♦ before the turn and river ran out 7♥, 4♥ to secure the double through.
| Neb Blanusa | 81,500 |
| Najeem Ajez | 57,000 |
Kara cuts Maddocks
Suraj Kara has now thrown his hat into the ring in this Main Event, eliminating Mike Maddocks as we now move past 224 entries in today’s flight.
The player in the UTG position raised to 2,100 pre-flop before Kara re-raised to 5,500; action then folded around to Maddocks who jammed for his last 17,800, forcing the UTG player out of the way before Kara snap-called.
Kara: J♥J♣
Maddocks: A♥Q♣
Kara then turned the set on the 3♦8♦4♦J♠2♥ board and Maddocks took his leave.
| Suraj Kara | 69,600 |
| Mike Maddocks | BUSTED! |
Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Bonaccorso’s big scalp
As we were returning from the break, PMA protégé Josh Emerton – who’s also amongst the Main Event field today – bounded up alongside Luci Bonaccorso, who had this story to share with us.
“I don’t normally do this sort of thing,” Bonaccorso said, “but oh my God, you guys … I took out Alex Lynskey!”
As the winner of the Star Gold Coast Champs $1,100 NLH Event recalled, she and Lynskey got all their money in the middle after the flop, with Lynksey shoving with pocket kings, but Bonaccorso had him covered with pocket aces!
With the remainder of the board improving neither hand, Lynskey was off to the rego desk to fire another bullet while Bonaccorso moved up well past 100,000 in chips.
Assorted chip counts
Najeem Ajez, Lee Bradbury, Anthony Cierco and QPC Main Event Champion Lucho Vargas are just a handful of our new arrivals coming into Day 1B of the Main Event, which is now past 180 entries to give us a total prize pool worth more than $500,000.
| Name | Chips |
| Chin Wang | 120,000 |
| Michal Jalc | 111,400 |
| Yita Choong | 109,500 |
| Luci Bonaccorso | 102,000 |
| Ben Turner | 100,400 |
| Hussein Hassan | 99,200 |
| Lucho Vargas | 88,200 |
| Brooke Colless | 87,000 |
| David Sebesfi | 81,500 |
| Zac Duce | 76,400 |
| Paul O’Brien | 75,600 |
| Liam Murray | 69,000 |
| Nikki Lewis | 64,300 |
| Toby Giles | 61,300 |
| Najeem Ajez | 51,400 |
| Alex Lynskey | 51,000 |
| Faraz Ayyaz | 50,000 |
| Anthony Cierco | 50,000 |
| Lee Bradbury | 49,200 |
| Stephen Topakas | 45,000 |
| Chuck Caris | 39,500 |
| Minseok Kim | 31,100 |
| Jigs Reyes | 25,500 |
| Rehman Kassam | 19,400 |
| Dennis Huntly | 18,300 |
Level 4: 200/400 (400)
Take 20
Our Main Event players are now on a 20-minute comfort break.
Dennis’ menace
An interesting battle is brewing between Dennis Huntly and Graham Dennis over on Table 19, with the pair already getting involved in a couple of hands during this level.
Earlier, we picked up Dennis and Huntly involved in a four-way pot on a flop of 9♦7♦8♥; Huntly and Craig Abernethy checked out of the blinds to Richard Tang who led out for 1,200 from the cut-off.
Dennis called from the button, forcing Huntly and Abernethy out way before the 6♦ came down on the turn, which both Tang and Dennis checked before Tang popped another 1,000 over the line after the river 8♣, only to fold after Dennis’ raise of 6,000.
Some time passed before the cry of “all in, call” went up, with Huntly calling Dennis off with A♠K♣, but despite hitting two pair on the board of 2♦K♥2♠Q♦7♥, Dennis’ A♠A♥ was best.
| Graham Dennis | 76,300 |
| Dennis Huntly | 24,800 |
The Demlakian demolition
Ken Demlakian has just been eliminated after being smashed in an earlier hand against Ricky Kroesen.
In an earlier hand, Bert Perry raised to 800 from early position pre-flop and both Kroesen and Demlakian called to make it three-handed to a flop of Q♥K♣7♣.
Demlakian and Perry checked to Kroesen who opened for 1,300, only to then see Demlakian check-raise to 4,500. Perry cold-called, but Kroesen came back over the top with a re-raise worth 22,000.
Perry quickly folded and Demlakian called before open-shoving on on the turn of the J♥; Kroesen insta-called.
Kroesen: K♠Q♣
Demlakian: Q♠7♠
No love for Demlakian as the river 2♦ completed the board, reducing him to 6,500 in chips which all disappeared into David Gorr’s stack a short time later.
| Ricky Kroesen | 102,000 |
| Bert Perry | 96,000 |
| Ken Demlakian | BUSTED! |
Level 3: 200/300 (300)
Dodds dudded
Over on Table 12, Richard Dodds raised to 600 from under the gun and the player in the +1 position called before David Gorr re-raised to 2,200 from middle position.
Tala Posala called from the button and all the others followed him in to go four-handed to a flop of K♠6♥8♣.
Dodds led out for 5,000 and Posala was the only caller, making it heads-up to the turn of the 9♥, where Dodds opened for 10,000. Posala then shoved for 47,600 and Dodds short-called.
Dodds: A♠J♥
Posala: 7♠5♠
Needing another spade, the river 7♣ completed the board to send Dodds to the rail.
| Tala Posala | 112,600 |
| Richard Dodds | BUSTED! |
Youssef gets one early
APT Ambassador Mike Maddocks has just late-reg’d for today’s flight, coming in as Neb Blanusa and Carlos Youssef went heads-up to a flop of A♣7♠9♠.
Youssef check-called Blanusa’s bet of 1,200 after the flop and then repeated his action after Blanusa opened for 2,100 when the dealer peeled off the turn of the Q♦.
Both players then checked down the river 8♠ and Youssef tabled A♠10♦ to scoop.
| Carlos Youssef | 46,800 |
| Neb Blanusa | 32,700 |
Level 2: 100/200 (200)
Green in the red
Star Gold Coast Champs Big Wave Champion Chin Wang has already chipped up early after decimating the stack of Barry Green before he was eliminated by Troy Pellaschiar.
In one of the first hands at Table 18, action folded to a player in middle position who min-raised before Green three-bet it 1,100; Wang then four-bet to 4,500 and the MP moved out of the way before Green called before raising Wang’s bet after the flop of 7♣5♥9♦.
Wang then shoved over the top and after about 45 seconds Green made the call.
Wang: A♦A♣
Green: J♠J♦
The board completed 4♣, Q♦, reducing Green down to just 200 in chips, which he flicked into the middle on the very next hand holding A♣10♠
Pellaschiar called from the button, as did Chuck Caris from the small blind and then both players checked down the flop of K♦8♦3♥ before Caris check-folded to Pellaschiar’s bet of 500 after the dealer produced the 5♣ on the turn.
Pellaschiar then tabled K♥J♦, which improved to two pair with the river J♥ to confirm our first elimination from today’s flight.
| Chin Wang | 98,000 |
| Troy Pellaschiar | 55,800 |
| Barry Green | BUSTED! |
The who’s who
Already plenty of big names in action amongst the 117 entrants who have taken their seats so far, including 2011 Aussie Millions Main Event Champion David Gorr and APLPT Queensland Main Event Champion Liam Murray.
Phil Stamler is also seated over on our feature table; Stamler, of course, was the winner of the first QPC Main Event of 2021, defeating a field of 2,405 entries – the largest-ever poker tournament ever held in the Southern Hemisphere.
Four-time QPC Champion Justin Gordon is also here (not to be confused with his twin brother from another mother, Wayde Rickhuss), along with Bert Perry, Martin Ward, Qais Shanasa, Mitch Bognar, and PMA‘s own Josh Emerton.
Shuffle up and deal!
Cards are now in the air for Day 1B of the Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event!
We’ll be playing through 15 levels today, each 40 minutes in duration with a break every two hours. Starting blinds are 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante and late registration and re-entries are available until the start of Level 10.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BBA |
| 1 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 3 | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| 4 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 7 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 9 | 800 | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 11 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 12 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 13 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| 14 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| 15 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Good morning everyone and welcome back to PokerMedia Australia for our ongoing coverage of the Star Gold Coast Champs Main Event!
Yesterday’s Main Event Day 1A flight brought in total of 202 entries, giving us a current prize pool worth $272,000. Leading at the end of last night was Lloyd Locsin, who bagged up a whopping 818,000 in chips. It capped off a big day out for Locsin, who also cashed in the $550 Big Bounty Shot Clock before jumping into the Big Dance.
Michael Brahim and Graham Davis were also amongst the top performers, finishing second and third overall in the counts, while Josh Norvock and Nicholas Tory rounded out the top five.
It was also a great Day 1A for two of the poker industry’s finest: WPT League Sydney APC Main Event Champion Rod Meneses and 2021 WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast Main Event Champion Will Davies, who also made it into the top 10 chip counts.
Along with Tournament Executive Lauren Mooney, the trio are the driving force behind the Poker Palace at Club Marconi, which last week wrapped up their immensely successful Autumn Poker Championship series that brought in an eye-watering $1.6 million in total prize pools.
It’s proof positive that the poker scene in the Harbour City is very much alive and kicking in the wake of the COVID pandemic and bodes well for the upcoming WPTDeepStacks Sydney series, due to start at the end of this month at The Star Sydney.
It’s also a very good indication that today’s Main Event flight will be choc-a-bloc full of the biggest names in the game, so stay with us right here on the PMA Live Reporting blog from 11:30am AEST as we bring you all the action until we all bag up!
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