In what can best be described as a unique format, this $25,000 buy-in event was a shootout structure with knockout bounties.  Of the 49 entrants, seven seven-handed tables were assembled, with the winners moving on to the final table and securing $75,000. From there, it was a winner takes all affair, with first spot taking home the money and the trophy.  Throughout play, there was a $5,000 bounty on each player’s head, with a $100,000 award to the player who collected the most knockouts.

The seven-handed final table had a stacked list of names, including Joe Cassidy, Hoyt Corkins, and 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Winner Peter Eastgate. It took almost four hours to see the first elimination, standing a testament to just how long-winded the play was. Players then began to drop like flies, until three-handed play was reached amongst Cassidy, Corkins, and Griffin and the momentum stalled out. Lasting another couple of hours, Cassidy eventually succumbed to the insurmountable blinds and antes. Ironically, it only took two hands of heads-up play before Corkins was all-in and all-out with an out-kicked top pair, as Griffin took it down and walked away with $560,000 in bounties and winnings.

And the crystal trophy? Yah, I guess that’s pretty nice too.

The $420 + $40 buy in tournament brought in 33 players, including some of Carbon’s best players. There were numerous seat winners in attendance, including a stacked final table.

In the final 11 players we had heavy hitters like:

LTUFlawless – 2nd (Aus Mills, WSOP)

bullitpete – 5th (WSOP – EPT – Aus Mills)

vader46 – 6th (Aus Mills – MTT LB winner)

foxyuk – 10th (Aus Mills – EPT – WSOP)

1GOLDENBEAR1 – 11th (Aus Mills)

DrextheTex – 12th – (Aus Mills – WSOP)

All of them had already won a live seat through Carbon Poker tournaments, and many of them have done it more than once.

LTUFlawless won $952 in second place.

Congrats to mesut5400. We’ll be sending more players to represent CarbonPoker at the WSOP, so don’t miss out on your chance to hit the tables and come out with a $12,500 prize.

It’s time to drop your britches and get some riches. The World Poker Tour (WPT) is making its inaugural visit to the Midwest in March, introducing the Hollywood Poker Open, a new 28 event series at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The tour will culminate with a no-limit hold’em $10,000 WPT Championship Main Event from March 20th-24th with final table action being filmed for broadcast on Fox Sports Net in June.

With an estimated first prize of over $1 million and as always, a $25,000 paid entry into the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas, the winner will be in hog heaven—literally.

The recent addition of a Midwest circuit marks the newest US destination on the tour in years, after much time was been spent expanding the brand internationally during the first leg of Season VIII — including new stops in exotic locales like Cyprus, Moracco, Venice, and Bratislava, Slovakia. Expanding internationally seems like the smartest venture for the WPT when a US-dominated tour schedule became bloated and watered down like an overworked plow ox. This was evidenced by the removal of the North American Poker Championship at the Fallsview Casino in Canada as well as the spring visits to Foxwoods in Connecticut  and the Borgata in New Jersey shortly after the international dates were announced. There are still currently 12 stops in the US, 1/3 of which take place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Located just minutes from Cincinnati, Ohio, the Hollywood Poker Open gives Midwestern residents their first opportunity at poker fame without having to take a flatbed full of chicken coops across the country to find it.

That noise you’re hearing isn’t the dinner bell—it’s destiny.

Tyron Krost, a Bondi, Australia resident, took down the Main Event of the Aussie Millions after a week of intensely played poker.

Krost is 23 years old and beat a field of 746 players en route to the $2Million AUD victory Down Under. He qualified for the event through online satellites (that could be you!) and spent about $700 in the process – by my math, that’s a pretty solid investment.

That was Krost’s first major tournament victory; he previously cashed in two events at the 2008 WSOP. This showing at the Crown Casino was certainly the highlight of his growing career.

Tyron likened the win to a dream that he didn’t want to wake up from. He went on to say that he’s more interested in poker than the family furniture business… I think that’s a no brainer.

Krost’s play turned dominant in the final day of competition as he knocked out 5 players, including second place Frederik Jensen.

Aussie Million Main Event Final Table Results:

1st: Tyron Krost – $2,000,000
2nd: Frederik Jensen – $1,100,000
3rd: Sorel Mizzi – $715,000
4th: Kosta Varoxis – $450,000
5th: Peter Jetten – $350,000
6th: Steve Friedlander – $250,000
7th: Annette Obrestad – $175,000
8th: Stephen Shelly – $125,000

Smith’s J5 of diamonds fell to Obrestad’s A8 of diamonds when she paired the Ace on the floop.

15th out of the field of 746 players is good for $75,000AUD. That’s just another consistent finish for Elliot Down Under. His third place showing last year was better, but I’m sure he’s happy with the showing.

We’ll be catching up with him next week to get his thoughts on the tourney, his upcoming events and anything else that was goign on in Melbourne.

Day 1 is often about survival, just looking for the satisfaction of getting through the early stages of a major tournament. Day 2 is a very different beast, not those that are left are all looking to make some moves and get ahead. Day 2 of the Aussie Millions saw 4 of the 7 Carbon Poker qualifiers at the felt looking for glory.

Jonatan “FATSTAKK” Soderstrom

Unfortunately for FATSTAKK the new day didn’t bring any new action. While he at least did finally get a new table the situation for him was much the same. Another move saw him get some time at the TV table under the bright lights but sadly that didn’t help either. Not a single premium hand for two days saw his stack slowly grind down, eventually he was forced to get it all-in with AT. He got a call and his opponent flipped up AK to have him dominated, a position which changed quickly when he flopped a ten to take the lead. Things again changed quickly when a king came down on the river and the reddest Swede I have ever seen was sent to the rail.

Rob “bigdoggy1234″ Ludlow

The little big dog with the big heart kept hanging around on day 2. He played some shortstack poker over these two days that Barry Greenstein would have been proud of. bigdoggy had struggled to get calls for most of day one, begging and pleading for a double up, day 2 was much of the same every time he fired at a pot his opponent got out of the way. After taking one such hand with a shove at the flop he fired out a preflop raise, only this time his opponent fired back and pushed all-in over the top of him. bigdoggy went deep into the tank for few minutes before turning his cap backwards and shoving all his chips in. Bigdoggy showed AQ vs his opponents  77 and we were off to the races. Clearly a greyhound bigdoggy took the early lead catching two aces on the flop, streaking off to the win with blanks on the turn and river. He finally gets his double up!

bigdoggy’s next big hand came up against a young lady. Yesterday’s readers would have already heard of, Haley from Hawthorne. The rather attractive Haley [ed note - Shane did not get a date] has spent plenty of time at the felt with our players and after the next hand she probably wishes she didn’t. She got the last of her chips in with 88 and after tanking for a few minutes bigdoggy called her down with AK. The AK hit and unfortunately I’d be seeing no more of Haley this week and she was sent to the rail with her partner. A few at the table were quite upset with what they thought was a slowroll from doggy. Being the slight underdog in the hand he assures me he wasn’t all that comfortable risking what was almost all his chips in a race. But as we have seen before, this is one doggy that always seems to catch the rabbit. (Yes more greyhound references!)

Bigdoggy’s luck couldn’t last all day and he was eventually our next loss for the day. On a 524 flop he fired his last 35k into the middle getting called down by pocket 3’s. With AT in hand doggy was well behind and clearly a front runner he never caught up and was sent to the rail.

While watching bigdoggy’s table I caught what had to be the hand of the day. A short stack pushed all-in for his last 40k or so in chips and was called down by one of the biggest stacks at the table. Immediately to the left of that stack was another big stack who came all-in over the top. These two older gentlemen had spent most of the day side by side and the original caller clearly had a great read laying down his hand, showing the table his pocket kings as he did so. The bigger all-in showed pocket aces and the folder was quickly patting himself on the back for an amazing lay down. The short stack showed AT and was clearly dominated no matter who he went to the showdown with. This hand was not finished with its twists and turns though as no sooner had the folder started to feel good a king rained down on the flop, with no ace to follow he had in fact folded what would have been a set of kings. Sometimes you just need the extra cahoonas to make the big calls and without them you are left to lament what could have been, this had to be one of those times.

Dustin “DrextheTex” Drexel

Drex had been up and down on day 1, and this was how day two was always going to play out. Never shy to mix it up Drex got into plenty of good spots he just needed some cards to fall his way for a good run deep in the tourney. The luck was mixed from the start back to back pocket jacks saw him steal a pot one hand but then lose the showdown on the next. His biggest hand of the day saw him flop a straight against top pair when his 78 caught JT9 on the flop up against Q5. The straight held up and he was soon the chip leader of our remaining qualifiers with over 120k in chips.
That lead evaporated in the blink of an eye though. Still with over 100k in chips looking at an A44JK board Tex came hard over the top and moved all-in. Unfortunately he was called down and his opponents JJ had rivered a straight and were good, sending the big Tex to the rail. Still on Tex he surely wins the photo of the day with the sweet shot of his mirrored sunglasses, now thats a poker face!

Elliot “ilikebiggirls” Smith

After just running amok in his day 1 throwing chips at nearly every pot, ilikebiggirls needed to find a new gear on day 2 when he sat down with several big stacks including Aussie WSOP bracelet winner Mark Vos. He settled down for a long day patiently waiting for the right spots, which for the most of the day were few and far between. One such spot was ending a tank off with an opponent by throwing a raise at a 55J94 board, his opponent mucked and he showed pocket Q’s. As the day wore on he slowly found his mojo again which made keeping tabs on his rather tricky. I couldn’t even take a bathroom break, coming back to his table I see him raking in another pot. Word is he turned a straight throwing in 20k for good measure only to have his opponent move all in for 66k. ilikebiggirls made the call and was up over 160k.

That stack slowly dwindled again and he looked to be falling back out of the groove, he needed something special to get his groove back and got it and then some. If one hand defines this tournament for him this just might be it. Back to his raisey daisy self he ran into another reraise. This time he tanked long and hard before eventually putting his tournament life on the line moving all-in. His opponent didn’t waste time putting his chips in making the call and suddenly ilikebiggirls was regretting his move. He cursed as the hands were turned over his K8 was dominated by AT and needed a lot of help. His opponent asked him why on earth he was risking all his chips there and he replied “you weren’t supposed to call!” As the dealer dealt the board ilikebiggirls asked for two 8’s, his prayers were answered with an 8 on the flop and one on the river for good measure, doubling him up nicely.

He turned from the table and yelled “SUCK IT ONE TIME” possibly referring to his suckout… or to his condescending opponent. He had clearly just rattled the cage of the biggest stack at his table who was now steaming with disgust. ilikebiggirls wasn’t finished sucking out though he soon got into another big hand calling an all-in shove over his reraise for 60k going to the flop behind AQ vs AK. KJJ on the flop put him further behind but also gave him some outs, outs which came good with a ten on the turn completing his straight, and delivering another huge suckout. Back with a pile of chips again he returns to his day 1 self, raising nearly every pot, the few times he is called he often has to check his cards as if he hadn’t even looked properly before he raised.

Ever the aggressor ilikebiggirls couldn’t help but get involved in the last hand of the night. The only woman at his table threw a raise at his big blind, he tanks (I’m not sure you can call a 5 minute decision a tank for him now… its just standard) eventually reraising quickly seeing a call. Q5A comes down on the flop and he casually throws 15k at a 50k pot, his opponent tanks but lays it down drawing the ire of her husband as she bags up her chips. ilikebiggirls goes to day 3 with a very healthy 267,500.

The husband lecturing the wife after the last hand is something I always find amusing in the poker room. Players still in the tournament or just getting knocked out always seem to be getting lectured by someone who didn’t get anywhere near as far as they did about how they played hands. How can you criticise someone who did better than you???

Time for a quick drink tonight with the players who have been eliminated and then back to the felt to see how far Elliot “ilikebiggirls” Smith can go.

DADuhWEEwah caught some rough breaks early, his 2 pair ran into a higher two pair to start the day, and then things got worse. Closing in on the hour he saw a dream flop, holding J9 suited he caught and up and down straight draw with a QT4 flop in a four way pot with two spades. He immediately raised chasing away all but one lone caller. The turn brought an ace and he fired another bet and again got the call, a queen on the river saw him push his final 6k chips in the middle and again he got a call. His opponent flipped A7 of spades for top pair, a flushed draw chased a straight draw and caught a pair. Not quite what he had in mind for his trip down under.

Strangely this first shot at Aussie Millions glory hasn’t deterred DADuhWEEwah as he is already talking about coming back next year!

In non Carbon Poker news day 1 of the Aussie Millions saw quite a few of the big names strolling into the poker room. Dan Harrington was in early, Aussie Joe of course was there to start proceedings, Gus Hansen sat out the first level to get some PR time in, Barry Greenstein wandered in just in the nick of time and well after the first level was underway Eric Lindgren strolled into the room.

It was a meeting of the minds of the top sports blogs online, in Vegas. Things wrapped up on Friday the 16th with the Blogs With Balls Charity Poker Shootout.

The mix on the tables was as varried as possible — out of the 100 person field, there were 10 pros, absolute rookies, bloggers and Captain Morgan (the dude from the commercials. He’s hilarious, btw).

Congrats to Andy Best (a blogger, not a pro!) for being the eventual winner. He took down $1900 for the win. Andy’s from FanSided.com.

I got bounced by Andy Bloch just after the rebuys stopped, which I can deal with. The event raised $10,000 for Ante Up for Africa.

Look out for online versions of the BwB tourneys coming soon to CarbonPoker.

I’m excited to network with other bloggers, hit the ESPN party and listen to the panelists… but, as far as I’m concerned, the crown jewel of the week will be the Blogs With Balls Charity Poker Shootout.

We’re a sponsor of the event and couldn’t be happier. The tourney was put together by Dan Levy at OnTheDLPodcast (one of the best podcasts online, imo) and is raising cash for Ante Up for Africa.

Also — since this event is in Vegas, there is a 50% chance that I’ll be floating face down by the end of the week. Look forward to photos and updates throughout.

Tourney Details:

When: Friday, October 16, 2009 • 8pm
Where: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Buy-in: $50+10
Winners: Prizes for table winners, knockout bonuses and finalists. Cash prizes for top finishers.
Charity: Proceeds will go to Ante Up for Africa
Including Charitable Contributions From: Carbon Poker, SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, Jose Cuervo, Crown Royal

That’s not all! In addition to bloggers that have played in our Invitational Blogger Tourneys, this event is featuring some of the most legit pros in the business.

The Pros:

• Annie Duke
• Jennifer Harman – seen naked earlier today
• Joe Sebok
• James Van Alstyne
• Marco Traniello
• Jeff Madsen
• Karina Jett
• Chip Jett
• Layne Flack
• Me

PUNTE from WithLeather will be repping CarbonPoker and wearing our gear. Despite his poker play, he’s actually a good friend of the site. When he eventually gets knocked out, whoever does it will be awarded some CP swag!

We’ll also be awarding winners, and losers, some pretty exclusive Carbon stuff. If you’re in Vegas next week, be sure to stop by.

If you missed out on BlogsWithBalls 1.0 in New York then you should definitely check out the second iteration of this blogging and media conference that will be packed with sports writers, athletes and the biggest bloggers in the industry.

Look for players from CarbonPoker’s Invitational Blogger Tourneys and an Carbon-funded, pro-packed charity poker tournament on Friday the 16th. We’ve got more coming on this soon — including how to satellite into the tournament.