The holiday weekend continues to provide big crowds at the Australian Poker Open, including the largest opening flight yet of the $1,500 Platinum Player Championships. Saturday saw 182 entries hit the felt at the prestigious Doltone House Western Sydney at Club Marconi, with the poker room buzzing from start to finish.
After just four players managed to hit the million-chip mark through the first three flights, Ken Demlakian became the fifth by landing on the number by the time players bagged for the night. A total of 23 survivors earned a spot on Day 2, plus the minimum cash of AUD $2,300 that comes with it.
Demlakian will return with a top-five stack, looking to add another deep run to his impressive poker resume. The Australian is coming off a big year in 2023, where he notched a runner-up finish in the Wynn Summer Classic in Las Vegas and a final table appearance at WPT Australia in Gold Coast. The number of big blinds Demlakian and everyone else will carry forward will be determined by the final opening flight on Sunday, March 31.
The number of Day 2 players is now up to 80, with one last chance to join the last coming on Day 1e. Another notable number from the tournament is the growing prize pool, which crossed the AUD $800,000 mark today. Another strong showing on Sunday could see the event double the guarantee and reach $1,000,000 to fight for on Monday, April 1.
Day 1d Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Demlakian | Australia | 1,000,000 |
| 2 | Jason Pritchard | Australia | 835,000 |
| 3 | Justin Tsui | United Kingdom | 822,000 |
| 4 | Pat Joseph | Australia | 760,000 |
| 5 | Thomas Lee | Australia | 711,000 |
| 6 | Ethan Erdeljac | Australia | 690,000 |
| 7 | Dean Boskovic | Australia | 650,000 |
| 8 | George Mitri | Australia | 551,000 |
| 9 | Jackson Young | Australia | 512,000 |
| 10 | Chris Zenonos | Australia | 455,000 |
Among the other notable stacks from Day 1d is Jason Pritchard, who finished at 835,000. Justin Tsui had an up and down day end on the positive side as he was able to bag 822,000 and round out the top three.
The night came to an end when Peter Lin committed his stack with pocket nines but was unable to fade George Mitri’s big blind special, finishing on the direct bubble in 24th place.
The field had several short stacks at the end of play, but one player in particular was relieved to find the money. Eric Xu survived an all in shortly before Lin busted, and sat with just a single big blind. Xu was two hands away from being forced all in, but will see that number likely double when the blinds are rolled back on Day 2.
Players who have yet to find a bag will get one last shot on Sunday, March 31, as Day 1e begins at 2 p.m. local time. All new entrants will sit down with 50,000 chips and see blinds levels begin at 100/200 and a 200 big blind ante.
Unlimited reentries will continue until the start of Level 10 following the third break of the day. The final opening flight will see only the top 12.5% of the field advance, with a guaranteed minimum cash of $2,300 to go along with every bag of chips.
The excitement continues here in Sydney, and the PokerNews live reporting team will have it all covered so don’t miss a minute of the action.
