August 2009 Archives

By Landon Blackhall

After a relatively sedate day at Treasury Casino in Brisbane, all hell broke loose in the final minutes of day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZT Queensland Main Event. After 68 players had taken the order to shuffle up and deal just over eight hours earlier, less than 40 remained when it seemed a silent alarm went off the players' heads.

Amongst the casualties were highly rated Western Australian Michael Pedley (who was busted by ANZPT Queenstown 'bubble boy' Tim Clarke) and to everyone's surprise, Aleks Lackovic, who was eliminated after he got his money in the middle against Tim English.

With a crowd of players and staff packed around the table, English showed the winning hand [7c] [5c] on a board reading [5d] [qs] [ad] [jd] [3s], giving English the straight. After the chips were cut down, Lackovic was found to be the shorter of the two stacks and his day was done.

The day finished with Tom Zhou the overall day 1B chip leader on 114,625 (although he narrowly trails day 1A pace-setter Danny Joukhadar), followed by the pocket Tims - English and Clarke - who qualified for this event on PokerStars. Tim English has 95,650, while Tim Clarke is on 79,975.

Others set to progress to tomorrow's day two flight at Treasury include Sydney duo Joel strongplay Dodds, PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Grant Levy (25,125), John Dalessandri, Michael TheBigSiCkO Guzzardi, Emma Grace (25,650) and Chris Levick (22,575), who maintains his hopes of overtaking Tony Hachem in the overall ANZPT points title (Tony and Chris will be in the Treasury poker room together for the first time tomorrow).

The list of players eliminated in Brisbane on day 1B included Andrew adgee Jeffreys, Ali Khalil and Raj Ramakrishnan.

It's the final day of action at Conrad Treasury in Brisbane tomorrow with day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Event scheduled to kick-off at 12.30pm AEST, before the remaining players action head down the Pacific Motorway to Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast.

Note: We were not provided with the official chip count from Treasury Casino for day 1B. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Seat draw, PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland day 2 (Jupiters, Gold Coast)

Table 2

Seat 1: Julius Colman (Australia) 23,850
Seat 2: Yvonne Grant (Australia) 26,600
Seat 3: Rajesh Patel (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 24,625
Seat 4: Celina Lin (Australia) PokerStars Team Australia 33,275
Seat 5: Craig Matthews (Australia) 12,175
Seat 6: Linda Tyler (Australia) 70,100
Seat 7: Dan Magro (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 66,350
Seat 8: Stewart Scott (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 60,000
Seat 9: Paul Silverstein( United States) 29,550

Table 9

Seat 1: Daniel Seremet (Australia) 6000
Seat 2: Emad Tahtouh (Australia) Team PokerStars Australia 61,050
Seat 3: Ricky Kroesen (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 22,900
Seat 4: Heath Chick (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 41,200
Seat 5: Darrold Sanderlin (United States) PokerStars Qualifier 27,100
Seat 6: Alex Lees (Australia) 30,975
Seat 7: Craig Duffy (Australia) 74,825
Seat 8: Michael Driesenaar (Australia) 14,750
Seat 9: Brett Oliver (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 39,675

Table 10

Seat 1: Josef Switak (Australia) 59,875
Seat 2: Shoshiro Karita (Australia) PokerStars Player 36,800
Seat 3: John Parker (New Zealand) 70,250
Seat 4: Danny Joukhadar (Australia) 116,175
Seat 5: Michael Schiffer (Australia) 14,525
Seat 6: Derek Cheung (Hong Kong) 13,050
Seat 7: Sean Cowell (Australia) 62,925
Seat 8: Brendan Russell-Cooper (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 41,875
Seat 9: Jeremy Norton (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 5350
Seat 10: Timothy Horan (Australia) 57,800

Table 11

Seat 1: Alex Rich (Australia) 51,425
Seat 2: Speros Stramarcos (Australia) 20,675
Seat 3: James Honeybone (New Zealand) 48,375
Seat 4: Andrew Hinrichsen (Australia) 15,850
Seat 5: Hugh Cohen (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 7875
Seat 6: Dino Zanchetta (Australia) 27,050
Seat 7: Lee Nelson (New Zealand) PokerStars Sponsored Player 51,350
Seat 8: John Caridad (Australia) 31,500
Seat 9: Adam Ralphe (Australia) 56,650
Seat 10: Wolfgang Wurzer (Germany) PokerStars Qualifier 22,325

Table 12

Seat 1: Steven Bristow (Australia) 40,500
Seat 2: Greg Hill (Australia) 23,175
Seat 3: Graeme Putt (Australia) 36,975
Seat 4: Roel Pijpers (Netherlands) PokerStars Player 41,450
Seat 5: Julian Cohen (Australia) 45,975
Seat 6: Brad Wilson (Australia) 35,225
Seat 7: Michael Soranson (Australia) PokerStars Player 20,675
Seat 8: Russell Gray (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 19,525
Seat 9: Daniel Neilson (Australia) 44,550
Seat 10: Jonathan Weitzel (Canada) PokerStars Qualifier 51,950

Table 19

Seat 1: Danette Morway (Australia) 29,375
Seat 2: Brenton Nichols (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 24,800
Seat 3: Jaimie Faux (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 38,550
Seat 4: Phillip Willcocks (New Zealand) PokerStars Qualifier 18,700
Seat 5: George Hess (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 42,375
Seat 6: Amanda Simpson (Australia) 20,775
Seat 7: Rodney Bohan (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 8425
Seat 8: Paul Eden (Australia) 55,825
Seat 9: Bruno Portaro (Australia) 38,450
Seat 10: Robert Wang (New Zealand) 18,425

Table 24

Seat 1: Jim Doumit (Australia) 38,650
Seat 2: Steven Waters (Australia) 67,375
Seat 3: Jevon Harvey (Australia) 37,900
Seat 4: John Apostolidic (Australia) 34,975
Seat 5: Andrew Meldrum (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 9550
Seat 6: Christopher Mccovert (Australia) 15,800
Seat 7: Jeff James (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 58,400
Seat 8: Omar Silajdzija (Australia) 26,650
Seat 9: Ramiro Garcia Pineda (Mexico) PokerStars Qualifier 29,750
Seat 10: Scott Smith (Australia) 29,125

Seat draw, PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland day 2 (Treasury, Brisbane)

Table 2

Seat 1: Michael Guzzardi (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 23,075
Seat 2: Colin Teremoana (Australia) 59,825
Seat 3: Tommy Macken (Australia) 13,050
Seat 4: Duncan McKinnon (Australia) 21,275
Seat 5: William Mauga (Australia) 52,175
Seat 6: Paul Leavitt (Australia) 14,525
Seat 7: Raj Ramakrishnan (Australia) 17,925
Seat 8: John Dalessandri (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 11,725
Seat 9: Kieron Olm-milligan (Australia) 54,525

Table 3

Seat 1: Zhicong Wu (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 45,850
Seat 2: Mitchell Carle (Australia) 11,700
Seat 3: Emma Grace (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 25,650
Seat 4: Scott Kerr (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 93,800
Seat 5: Anthony MacNamara (Australia) 36,525
Seat 6: Mark Measey (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 42,900
Seat 7: Tim English (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 95,650
Seat 9: Daniel Jennings (Australia) 107,850

Table 4

Seat 1: George Conomos (Australia) 24,575
Seat 2: Corbin White (United States) PokerStars Qualifier 42,575
Seat 3: Greg Shillig (Australia) 43,825
Seat 4: Jonathan Perez (USA) 25,350
Seat 6: Serge Mazza (Switzerland) 18,550
Seat 7: Darryl Lanyon (Australia) 13,300
Seat 8: Joel Dodds (Australia) 63,175
Seat 9: Stephen Ford (Australia) 26,775

Table 5

Seat 1: Brett John French (Australia) 36,100
Seat 2: Paul Hill (Australia) 65,400
Seat 3: Ryan Nichols (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 18,300
Seat 4: Attila Bognar (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 14,450
Seat 5: Bradley Williams (Australia) 46,550
Seat 6: Tony Hachem (Australia) PokerStars Team Australia 34,525
Seat 7: Dom Farmer (Australia) 44,700
Seat 8: Eric Sclavos (Australia) 18,500
Seat 9: Paul Gibson (Australia) 92,375

Table 6

Seat 1: David Steicke (Hong Kong) 37,900
Seat 2: Charlie Gang (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 17,050
Seat 3: Barry Craig (United Kingdom) PokerStars Qualifier 61,825
Seat 4: Graham Woodbine (Australia) 19,450
Seat 5: Neville Thompson (Australia) 13,850
Seat 6: Jason Smith (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 18,350
Seat 7: Nicholas Lee (Australia) 50,675
Seat 8: David Le (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 20,850
Seat 9: Mark James (Australia) 8925

Table 7

Seat 1: Jonathon Muir (Australia) 68,750
Seat 2: Timothy Clarke (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 79,975
Seat 3: Shaun Elliott (Australia) 21,725
Seat 4: Glen Grice (Australia) 33,000
Seat 5: Omar Mazzocchi (Australia) 55,500
Seat 6: Lee Fraser (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 33,475
Seat 7: Christopher Blatch (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 16,000
Seat 8: Luca Mazzocchi (Australia) 77,300
Seat 9: Lyle Higgs (Australia) 36,875

Table 8

Seat 1: Emmanuel De Guzman (Australia) 18,150
Seat 2: Lee Woolf (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 36,300
Seat 3: Kristopher Cunz (Australia) PokerStars Player 63,375
Seat 4: Shaun Weston (Australia) 43,325
Seat 5: Darren Lukas (New Zealand) PokerStars Qualifier 41,150
Seat 6: Tom Zhou (Australia) 114,625
Seat 7: Peter Matusik (Australia) 7750
Seat 8: Chris Levick (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 22,575
Seat 9: Grant Levy (Australia) PokerStars Team Australia 25,125

The future of casino-based tournament poker in Queensland has received a massive boost with a field of 249 players creating a prizepool of AUD $622,500 in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event.

The number of entrants makes this the second biggest event on the first season of the ANZPT; a remarkable achievement given this is the first time a major tournament has been played north of the Tweed River.

After 60 players qualified for tomorrow's day two from day 1A, an additional 70 players made it through today at Conrad Jupiters in Broadbeach and Conrad Treasury in Brisbane.

Here at Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino on the Gold Coast, 60 players plus five alternates joined the day 1B field, with 36 remaining after seven one-hour levels.

Big names in action included PokerStars.net Team Asia pro Celina Lin, PokerStars Sponsored Player Lee "Final Table" Nelson plus numerous players who've final-tabled ANZPT events this year - Adelaide winner Karl Krautschneider, Melbourne runner-up Heath Chick and Sydney third-place man John Caridad heading the list.

Other accomplished players lining today were Steve "The Big Show" Topakas, Bruno Portaro, Jai Kemp, Graeme "Kiwi G" Putt, James Honeybone, Julius Colman, Ray Sukkar, Andy Meldrum, Dennis Huntly, Daniel Neilson, Tim Horan, David Zhao, Andrew Scott, Mark Erickson, Craig Duffy, Aaron Benton and Martin Cardno.

After the early elimination of Andrew Scott and Steve Topakas, play slowed to almost glacial pace as the quality field hunkered down for one of the toughest sessions of the entire ANZPT season.

Finally, after five levels, the shackles started to ease and the stream of eliminations continued steadily throughout the evening, with Huntly, Zhao, Kemp, Sukkar, Krautschneider, Cardno, Erickson and Benton among those sent to the rail.

The day 1B chip leader was local player Craig Duffy. Better known as a cash-game player, he stayed under the radar and amassed 74,825 ahead of PokerStars Qualifiers Dan Magro (66,350) and Jeff James (58,400). The chip count was incredibly even, reflecting the quality of play today.

PokerStars Sponsored Player Lee "Final Table" Nelson is ideally positioned on 51,350 while James Honeybone (48,375), Daniel Neilson (44,550) and Heath Chick (41,200) are also in good shape.

Play resumes tomorrow at 12.30pm (1.30am GMT), with day two flights at both properties. It's good night from Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Day 1B chip counts from Jupiters Casino

Craig Duffy (Australia) 74,825
Dan Magro (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 66,350
Jeff James (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 58,400
Paul Eden (Australia) 57,800
Bradley Walker (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 57,800
Adam Ralphe (Australia) 56,650
Jonathan Weitzel (Canada) PokerStars Qualifier 51,950
Lee Nelson (New Zealand) PokerStars Sponsored Player 51,350
James Honeybone (New Zealand) 48,375
Daniel Neilson (Australia) 44,550
Heath Chick (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 41,200
Steven Bristow (Australia) 40,500
Brett Oliver (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 39,675
Jim Doumit (Australia) 38,650
Jaimie Faux (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 38,550
Bruno Portaro (Australia) 38,450
Graeme Putt (Australia) 36,975
Shoshiro Karita (Australia) PokerStars Player 36,800
Celina Lin (Australia) Team PokerStars Asia 33,275
John Caridad (Australia) 31,500
Paul Silverstein (United States) 29,550
Danette Morway (Australia) 29,375
Scott Smith (Australia) 29,125
Rajesh Patel (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 24,625
Julius Colman (Australia) 23,850
Ricky Kroesen (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 22,900
Wolfgang Wurzer (Germany) PokerStars Qualifier 22,325
Russell Gray (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 19,525
Robert Wang (New Zealand) 18,425
Michael Schiffer (Australia) 14,525
Derek Cheung (Hong Kong) 13,050
Andrew Meldrum (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 9550
Daniel Seremet (Australia) 6000
Jeremy Norton (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 5350
Ramiro Garcia Pineda (Mexico) PokerStars Qualifier 2975
Tim Horan (Australia) DNR

As we click down to the end of day 1B in the battle for the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland title, excitement is starting to build as players - those who've already qualified from yesterday's day 1A flights and those with big stacks heading into the final level of today.

One PokerStars Qualifier who's hoping to be part of the day two action is 24-year-old David Le, who hails from the south side of Brisbane. Having only taken up the game of poker two years ago in pub games, he qualified for the ANZPT via a $43 HyperTurbo satellite.

"It's about time something like this came to Queensland," Le said. "It's definitely been a great experience." He's still coasting along in this tournament with 22,000 in this stack, but it had been as high as almost 40,000.

"I was caught out in a couple of pots, but otherwise I've been playing pretty solidly today. I'd love to make it into day two and see how we go from there."

Fellow Brisbanite Attila Bognar agreed - the boilermaker and family man worked hard for his chance to play in Queensland's first event major live tournament after qualifying via a $215 satellite event. Bognar was quietly spoken, but you couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he played each hand.

"I'm just used to playing home games with mates - poker is a hobby for me but this is something else," he said. "It would be great to see the ANZPT back next year, the casino's doing a great job."

• In the latest from Treasury, PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Grant Levy has managed to work his stack up back to 30,000 after a couple of big hands.

The first hand was between Levy and Aleks Lackovic - the money was all in the middle pre-flop; Levy held the black kings, Lackovic had the red queens. The board would run out [7d] [4h] [8h] [jd] [2d] to double Levy up to 18,000.

The other was just after chip leader Tom Zhou was moved to the table - Levy was priced in to call an opponent's all-in of 9000 holding [qh] [9h] against the opponent who was well ahead with [qs] [qs].

The flop came down [ks] [8c] [jh]; Levy sat quietly and watched as the [10c] fall on the turn. An ace on the river would all that would be needed to chop, but the river bricked [3s].

Andrew Jeffreys also had an up and down day; though he had his stack as high as 40,000 earlier in the day, he was eliminated after moving all-in with A-7 on a flop of A-K-8, only to run into an opponent's A-K.

A total of 42 players remain in today's flight; they are now on their last break of the day, after which they will play the last level (300/600 with a 75 ante) before the chips are cut down and listed.

• Down at Jupiters, 42 players remain heading into the final level. The dreams of becoming the first multiple ANZPT champion have ended for Karl Krautschneider after he committed his remaining chips on a straight flush draw with [jh] [9h] on a flop of [2c] [qh] [10h], and found himself up against pocket aces. The [as] on the turn still left the Melburnian with outs, but the [7d] wasn't one of them and he was out.

Dennis Huntly was also eliminated late in the last level while the third member of Surfers Paradise's own version of Animal House, Bruno Portaro, is hanging in there with 15,000.

The chip leader here is Tim luckyshades Horan with 60,000, ahead of James Honeybone (55,000), PokerStars Sponsored Player Lee "Final Table" Nelson (42,000) and Daniel Neilson on 36,000. PokerStars.net Team Australia player Celina Lin is also well placed to advance with 30,000.

Observations from the floor of Jupiters Casino ... in lieu of much action to report (we're still at 56 players midway through level five on day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event.

In Las Vegas, you get accustomed to seeing senior citizens in casinos. That's certainly the case here on the Gold Coast, which is one of the favourite spots for retirees anywhere in Australia. At Jupiters, there's not a motorised scooter or wheelchair in sight. In Vegas, your ankles are currently under attack.

And is it just us or does PokerStars Player Sean Knight have more than a passing resemblance to 2003 WSOP Main Event winner and PokerStars Team USA pro Chris Moneymaker? C'mon, there's something there ...

OK, finally some movement at the station - James Honeybone has extended his chip lead at Jupiters after sending Singapore-based Aussie Aaron Benton to the rail. Struggling to regain chips in the past two levels, Benton's last stand came with J-10 only to find the Kiwi poised with pocket aces. He's now up to more than 60,000 in chips.

John Caridad, who finished third in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event, just doubled-up in sensational circumstances when he found his set of kings up against, and in front of, an opponent's set of 10s. Just to rub some salt into the wounds ... bang, down sails the fourth king. JCSydney is up to 12,000 and hanging tough.

The final minutes of level five are ticking down, with blinds about to increase to 200/400 with an ante of 50.

• Landon Blackhall reports from Treasury Casino in Brisbane that Queensland born-and-bred Jonathon Muir has snuck into second place, having worked his stack up to 64,500. Aleks Lackovic is also comfortable with 54,000, however tablemate and 2007 APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy has dropped back to 22,000 in this session.

PokerStars Qualifier Chris Levick stays alive on 22,500, as do tablemates Emma Grace (21,500) and Joel Dodds (29,000). Andrew Jeffreys (38,000) continues to laugh, joke with and smack-talk his tablemates to a point where we could call table five the 'Table of Deaf'! Meanwhile on table seven, Michael TheBiGSiCkO Guzzardi has built his stack back up to 28,000 after a much needed double-up.

But it's very much the Tom Zhou story in Brisbane. He's a massive chip leader on 120,000 and in prime position for a day two berth. Here's why: with a flop showing [9h] [8d] [8s], Zhou led out for 1200. An opponent made it 3500 and Zhou called. On the turn [ah], Zhou checked, the opponent fired out 5000 that sent Zhou into the tank.

Eventually, Zhou reached for some chips and raised to 12,000. The opponent, seemingly caught bluffing, mucked. Zhou looked him dead in the eye and turned over [kd] [jc] for nothing but air, then quietly raked in his chips.

By Landon Blackhall

The Queensland contingent have come out in force to represent their state and are proud as punch to have a major poker tournament like the PokerStars.net ANZPT in their casinos after many years of waiting.

Not only are Queenslanders quickly adapting to the ins and outs of a multi-day poker event, they are also keen to learn from players and media alike, asking questions about the history, culture and the lingo that comes with the game.

Perhaps it's just another reflection of Queenslanders doing things differently, but they're still arguing that trips and a set are the same thing, jagging spike cards, min-calling raises, min-raising calls and insta-calling after minutes have passed ... even gets confusing for the reporting team!

We've just ticked into level four (blinds at 100/200 with a 25 ante). Tom Zhou has his tablemates wondering why he ever sat with them, as he is outright chip leader with 100,000 in his stack. Aleks Lackovic is also consolidating on his prop bet win and continuing his form, now on 59,000 in chips.

However, ANZPT Melbourne champ Chris Levick just survived a big scare to keep his hopes of overtaking Tony Hachem for the overall points title alive.

We caught the action on a flop of [ah] [7s] [qd] - Levick checked to his opponent on the button, who bet 4500. Levick went into the tank before stacking his last 10,000 up and moving it into the middle. The opponent snap-called, rolling up [ad] [kc] for top pair, but Levick was ahead, holding [qs] [qc] for a set. The turn brought the [5s] and the river [3d], to double Levick up to around 25,000.

• The Gold Coast might be renowned for its fast-paced lifestyle, but that's not an ideal being embraced at Jupiters today when the day 1B field has been reduced by just seven players after almost four hours of play.

As such, the chips remain fairly evenly spread out with New Zealand PokerStars qualifier James Honeybone (50,000) a narrow leader from Julius Colman (44,000), Daniel Neilson (40,000) and Mark Erickson (35,000).

PokerStars.net Team Asia pro Celina Lin was among the leaders until sending a stack of chips to Honeybone. However, Celina remains on target for her second final table in the first year of the ANZPT having placed ninth in Adelaide.

PokerStars Sponsored player Lee "Final Table" Nelson has been finding opportunities few and far between on table 11, where the original line-up of nine players remain seated. He found a set of deuces on a flop to drag in a nice pot against a player with pocket aces, and with 25,000, he holds the biggest stack on the tightest table in the room.

Ray Sukkar just joined the short list of eliminations when he found his A-Q dominated by two players holding A-K, and headed for the door when the board ran out 10-high.
Last night, the carnage came late and it came hard at Jupiters ... looks like we're heading towards a similar scenario later today. When players return from their second break of the day, the blinds will be up to 150/300 with an ante of 25.

"Any idea of where you can party on a Wednesday night around here?" asked PokerStars qualifier Jon Weitzel while watching the latter stages of day 1A in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event at Jupiters.

"Sorry Jon, bloggers are sworn off alcohol during events, they're the rules ... nah, only kidding," we offered before detailing a list of options that read like a charge sheet.
We're delighted to see Jon, noticeably wearing sunglasses, in today's field, and that the long - very long - trip from Calgary, Alberta, Canada was well worth it for the affable young PokerStars Qualifier.

Jon has just returned from the first break of the day, but Ricky Kroesen missed most of it as he agonised over a decision after a betting war on a board showing [7c] [qc] [5s]. With his opponent all-in, it took Kroesen another couple of minutes before sending his A-Q into the muck.

Steve Topakas has left the tournament area at Jupiters after a miserable start to the day. He committed his remaining chips went in on an ace-high flop and when one of the two callers showed two-pair, it was curtains for the "Big Show". And if that's not bad enough, he faces several more nights sharing accommodation with fellow Melburnians Bruno Portaro and Dennis Huntly ... a bad beat for the ages.

• Landon Blackhall reports from Treasury Casino in Brisbane that the first elimination in the Queensland capital occurred shortly before the start of level two. Sam Hong and John Cunz had all their money over the betting line, after some heavy raising on a flop of [qh] [3d] [7d].

When the cards were turned over, Cunz showed pocket aces for the overpair, but almost fell off his chair as Hong turned over the big blind special of [7c] [3c] for two-pair. The board bricked out [8h] [5d]; sending Cunz out and Hong into the chip lead.

Aleks Lackovic has quickly recovered from his late start to build up his stack quickly, currently holding a stack of 43,500 after taking some more chips from an unknown opponent. With the flop and turn reading [qh] [5s] [3h] [8d], the opponent checked to Lackovic who forced him all in. After several minutes in the tank, the opponent folded.

Apparently Lackovic has a prop bet going with some friends that his stack is required to be at least 40,000 before the end of Level 2 - something which will be quite easy to accomplish at this rate and in which Andrew Jeffreys is hopefully involved as he managed to score a full double through an opponent after jamming his money in the middle with a board reading [jh] [qh] [8c] [6s] [4h]. Despite the opponent having two pair, jacks and eights on the flop, adgee jagged the flush on the river with [10h] [9h].

Other selected counts from Treasury see PokerStars Team Australia Pro Grant Levy on 39,500, Chris Levick holding 22,000, Emma Grace is on 21,000 and Michael Guzzardi has 19,000.

• We can also confirm that the official field for the first ANZPT Queensland event is 249, creating a prizepool of AUD $622,500. Gold Coast was a total sell out today (60 players plus five alternates while 68 players anted up in Brisbane. A total of 27 players will receive a payout, with the winner assured AUD $168,075.

It's also great to see that the top eight players in the ANZPT overall points count are in this field and all remain in the hunt for a top-three finish and one of three levels of PokerStars sponsorship in 2010. The current status of the leaderboard is:

1 Tony Hachem (160.1 points) - 34k after flight 1
2 Chris Levick (139.2) - Flight 2 Brisbane
3 David) Zhao AUS (92.4) - Flight 2 Gold Coast
4 Karl Krautschneider (90) - flight 2 Gold Coast
5 Danny Joukhader AUS (84.4) - 116k after flight 1
6 Celina Lin AUS (80.8) - Flight 2 Gold Coast
7 Bruno Portaro (79.6) - Flight 2 Gold Coast
8 Andrew Hinrichsen (79.5) - 16k after flight 1

Andrew Scott will finish the first season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT with 40 points - that's 10 points for participating in four of the five events. Sadly, the hopes of a first cash for the 2008 APPT Macau High Roller runner-up have come to an early finish after he became the first player sent to the rail on day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event here at Jupiters on the Gold Coast today.

Sydney's Daniel Neilson, who finished 73rd in the 2009 WSOP Main Event for almost USD $70,000, claimed Scott's scalp when he pushed all-in with [9s] [9d]. Scott called, and showed [6h] [4h] on a board showing [5s] [7s] [9h] [jh]. Scott needed help, and it didn't arrive as the [kd] sailed down the river.

A great supporter of both the ANZPT and APPT, we look forward to catching up with Andrew in Macau where he'll be out to go one better in the APPT Macau High Roller at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino.

With such a quality field at Jupiters today, big pots were always going to be the order of the day and we just saw one featuring Steve Topakas, Mark Erickson and Omar Al Sharif. We caught the action on a bord showing [2c] [10c] [7c]. Al Sharif bet 5000, Topakas stepped aside and Erickson called.

The turn was the [4d] - bet 5000, call. Erickson again bet 5000 on a dangerous river of [ac], with Al Sharif folding. The Queenslander was more than happy to show his [kh] [ks], much to the disgust of Al Sharif. That pot took Erickson to more than 40,000 and a spot behind Neilson on the chip count.

• Landon Blackhall reports from Brisbane that PokerStars Team Australia Pro Grant Levy has been applying the pressure to the rest of his table early on, sending one opponent on tilt after shoving his stack in late position on a flop that read [8h] [3s] [7c], with about 9000 in the pot.

The opponent slammed his cards onto the muck circle, then picked up his jacket and walked out to get some air after Levy rolled over pocket sevens for middle set. He's up to 27,500 in chips.

PokerStars qualifier Andrew Jeffreys is in good spirits after returning from the 2009 WSOP. He picked up the very first pot on table six, raising with pocket queens pre-flop and taking it down. "I'm chip leader," he cheered, causing a ripple of laughter around the table.

Sydney's poker impresario Chris Levick is on the "table of death". He's in seat 10, sitting almost directly opposite WSOP debutante Emma Grace and ANZPT Sydney seventh-place finisher Joel strongplay Dodds, who are in seats five and six respectively.

BTW - we've just heard from ANZPT sergeant-at-arms Danny McDonagh who expects that the prizepool for this event will break AUD $600,000 - a fantastic result given this is the first major event in the state and there's a clash with the Victorian Poker Championships in Melbourne. Looks like big-time tournament poker is here to stay!
Blinds at both venues have just ticked up to level two, 75/150, on the downhill stretch to the day's first break.

The brekky bars in Broadbeach and Brisbane have been working overtime this morning as players fuel up for day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event, the final event in the first year of the tour.

Yesterday, 60 players qualified for day two - 27 in Brisbane and 33 on the Gold Coast. Those players will return to the respective Conrad properties on Friday, with the survivors from Brisbane heading down the Pacific Motorway for the final two days at Jupiters over the weekend.

It's another capacity field at Jupiters where today's field will be headlined by PokerStars.net Team Asia form player Celina Lin, PokerStars Sponsored Player Lee "Final Table" Nelson and ANZPT Adelaide winner Karl Krautschneider.

Others playing today on the Gold Coast include ANZPT Melbourne runner-up Heath "Tassie Devil" Chick, John Caridad (third in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event), popular Melbourne trio Steve "The Big Show" Topakas, Bruno Portaro and Dennis Huntly, 2007 APPT Grand Final fifth-place finisher Jai Kemp and 2008 APPT Macau High Roller runner-up Andrew Scott.

Craig Duffy leads the list of locals playing today, while Sydneysiders Daniel Neilson and Tim Horan will be out to continue their good form after cashing at the 2009 WSOP. Highly rated Kiwis Graeme "Kiwi G" Putt, James Honeybone and Robert Wang are also here in the day 1B field.

• In Brisbane today, Landon Blackhall reports that the major focus will be on Chris Levick (currently in second position on the ANZPT Overall Points Leaderboard), as he continues to keep the pressure turned up on points leader and PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem.

Other big names expected to take their seats today at Conrad Treasury PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Grant Levy, online whiz kid Michael TheBiGSiCkO Guzzardi, Andrew Jeffreys, Tim English and John Delassandri, all who qualified via PokerStars.net to take their seats in the tournament.

Ali Khalil has confirmed his start today along with 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event fourth-place finisher Raj Ramakrishnan and Joel strongplay Dodds, who final-tabled in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

Queensland local Emma Grace has also been spotted - she was doing a photo shoot this morning with local media and is also expected to take to the felt, fresh from her gallant run in the WSOP Main Event.

We've been advised that the field currently stands at 60 players, and there is talk that this flight could be a sell-out. Cards will be in the air soon, and we'll again be playing seven one-hour levels at both venues today, with all players holding a start bank of 20,000. The structure for today's play is:

Level 1: 50/100
Level 2: 75/150
Level 3: 100/200
Level 4: 100/200 (ante 25)
Level 5: 150/300 (ante 25)
Level 6: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 7: 300/600 (ante 75)

By Landon Blackhall

The PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Day 1A Brisbane flight has also wrapped up - the chips have been cut down, counted and listed. From a tense start to a fast finish - those who survived the carnage on the felt today will return on Friday afternoon to continue their quest for the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland title.

Chip leader is Brisbane local Andrew Jennings, who takes a stack of 107,850 forward - second overall behind Danny Joukhadar who amassed 116,175 at Jupiters today. PokerStars Qualifier Scott Kerr sits in second place on 93,800, while Paul Gibson (92,375), Luca Mazzocchi (77,300) and Paul Hill (65,400) round off the top five.

Other notables to survive today included Greg Shillig (43,825), David Steicke (37,900) and PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem (34,525), the current ANZPT overall points leader, who keeps alive his dream of making the cash in all five ANZPT events in the first year of the tour.

Players looking for an early double-up on day two include Australian poker media pioneer Darryl "The Dazzler" Lanyon (13,300), Mitchell Carle (11,700) and short stack Peter Matusik (7750).

The casualty list was extensive. Young online whiz Brendan Rubie was the first elimination in Brisbane. Overall, 54 players started on day 1A flight and 27 will make their way back to the Treasury.

Play resumes tomorrow at 12.30pm (1.30am GMT), with the second of the two day one flights. Good evening from Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Day 1A chip counts from Treasury Casino

Daniel Jennings (Australia) 107,850
Scott Kerr (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 93,800
Paul Gibson (Australia) 92,375
Luca Mazzocchi (Australia) 77,300
Paul Hill (Australia) 65,400
Barry Craig (United Kingdom) PokerStars Qualifier 61,825
Omar Mazzocchi (Australia) 55,500
Dom Farmer (Australia) 44,700
Greg Shillig (Australia) 43,825
Shaun Weston (Australia) 43,325
Darren Lukas (New Zealand) PokerStars Qualifier 41,150
David Steicke (Hong Kong) 37,900
Lyle Higgs (Australia) 36,875
Anthony MacNamara (Australia) 36,525
Lee Woolf (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 36,300
Tony Hachem (Australia) Team PokerStars Australia 34,525
Stephen Ford (Australia) 26,775
Shaun Elliott (Australia) 21,725
Duncan McKinnon (Australia) 21,275
Serge Mazza (Switzerland) PokerStars Qualifier 18,550
Paul Leavitt (Australia) 14,525
Neville Thompson (Australia) 13,850
Darryl Lanyon (Australia) 13,300
Tommy Macken (Australia) 13,050
Mitchell Carle (Australia) 11,700
Mark James (Australia) 8925
Peter Matusik (Australia) 7750

A new chapter in Australian poker history was written today when the first hand was dealt in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland tournament, the final event in the fledgling tour's first season.

In addition to the 54 players who shared in the celebrations at Conrad Treasury Casino in Brisbane, a total of 62 players joined the field here at Conrad Jupiters at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast.

The list of entrants at Jupiters was headed by PokerStars.net Team Australia pros Emad Tahtouh and Eric Assadourian (both with one ANZPT cash for the season), ANZPT Sydney runner-up Lisa Walsh, ANZPT Queenstown second-place finisher Andrew Hinrichsen and 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Stewart Scott. There were also PokerStars qualifiers from across Australia, New Zealand, the USA and the Netherlands.

Normally, we'd be talking about the chips being bagged at day's end, but here at Jupiters, the chip are counted, recorded and thrown back into the trays ... different strokes for different folks.

The list of chips counts revealed that Danny Joukhadar was the Jupiters and overall day 1A leader with 116,175. Interesting to note that Joukhadar was quick out of the stalls in the recent Melbourne Poker Championships Main Event, where he led after day one before eventually finishing 25th.

Joukhadar is also highly placed in the overall points competition (currently fifth) thanks to his cashes in Sydney and Melbourne and can still overtake second-placed Chris Levick with a strong showing.

There was a big gap back to John Parker (70,250) and Linda Tyler (70,100), while PokerStars Team Australia pro Emad Tahtouh (61,050) and 2009 Aussie Millions champion Stewart Scott (60,000) remain ominously placed just outside the top five. Scott was poised to take the chip lead into day two but lost a big pot late in the final level of the day.

Players eliminated at Jupiters on day 1A included veterans Milo Nadalin, Mike Ivin and Richard Holmes, PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Eric Assadourian, Matthew Konnecke (fourth in last year's APPT Auckland Main Event) plus top local players Jamie Pickering and Lisa Walsh.

Play resumes tomorrow at 12.30pm (1.30am GMT), with the second of the two day one flights. Good evening from Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Day 1A chip counts from Jupiters Casino

Danny Joukhadar (Australia) 116,175
John Parker (Australia) 70,250
Linda Tyler (Australia) 70,100
Steven Waters (Australia) 67,375
Sean Cowell (Australia) 62,925
Emad Tahtouh (Australia) Team PokerStars Australia 61,050
Stewart Scott (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 60,000
Josef Switak (Australia) 59,875
Alex Rich (Australia) 51,425
Julian Cohen (Australia) 45,975
George Hess (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 42,375
Brendan Russell-Cooper (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 41,875
Roel Pijpers (Netherlands) PokerStars Player 41,450
Jevon Harvey (Australia) 37,900
Brad Wilson (Australia) 35225
John Apostolidic (Australia) 34,975
Alex Lees (Australia) 30,975
Darrold Sanderlin (United States) PokerStars Qualifier 27,100
Dino Zanchetta (Australia) 27,050
Omar Silajdzija (Australia) 26,650
Yvonne Grant (Australia) 26,600
Brenton Nichols (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 24,800
Greg Hill (Australia) 23,175
Amanda Simpson (Australia) 20,775
Michael Soranson (Australia) PokerStars Player 20,675
Speros Stramarcos (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 20,675
Phillip Willcocks (New Zealand) 18,700
Andrew Hinrichsen (Australia) 15,850
Christopher Mccovert (Australia) 15,800
Michael Driesenaar (Australia) 14,750
Craig Matthews (Australia) 12,175
Rodney Bohan (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 8425
Hugh Cohen (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 7875

By Landon Blackhall

Sharing is very much the theme for the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland event. Conrad Treasury Casino in Brisbane and Conrad Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast are sharing the state's first major poker tournament. They are also sharing with the players, as there is no rake or fee charged on the AUD $2500 buy-in.

The locals are also sharing some hospitality with Barry Craig, a PokerStars.net Qualifier from Belfast, Ireland, who has been travelling the world playing poker after starting to play online six years ago. He was inspired to take up the game after watching it on TV and since then he's done many a Contiki tour, stopping in at casinos along the way to play tournaments.

"I actually flew from London to LA, then to Vegas to play some WSOP events before coming here," Craig said. "I've been to Brisbane before; I did a tour here in Australia last Christmas, all the way from Cairns down to the Gold Coast."

He's very impressed with the way things have been going here at the Treasury: "It's really good. A tense start to the day, but it's been going really smoothly." There's been no dampening of his mood all day - we just watched him lose 5000 in chips after losing a race with pocket fours against an all-in opponent's A-10, but he's still cruising on 43,000.

Sharing has also been the theme on table four this level, as there have been some massive pots; most of them chopped. That was, until the [ah] [kd] of Nik Grespos smashed the pocket kings of an opponent with the board reading [ac] [3h] [4h] [ad] on the turn and all the money in the middle. "That's embarrassing," his opponent said as he swept past us to the rail, not even bothering to look at the river [jc].

That signalled a mini-rush - Paul Gibson snap-called an opponent's all-in bet holding pocket aces against [ks] [qd]. The flop of [qc] [2s] [9d] brought a glimmer hope but the turn and river bricked out [6d] [3h] and Gibson was up to 53,000.

Then Swiss PokerStars qualifier Serge Mazza caught David Steicke bluffing with [7h] [4c], and used his pocket jacks on a board of [qc] [2h] [5c] [8c] [4s] to slice the Aussie's stack down to just over 30,000.

• With the final rays of daylight fading behind the mountain to the west, play at Jupiters is also about to tick into the final level of the day with blinds up to 300/600 and an ante of 75.

Just one of the two PokerStars.net Team Australia pros in action here today - Emad Tahtouh - remains in contention for a day two berth after the elimination of Eric Assadourian.

The Sydneysider's last chips were committed on a flop of [5h] [10d] [qs] holding [qh] [jh] but he found himself in a spot of bother against [ad] [qd]. The board blanked [7d] [9s] and Assadourian was on his way.

However, Tahtouh has enjoyed one of his better days on the ANZPT and has been among the chip leaders in recent hours with more than 50,000.

Other recent eliminations from the Gold Coast field include Lisa Walsh, who fell to Tahtouh when her [ah] [8c] was overtaken by the Melburnian's [10s] [9s] on a board of [ks] [qh] [8s] [kc] [9c], Pierre Bush (at the hands of New Zealand PokerStars qualifier Phillip Willcocks) and Andrew Stolz.

Danny Joukhadar is the Gold Coast chip leader with 65,000 ahead of Tahtouh (55,000), Sean Rosey (42,500), Julian Cohen (37,000) and Brenton Nichols (35,000).

We're thrilled to announce that the first major poker tournament to be held in Queensland has surpassed all but one other ANZPT event in terms of entries and prizepool.

With seats still available in Brisbane for tomorrow's day 1B flight, the field has already surpassed 230, making it the second biggest event in the first season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT behind Sydney (493). The current prizepool of AUD $575,000 is also certain to grow.

In addition to PokerStars qualifiers from Germany, Switzerland, UK, USA, New Zealand, Brazil, Austria, Mexico, Netherlands and Australia, local players have turned out in force to support this historic tournament.

In addition to higher profile Queensland players like Jamie Pickering, Lisa Walsh and Milo Nadalin, a number of cash-game hardened Gold Coast and Brisbane players have been making their mark today.

Guys like Richard Leal, Craig Matthews and Michael Driesenaar have occupied a rare moment in the spotlight, while young guns like Steve Ford and Mitch Carle (who share an apartment and found themselves seated next to each other when play started today) have been waving the flag for the younger guard at Treasury.

It's been an up and down session for the locals at Jupiters, with "King" Richard Holmes sent to the rail after he found his pocket kings snookered by the pocket aces of George Hess, while Jamie Pickering's remaining chips disappeared when his J-4 came up against A-Q, with his opponent making a pair on the flop.

But Danny Joukhader goes from strength to strength, who ascended the chip count when he lured a call from an opponent who showed [6h] [7h] for a flopped straight on a board [5d] [9d] [8c] [qh]. With all the emotion of a concrete slab, Joukhader showed [js] [10d] for the higher straight, sending his stack above 70,000.

With play about to tick into level six (200/400 and an ante of 50), the Gold Coast field has been culled from 62 to 46, with those players condensed into five tables for the first time.
The latest news from Brisbane, where Landon Blackhall is following the action is that 46 of the original field of 54 are still seated in the Treasury casino poker room.

Coming out of the second break of the day, it was David Steicke continuing his charge to add an ANZPT title to his resume on 52,000. Local boy Taner Durust has taken second place, getting up to 51,000 after his 9-7 played against an opponent's 9-8 on the board reading 9-8-10-6-10.

PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem is finding no love at his table - despite having won several small pots, he's battling on 16,500. Former editor of Cards Magazine and Australian poker media pioneer Darryl Lanyon is sitting pretty on 22,000, while ANPZT Melbourne third-place finisher Greg Shillig is on 32,500.

Our first table has also been broken here in Brisbane after PokerStars qualifier Darren Lukas got his money into the middle on a flop of [qd] [9d] [qs] holding Q-x against an opponent's [jd][8d]. The [4d] fell on the turn, making the opponent's flush, but the [qh] would appear on the river, giving Lukas quads.

The Gold Coast is recognised as Australia's holiday capital, for good reason. Beaches, theme parks, nightclubs, restaurants, tropical weather, major events like the IndyCar Carnival and the annual influx of school-leavers known as Schoolies Week ... everyone comes here to recharge the batteries and have a little fun.

PokerStars qualifier Kim Cooper's batteries could sure use some recharging after copping a beat for the ages midway through level three on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland tournament at Jupiters.

In a massive hand, Cooper was more than happy to have her chips committed with a set of queens on the flop, and found herself in pole position for a huge pot against the set of 10s of Sean Cowell (Richard Leal, holding pocket kings, had wisely stepped aside).

But a 10 on the river threatened to buckle the foundations of the recently refurbished Jupiters Casino as Cooper quietly collected her things and made her way out of the tournament area as Cowell scooped up more than 50,000 in chips.

Another Sean, another winning hand of quad 10s ... Sean Rosey flopped quad 10s just minutes before Cowell and took down a nice pot against John Apostolidic who'd filled a king-high flush on the river but folded to Rosey's all-in.

Also on table 12, Linda Tyler (who won her seat here at Jupiters) just eliminated Queensland poker icon Milo Nadalin when she rivered a full-house with the same card that filled Milo's flush. She's up to 55,000 and among the chip leaders on the Gold Coast. Danny Joukhader, who cashed in the ANZPT Sydney and Melbourne Championships main events, is the chip leader on 60,000.

• Landon Blackhall reports from Treasury at Brisbane that Hong Kong-based Aussie David Steicke, has shot to the top of the chip count after eliminating Scott Reid early in level three. Reid raised under the gun pre-flop to 600, but Steicke made it 1400 to go from the buck. After several minutes in the tank, Reid made the call.

The flop was [10d] [3h] [8d]. Reid checked to Steicke, who bet just enough to send Reid all-in. He held [ad] [kd] for the flush draw, only to reel in disgust as Steicke rolled up pocket kings. There was no help on the turn of the [5h] or the river [8c], and Steicke was up to 49,000.

Meanwhile, Pokerstars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem and tablemate Darryl "The Dazzler" Lanyon have been sharing some laughs and some chips. Hachem called for 200 in early position, but Lanyon raised, announcing 800 but throwing in a blue instead of a purple.

The rest of the table were surprised by this bet (thinking that it was 5300 as they hadn't heard his verbal bet) but then cracked up laughing after he said, "the blue chips are 500 at my home game!" Lanyon rolled over his pocket queens once everyone else had folded. Lanyon is on 16,500 in chips, while Hachem is just under his starting stack with 19,500.

The dealers and tournament staff at the Treasury have been learning quickly with plenty of support from ANZPT tournament director Danny McDonagh. It will be interesting to see just how they cope with antes in level four, as they've never had to collect an ante in a poker tournament before today!

Queenslanders are among the most parochial people in Australia. The State of Origin rugby league series played between Queensland (the Maroons) and New South Wales (the Blues) is the most fiercely contested sporting rivalry in Australia. The Queenslanders also love to rib those who relocate north for the sun and idyllic lifestyle from the southern states (commonly known here as "Mexicans" i.e. south of the border).

And we've noticed that, like the use of a small, orange, plaque called the buck instead of dealer button, they like to do things differently in their casinos.

Landon Blackhall reports from Brisbane that there are also betting lines and a small black circle on the dealer's left on each table where the mucked cards are placed. If your cards are in that circle, they're dead. They don't bag chips at the end of the day either - players are given a sign-in sheet to fill out their chip stack amounts at the end of the day. The chips are then all collected by security and re-distributed accordingly.

There is also a major difference with the betting procedures. A raise must actually constitute the size of the previous bet, not the increase (for example, if the first player bets 200 and another player raises to 400, the next raise must be to 800 total, not 600).

iPods and MP3 players are a no-no, however tournament officials are taking a relaxed approach to celebrations around the room during big hands, which is helping create a great atmosphere. As one of the Brisbane railbirds muttered: "It's normally like a church in here, this is really exciting!"

Four players have been scratched from the Brisbane list, leaving 52 players to head off for their first break. ANZPT overall points leader and PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Tony Hachem has struggled for cards early and holds 16,500. Local player Shaun Weston has quietly taken the chip lead with 46,000 while 2008 APPT Macau High Roller third-place finisher David Steicke holds 39,500.

Meanwhile on the Gold Coast, where 58 players returned from the first break, the PokerStars.net Team Australia pros have also had a tough start to the day. Emad Tahtouh is down to 13,000 while Eric Assadourian holds less than 11,000.

Lisa Walsh's stack is also down to about half of its starting size, but Andrew Hinrichsen (44,000) and Sean Rosey (41,000) have started strongly to be among the early leaders while Stewart Scott has eased out to 30,000 after turning a straight against the pocket eights of John Malissa. Blinds are now at level three (100/200).

The innovation of using two venues is creating plenty of interest early on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland Main Event. There are plenty of SMS messages, phone calls and MSN pings going back and forth between Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast and Conrad Treasury in Brisbane, which are situated 70 kilometres apart.

ANZPT kingpin Danny McDonagh is on site in Brisbane, where Landon Blackhall reports that the atmosphere was edgy this morning as preparations were finalised for the first major tournament ever played in the casino.

Shortly after the first player hit the rail on the Gold Coast, the action was also thick and fast at the Treasury. The money was all in pre-flop between Chris Browne holding [as] [ah], only to have the table erupt as Ryan Xuy rolled over [ah][ac].

"Are we going to see a sweat?" asked one player. Yep, we sure did - the flop came down [2h] [4h] [10h], sending the table into a frenzy. Browne slammed his palm on the table, begging the turn and river to blank, which it did [9c] [6d]. Chop, chop.

A few hands later, there was some heavy betting between Brendan Rubie and Serge Mazza pre-flop. Eventually Rubie moved the last of his stack into the middle and Mazza snap-called, turning over pocket aces against Rubie's kings. The board ran out [5s] [6h] [4h] [10s] [10h] to leave Rubie, one of Australia's brightest online talents, crippled. He departed just minutes later.

Three more players have left the tournament area at Jupiters, but those seats have been filled with eager alternates, including Julian Cohen who joins his brother Hugh in today's field.

We've noticed a couple of other interesting points about the Gold Coast venue - it's one of the few poker rooms from where you can see daylight, and the dealer button is called a buck. Why?

We've asked three different people and received three different answers, but by far our favourite response was "blame Brisbane". Big brother syndrome is alive and well in the Sunshine State. That's passing the buck if ever we've heard it!

Queensland's tourism motto is "beautiful one day, perfect the next". That's certainly the case today with brilliant sunshine greeting players making their way to the two venues being used today for the opening day of Queensland's first major casino-based poker tournament.

The battle for the final PokerStars.net ANZPT title for 2009 is underway, with a capacity field of 60 at Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast and 56 players seated at Conrad Treasury in Brisbane.

Notables playing at Jupiters include a pair of PokerStars.net Team Australia pros, Eric Assadourian and Emad Tahtouh, ANZPT Sydney runner-up and Gold Coast local Lisa Walsh, wily veterans Milo Nadalin, Mike Ivin and Richard Holmes along with Sydney's Pierre Bush, who is still recovering from a serious bout of swine flu he suffered while in Las Vegas for the 2009 WSOP.

The reigning Aussie Millions champ Stewart Scott, who recently relocated to the Gold Coast from South Australia, and Queensland's highest profile player Jamie Pickering are also in today's field.

ANZPT Queenstown runner-up Andrew Hinrichsen is also playing here today, and claimed the first scalp of the session when his [ad] [ah] held up against his opponent's [ks] [kc]. A total of 21 PokerStars qualifiers, players and pros are in action here today

• In Brisbane, Landon Blackhall reports that nine PokerStars qualifiers and players are among the list of entrants, with all eyes on PokerStars.net Team Australia pro Tony Hachem as he chases the overall ANZPT points title.

Other big names spotted at Treasury include 2009 Aussie Millions $100,000 Hold'em Challenge winner David Steicke, Brisbane's own Greg Shillig (third in the ANZPT Melbourne event), Duncan McKinnon and Mitchell Carle plus Darryl "The Dazzler" Lanyon, who started Australia's first poker magazine Cards.

We'll be playing seven one-hour levels at both venues today, with all players holding a start bank of 20,000. The structure for today's play is:

Level 1: 50/100
Level 2: 75/150
Level 3: 100/200
Level 4: 100/200 (ante 25)
Level 5: 150/300 (ante 25)
Level 6: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 7: 300/600 (ante 75)

The face of poker in Australia will never be the same again after the first season of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) so it's only appropriate that the bar is again raised for the final tournament of 2009.

After a week in New Zealand's Southern Alps for ANZPT Queenstown, the region's best players have barely had time to pack away their ski gear and take the board shorts out of storage for the trek to Australia's "Sunshine State", Queensland.

Brisbane is the only Australian capital city and Queensland the only state that has yet to experience the excitement of a major live poker tournament. That wait is finally over - not only is Queensland hosting a tournament, it's one of the most important and prestigious events to ever be played in this half of the world.

Moreover, it's one of the most innovative events ever devised for a poker tournament on Aussie soil. Two different venues - Conrad Treasury on Brisbane and Conrad Jupiters at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast - are being used on days 1A, 1B and 2, before the remaining players converge on Jupiters for the final two days.

The two locations are separated by approximately 70 kilometres but offer completely different experiences. Brisbane is home to two million people and is Australia's fastest growing city. The Treasury Casino is situated in the heart of the city, and occupies two of Australia's grandest heritage buildings, the Treasury and Land Administration buildings, which date back to the start of the 20th century.

Just over one hour's drive south on the Pacific Motorway lies the Gold Coast. When the world thinks of Australia's sun-soaked beaches, with surf rolling in from the Pacific Ocean, it thinks of the Gold Coast.

Players staying at Conrad Jupiters in Broadbeach, just a short distance south of Surfers Paradise, can gaze out from their hotel rooms over those world famous beaches to the east, and the mountains of the Gold Coast Hinterland, to the west.

Throw in some typical late-winter sunshine and mild temperatures in the low 20s thanks to the state's sub-tropical location (Queensland is sliced in half by the Tropic of Capricorn), and it's not hard to see why seats sold and satellites filled for ANZPT Queensland at an unprecedented rate.

In fact, ANZPT chief Danny McDonagh has just informed us that the two day one flights at Jupiters are sold out, and just 70 seats remain spread across both days at Treasury, meaning the prizepool has already smashed through the AUD $500,000 barrier. And no admin fee is being charged on the AUD $2500 buy-in, which means every dollar goes into the pool and back to the players.

And if that's not enough, the battle for the first ANZPT Points title has come down to the wire. PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem, who has cashed in all four events so far, leads narrowly from ANZPT Melbourne champion Chris Levick. Both players have elected to play in Brisbane, where their progress will be watched with interest.

The overall points' champion will win a PokerStars.net sponsorship to the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT). Sponsorship includes Main Event entry, accommodation and airfares. Sponsorship will apply to all Season 4 APPT Main Events during 2010. Based on the projected number of APPT events in 2010, this prize is valued at approximately AUD $60,000.

We look forward to bringing you all the action from Brisbane and Gold Coast for ANZPT Queensland over the next five days - the final event on the first season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. Cards should be in the air at approximately 12.30pm local time (1.30am GMT)

PokerStars.net ANZPT leaderboard (after four events)

1 Tony Hachem (Victoria) PokerStars.net Team Australia 160.1
2 Chris Levick (NSW) 139.2
3 David Zhao 92.4
4 Karl Krautschneider (Victoria) 90
5 Danny Joukhader (Victoria) 84.4
6 Celina Lin PokerStars.net Team Asia 80.8
7 Bruno Portaro (Victoria) 79.6
8 Andrew Hinrichsen (Victoria) 79.5
9 Daniel Noja 79.2
10 Billy Argyros (Victoria) 79
11 Joel Dodds (NSW) 77.6
12 John Caridad (NSW) 77.4
13 Lisa Walsh (Queensland) 77.4
14 Paren Arzoomanian (NSW) 77.4
15 Chris Kittos (NSW) 73.2
16 Julius Colman (Victoria) 72
17 Kristian Lunardi (Victoria) 70.8
18 Ben Barclay 70.6
19 James Broom (Victoria) 68.4
20 Tian Shou (NSW) 67.2