The title of Australian poker capital has been shipped around numerous cities over the past 30 years. It started at Australia's first casino in Hobart, Tasmania, then settled in Adelaide during the late 1980s and 1990s, briefly adopted Canberra before setting up shop in Melbourne.

However, a new challenger is emerging. After the success of the 2007 and 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Finals, the poker room at Star City Casino in Sydney is buzzing like never before.

Amid the current financial crisis, the PokerStars.net Australian New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) somehow managed to establish a new record for an event up to $3000 buy-in, with a field of 493 players and a prize pool of AUD $986,000.

Remember, this is a tour in its first year and holding just its second event. But poker-hungry Sydneysiders showed their hunger for such events by packing out the events on the preliminary schedule before building a Main Event field comparable with the showpiece of the Star City poker program: the APPT Grand Final.

After four days and 28 one-hour levels, the battle for the first ANZPT Sydney Main Event title came down to a showdown between an eclectic pair - 49-year-old mother-of-six and Gold Coast mortgage broker Lisa Walsh, and 25-year-old Sydney student and aspiring poker pro Paren "Puzz" Arzoomanian.

Supported by a large and boisterous rail, who iced a bottle of champagne on the media desk in expectation of his victory, Puzz was cheered to the line and just before 1am on Monday morning, he duly saluted to take home the first prize of AUD $246,500. Not bad for a guy who has recently finished chemotherapy after a bout of cancer.

Play had stagnated when it reached four-handed, but the elimination of Chris Kittos finally sparked some action and when the final PokerStars qualifier John Caridad was KOed in third, it was Walsh versus Arzoomanian for the title.

Walsh was poised for a slice of local poker history, with the title of winning the biggest prize ever captured by a female on Australian soil in her grasp.

She trailed when the heads-up battle started, wrested the lead but eventually fell one step short. The end came when she committed her short stack with [kh] [9c], but Puzz making the call and showing [ac] [5d]. The board ran out [js] [8s] [8d] [5c] [ad], and the Dom Perignon was flowing for Paren Arzoomanian.

In the end, it was an appropriate result for a Sydney local, and another step up the ladder for Sydney as the home of Aussie poker.

But the New South Welshmen will be on enemy territory in three weeks' time when the PokerStars.net ANZPT treks across the Victorian border for ANZPT Melbourne at Crown Casino. State pride will be on the line in what is sure to be a fiercely contested $2700 buy-in event.

And the man everyone will be watching is PokerStars.net Team Australia player, Melbourne's own Tony Hachem, the new leader in the race for the ANZPT Player of the Year title.

We look forward to joining from May 25-27 in our hometown for the third event on the 2009 PokerStars.net ANZPT. Farewell from Star City Casino and Sydney, Australia.

We're down to the final two in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event, with Lisa Walsh narrowly trailing Paren Arzoomanian for the title.

Chris Kittos busted in fourth spot after he came out on the wrong end of a race against Walsh. It was [3c] [3h] against [ah] [ks] for Kittos, with the board of [2c] [4c] [5d] [5s] [js] ending his tournament.

The heads-up line-up was decided when Walsh used a big slick of her own - [ac] [kh] - against the [ad] [8c] of John Caridad. The board of [10h] [2d] [3c] [7h] [jd] missed both players, and Caridad, the final PokerStars qualifier in the tournament, was out in third.

That left Walsh on 4.1 million and Puzz holding 5.6 million as the heads-up battle started. Walsh remains on track to capture the biggest tournament prize ever won by a female on Australian soil, and the biggest tournament prize ever captured by an Australian female anywhere in the world. And then there's Puzz, with a bunch of railbirds who've yet to sleep in the past 40 hours, fuelled by enough vodka Red Bulls to power a lunar mission. Should be fun! Blinds are at level 27 - 50,000/100,000 with an ante of 10,000.

Lisa Walsh was poised to write a slice of Aussie poker history after taking a stranglehold on the final table at the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event. But as quick as she wins 'em, back they go!

Departures have been rapid since the dinner break, with the latest elimination Billy "The Croc" Argyros in sixth place. Having returned from dinner in a jovial mood, "The Croc" was in the mood for action and found it when John Caridad called his pre-flop raise of 110,000.

The flop came down [qc] [10c] [9h], Caridad checked, Argyros pushed all-in and Caridad called. He showed [qh] [10d] for two-pair while Crocky's [kd] [ks] needed help. It didn't arrive with the board running out [7s] [3s], and the Hall of Famer was out in sixth.

Shortly after, Lisa Walsh and Majed Haddad clashed in what may prove the pivotal hand of the tournament. Walsh raised to 125,000 pre-flop, Haddad called and they watched a flop of [qc] [4d] [5c]. Both players checked and the turn fell [3h].

Haddad bet 175,000, Walsh made it 500,000, Haddad declared all-in and Walsh made the call. Wow. She showed [qd] [jd] to be a whisker ahead of Haddad's [qh] [9d]. But a whisker was enough as the [kd] landed on the river, allowing Walsh to scoop up a pot worth 4.6 million.

On the next hand, Haddad committed his remaining few chips, with Caridad and Arzoomanian calling and checking down the board of [jc] [2s] [qh] [10s] [5c]. Puzz's [kd] [10d] was good enough to win the pot ahead of Caridad's [as] [4c] and Haddad's [5h] [6h], sending the former chip leader to the rail in fifth position.

Walsh has since butted heads twice with Caridad - once in a split pot when the board came a queen-high straight, which saved Caridad's two-pair against Walsh's set of eights.
Then she called Caridad's all-in, again holding a set of eights - [8d] [8h] on a flop of [7d] [8c] [js] - against his [6s] 5h], but the [4h] turn made him a straight and, for the first time, Caridad had taken the chip lead.

That left Walsh on 2.85 million, ahead of Arzoomanian (2.5 million) and Chris Kittos (800,000) but trailing Caridad on 3.4 million.

And then there were six. Lisa Walsh looks to be a hurry to get home after claiming the two players to fall since the dinner break on the final day of the PokerStars.net AN ZPT Sydney Main Event.

In the first elimination, Walsh started the action with a raise to 125,000, Arzoomanian called then James Newhan pushed all-in for 572,000. Walsh called, Puzz got out of the way and it was Lisa's [ks] [kd] against James' [as] [js]. The Sydneysider failed to hit on the board of [7h] [6d] [3c] [6s] [qc] and was out in eighth.

Barely five minutes later, Joel Dodds was all-in pre-flop and again it was Walsh who came to the party. He showed [3s] [3h], with Walsh holding [ah] [jh]. The board of [10h] [ks] [as] [qd] [8c] missed Dodds, who departed to a nice round of applause from the packed rail here at Star City tonight.

The crowd is five-deep watching the final table, helped by players waiting their turn in the teams' event, in which PokerStars.net Team Australia members Tony Hachem and Eric Assadourian are having a ball.

We're also delighted to announce - in a world exclusive for the PokerStarsblog - that Chris Eva has been confirmed as the first contestant for The Poker Star, Joe Hachem's new poker reality show that will hit the screens later this year in Australia.

Players qualified for this single table tournament via a series of freerolls on PokerStars.net, with average fields of 2500 and a total entry over the two-week period of 13,000!

In the Main Event, we're ticking down to the start of level 25 (30,000/60,000 with an ante of 5000) with six players remaining.

The eight remaining players in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event have headed off on their dinner break. For some, it will be their last supper at the Garden Buffet. And if any of the players choose to launch an attack on the world oyster eating record set by ANZPT skipper Danny McDonagh at the Garden Buffet last night, it may be their last ever supper.

We digress ... it's been a fairly sedate start to the final table, with David Zhao the sole departure. It was Billy Argyros who kicked off the action with a raise to 90,000, Xhao committed the last of his chips and Argyros called.

He showed [jd] [js], while Xin held [as] [10d]. The flop of [8d] [kc] [10s] brought some hope, but the turn [8s] and river [2c] missed Xhao as he exited in ninth place.

It's been a tough start to the final table for Lisa Walsh, who is aiming to become the first woman to etch her name in the ANZPT record books.

Joel Dodds caught Walsh on the hop when he pushed all-in with [ac] [js], in response to her raise with [kh] [8h]. The board ran out [5s] [9d] [6c] [9s] 5h], Dodds was up to 530,000 while Walsh fell to 970,000.

Haddad also sliced a fair slab of chips off Walsh when he bet 600,000 on a board of [9h] [js] [2c] [4d]. She folded, while he cheekily flashed the [2s].

That left the chip count Arzoomanian (2,524,000), Haddad (2,035,000), Walsh (1,110,000), Kittos (1,090,000), Caridad (918,000), Dodds (495,000) and Argyros the short stack on 414,000. When players return after dinner, blinds will be at 20,000/40,000 with a 5000 ante.

Seat 1: Lisa Walsh, Gold Coast, Qld, Australia (1,481,000 in chips): She might be making her first final table tournament appearance, but this 49-year-old mother of six (with her first grandchild on the way) brings plenty of big game experience to the table despite only three years' experience under her belt. The Gold Coast mortgage broker considers herself a cash-game specialist and she can regularly be found on the tables at casinos around the country. Her best tournament result came in the 2008 Victorian Championships Main Event, where she placed 19th.

Seat 2: Billy Argyros, Melbourne, Vic, Australia (789,000 in chips): The most experienced player at the final table, Billy "The Croc" - famous for the crocodile memorabilia he wears at the table - was among the first players inducted to the Australian Poker Hall of Fame in January. He's a multiple winner of events throughout Australia and New Zealand, including several preliminary titles at the Aussie Millions, but his biggest career tournament cash came at the 2008 WSOP where he placed fourth in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship.

Seat 3: David Zhao, Melbourne, Vic, Australia (456,000 in chips): A 23-year-old professional poker player and a former commerce graduate from Melbourne, this shy and reserving character told us that he was "relieved" that he's managed to make it to the final table. He was one of the few players to buy into the ANZPT Sydney Main Event directly. Expect to see some aggression from Zhao early - he's the short stack on 456,000.

Seat 4: Joel Dodds, Sydney, NSW, Australia (483,000 in chips): One of the great characters of Aussie poker, the softly spoken Sydneysider combines tough-as-teak skills with a caustic wit at the poker table. The 25-year-old holds the amazing record of having placed 14th in both the 2007 and 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Macau main events. A student and aspiring poker pro, Dodds, known as strongplay due to his preference for only the best starting hands, is looking forward to playing a full schedule at the 2009 WSOP.

Seat 5: Chris Kittos, Sydney, NSW, Australia (1,287,000 in chips): A 41-year-old mechanical engineer from the Sydney suburb of San Souci, this father-of two honed his skills in the numerous pub poker venues that offer cash-entry tournaments around the New South Wales capital. His best finishes have been in the weekly PokerDome events, including victory in a $12k guaranteed event. He also final-tabled the $1100 NLHE event on the 2007 APPT Grand Final preliminary schedule, but is expecting bigger things here today.

Seat 6: Paren Arzoomanian, Sydney, NSW, Australia (2,065,000 in chips): Assured the lion's share of the crowd support, the chip leader is a 25-year-old student who is studying software engineering and finance, would like to turn his attention to poker full-time. A cash-game specialist, his best tournament cash is 24th in the 2007 PokerNews Cup, which earned him a modest AUD 10,000. He's already guaranteed a bigger payday than that here in Sydney, but is greedily eyeing the top spot on the podium.

Seat 7: John Caridad, Sydney, NSW, Australia (638,000 in chips): This 35-year-old Sydneysider has been playing poker for about five or six years. He's no freshman to live tournament poker, as he's already taken part in the APPT Grand Final here two years ago and plays quite a lot online. Caridad, a property developer by trade, qualified for this event on PokerStars and is the only online qualifier still contention. He enters the final table with 638,000 in chips.

Seat 8: James Newhan, Sydney, NSW, Australia (989,000 in chips): This 38-year-old hails from the suburb of Glebe, a stone's throw away from Star City. The self-confessed poker tragic is extremely excited to be here at the final table, though "he's had to put in a lot of hard work to get here." After managing to win his seat via a $200 satellite at Star City, he managed to survive the carnage to enter the final table with a respectable 989,000.

Seat 9: Majed Haddad, Sydney, NSW, Australia (1,689,000 in chips): Despite this being his first major cash tournament final table, the 31-year-old truck driver from Sydney is used to being in the spotlight after his runner-up finish in the Australian Poker League Wild Turkey Poker Classic at Crown in Melbourne. That result earned him a package to the 2009 WSOP Main Event. He's ideally placed to emulate if not surpass his second-place in the WTPC with the second biggest stack entering the final table.

The final table has been decided for the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event. The road was paved for the final nine throughout level 24, with the elimination of Marcial Dias setting the tone for a swift reduction in the field.

Dias committed his last 125,000 in chips with a respectable [7s] [7d] and was happy to find himself up against the [ad] [2c] of Lisa Walsh. But the board of [2d] [jh] [qs] [as] [9c] gave Walsh two-pair and another scalp.

Chris Levick had climbed off the floor today and carefully picked his moment to make a last stand holding [ks] [qd]. Walsh was again the caller, this time with [ah] [jc]. But it was the Gold Coast mortgage broker who improved her hand on a board of [js] [8d] [5h] [8s] [10d], and the Sydney pub poker impresario and PokerStars qualifier was out in 13th.

Ben Barclay looked to be cruising to the final table but slipped back and was forced to make a stand with [ad] [9s]. Paren Arzoomanian was waiting with [ac] [qs], and neither player connected with the board sending the PokerStars Qualifier on his way.

One of the great stories of the tournament was the run today of Joseph Nati. The short stack entering day three, Nati fought and scratched for every chip but finally succumbed in a race - pocket twos against the A-4 of John Caridad - to finish a gallant 11th.

The final table line-up was then decided when PokerStars player Hugh Cohen pushed in his short stack with [ah] [7h], with Walsh making the call and showing [qd] [8d]. Again, the board brought Walsh what she needed with the board coming [qc] [4h] [jc] [kd] [kc].

After a short break, the final table has just kicked off with the blinds wound back to level 22 (12,000/24,000 with an ante of 3000).

By Landon Blackhall

With little action to report in the past level, we caught up with the man who represented the rest of the world against the Aussie charge.

Canadian PokerStars qualifier Robert Acton can take pride in being the last international in the tournament, with his 20th place earning him AUD $6902 for his efforts.

"I'm really happy with the way I played. The field has been a hundred times better than anywhere else I've played, the locals have been really friendly and fiercely competitive and the ANZPT has been run really well and has the best structure," he said.

The British Columbian construction company owner is not new to the game and he's looking to continue his journeys on the international poker circuit. "I'm looking to play in more events on the PokerStars European and Latin American Poker Tours."

One thing's for sure - despite the fact that the ANZPT Sydney Main Event title is staying on home soil, Acton will be back next year, along with a larger international contingent. From all reports, our foreign visitors have had nothing but praise for this fledgling tour, which underlines Australia and New Zealand's status as one of the best poker destinations on the planet.

Matthew Pongrass was the only player to hit the rail during level 22. His [ac] [8d] found Paren Arzoomanian waiting with [10h] [10s], and the board of [9h] [jc] [ks] [3h] [kd] brought no joy.

After the third level of play today, blinds are about to be cranked up to level 23 (15,000/30,000 with an ante of 3000). There are 14 players remaining, with Arzoomanian's aggression earning him the chip lead ahead of Haddad and Argyros.

We're down to two tables in the battle for the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event, and players continue to steadily stream from the tournament area.

Eight of the 26 players who started the final day were eliminated during the opening level of the day, with Michael Marvenak out in 22nd when Matthew Pongrass' K-J improved to a pair of jacks after Marvenak had also flopped a pair, albeit nines.

Andy Meldrum's run ended in 21st when his [kc] [6c] failed to connect on a board of [5d] [9d] [jc] [8d] [3d] as Matthew Pongrass' [ad] [7d] turned a flush.

The final non-Australian in the field, PokerStars qualifier Robert Acton, fell in 20th spot when his [ac] [8h] and James Newhan's [10h] [6h] both made a straight on a board of [5d] [4d] [2d] [3h] [10s], but Newhan's six prevailed.

In the biggest pot of the day so far, Peter Ling's [qh] [qc] looked in great shape against the [7s] [7d] of Majed Haddad, but the board of [9d] [kc] [6d] [2d] [qd] gave the local a flush and propelled him to the chip lead with 1.4 million.

The field was redrawn at 18, and it didn't take long for David Hibbott to join the others on the rail. After plenty of pre-flop action, Hibbott, holding [ad] [10h] found himself up against the [jd] [jh] of Ben Barclay, and the jacks prevailed as the board ran out [8s] [7s] [8h] [3d] [5s].

Just before the level ended, PokerStars.net Team Australia player Tony Hachem's dream of a breakthrough tournament victory was dashed. In pole position to double through Joel Dodds, Hachem's pocket aces were cracked when Dodds' kings improved to a set on the flop. He then bowed to the [ks] [kh] of Chris Kittos when the board of [2h] [8s] [10c] [5h] [qc] missed Hachem's [ac] [7d].

Matt Burgoine, a poker manager at Crown in Melbourne, celebrated his first big tournament cash with 16th as Haddad's pocket kings prevailed over Burgione's A-6.

Haddad (1.5 million) now leads from Billy Argyros (1.2 million), Barclay (920k), Chris Kittos (870k) and a resurgent Lisa Walsh (760k). Blinds will soon be at level 22 (12,000/24,000 with an ante of 3000).

With such an even spread of chips, it's hardly surprising that the progress has been slow and steady in the early going on the final day of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

Only two players were KOed in the first 30 minutes, with Phi L Luu first out when he first made a move with [7d] [3s] only to find the short-stacked Joseph Nati waiting with [ks] [kc], then committed the last of his chips with [4s 2c] which had little hope against the [ad] [ac] of Hugh Cohen.

Danny Joukhader was next to go when his pocket 10s led all the way to the river, only for Chris Kittos (A-Q) to make a pair of aces.

Big movers in the early going have been Chris "Lev" Levick (up to 420,000 from a starting stack of just 124,000) and Andy Meldrum, whose sheared a pile of chips from Lisa Walsh when his A-Q hit the flop against Walsh's sixes. The affable Meldrum is up to more than 600,000.

Joel Dodds delivered a mortal wound to Joey Lawrence when his nines held up against pocket sixes, then Billy Argyros celebrated his first scalp of the day when Lawrence's A-3 failed to connect against the nines of "The Croc", building his stack to more than 1,000,000.

Once again, it promises to be a massive day here at Star City, with a PokerStars.net ANZPT Melbourne satellite underway, a single table tournament underway to decide the first contestant on Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem's new poker reality show The Poker Star, and a $550 teams event scheduled to kick-off at 4pm.

Meanwhile in the Main Event, we're about to kick up to level 21, where the blinds will be 10,000/20,000 with an ante of 2000.

Like most other parts of the world, poker has become a younger man's (and woman's) game in Australia. Over the past three years, names like PokerStars.net Team Australia players Grant Levy and Eric Assadourian, James Broom, Dory Zayneh, Stewart Scott, Haibo Chu, Daniel Botta and Luke Santo have topped the honours in Australia's biggest tournaments.

But the old guard have been biding their time, and today could be the day they have their revenge. That's not to say that Billy "The Croc" Argyros is about to be shipped off to the retirement home, but in poker terms, he's not far off getting a telegram from the Queen.

Indeed, Argyros, one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame, has been around long enough that his nickname was coined by the legendary Johnny Moss.

Argyros won his first title on debut in Adelaide in 1989 and full of confidence, became one of the few local players to have, at that time, made the trip to Las Vegas for the WSOP. The Croc nickname emerged on that trip, when he announced to assembled crowd watching him and the legendary Johnny Moss go heads-up in a satellite (that Argyros would win), "I'm Crocodile Bill from Down Under".

Crocodiles might be prevalent in this part of the world, but this Croc is an endangered species in the final 26 of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

PokerStars.net Team Australia player Tony Hachem is yet to win a major title. He came within a whisker at last year's New Zealand Poker Champs Main Event where he was runner-up, and would love to rid himself of the bridesmaid's tag.

But for Argyros, Hachem and the 24 other challengers, they'll first need to negotiate a tense afternoon of poker before the final table is decided. We'll be playing right through today until the first ANZPT Sydney champion is decided. It promises to be an enthralling day, so join us from 12.30pm today (3.30am GMT) for the final day's play.

Seat allocation

Table 21

Seat 1: Billy Argyros (Australia) 853,000
Seat 2: Ben Barclay (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 777,000
Seat 3: Paren Arzoomanian (Australia) 585,000
Seat 4: Matthew Burgoine (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 333,000
Seat 5: Chris Kittos (Australia) 357,000
Seat 6: Joel Dodds (Australia) 190,000
Seat 7: Joey Lawrence (Australia) 192,000
Seat 8: David Zhao (Australia) 537,000
Seat 9: Danny Joukhader (Australia) 412,000

Table 22

Seat 1: John Caridad (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 269,000
Seat 2: David Hibbott (Australia) 481,000
Seat 3: Phi L Luu (Australia) 160,000
Seat 4: Joseph Nati (Australia) 75,000
Seat 5: Tony Hachem (Australia) Team PokerStars Australia 414,000
Seat 6: James Newhan (Australia) 397,000
Seat 7: Robert Acton (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 245,000
Seat 8: Marcial Dias (Australia) 113,000
Seat 9: Hugh Cohen (Australia) PokerStars Player 272,000

Table 23

Seat 1: Majed Haddad (Australia) 705,000
Seat 2: Chris Levick (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 124,000
Seat 4: Peter Ling (Australia) 623,000
Seat 5: Marc Liddell (Australia) 218,000
Seat 6: Andy Meldrum (Australia) 314,000
Seat 7: Lisa Walsh (Australia) 656,000
Seat 8: Michael Marvenak (Australia) 128,000
Seat 9: Matthew Pongrass (Australia) 263,000

The structure for today's play is:

Level 20: 8000/16,000 (ante 2000)
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (ante 2000)
Level 22: 12,000/24,000 (ante 3000)
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (ante 3000)
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (ante 4000)
Level 25: 30,000/60,000 (ante 5000)
Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (ante 5000)
Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (ante 10,000)
Level 28: 60,000/120,000 (ante 10,000)
Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (ante 20,000)
Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (ante 30,000)

The stage is set for a gripping finale to the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event with 26 players still in contention for the title and the AUD $246,500 first prize.

After starting day two with 185 hopefuls, eliminations continued steadily throughout the day until play stonewalled on the bubble. It took 12 hands until Mark Lasarow was virtually blinded out, and 45 players celebrated a spot in the cash, with a minimum payout of AUD $4437.

Heading into the final day's play, the chip leader is the most experienced player in the field, Australian Poker Hall of Fame member Billy "The Croc" Argyros, on 853,000.

One of Australia's most colourful players, "The Croc" is a multiple winner of tournaments on both sides of the Tasman and overseas. He is in career best form, as shown by his fourth place in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship at the 2008 WSOP and numerous H.O.R.S.E. titles on home soil in the past 18 months.

PokerStars Qualifier Ben Barclay is next on 777,000, followed by Majed Haddad (705,000), the only female player still in the field Lisa Walsh (656,000) and Peter Ling (623,000).

PokerStars.net Team Australia player Tony Hachem created a spot of history when he became the first player to cash in two ANZPT events. He also leads the ANZPT season leaderboard, but will be hoping to go further in this tournament. He's on 414,000 in ninth position, just above the chip average.

Four other PokerStars qualifiers - Matthew Burgoine, John Caridad, Chris Levick and the only non-Aussie among the final 26, Canada's Robert Acton - will also be back tomorrow.

After a couple of cleansing beverages and a regulation eight hours' shut-eye, we look forward to returning tomorrow at 12.30pm (3.30am GMT) for the final day of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

Team PokerStars.net Team Australia contingent has been reduced to one - Tony Hachem - after the elimination of Eric Assadourian. With a big rail of friends and family following his progress, Assadourian looked in great shape with pocket aces against the pocket jacks of Chris Kittos, until a heart-breaking jack landed on the flop.

That meant 28th position for Assadourian, adding another cash to his long list of in-the-money finishes in Australasian poker.

Other recent eliminations have been Antonis 'Toothpick Tony' Kambouroglou (35th), Bruce Nguyen (34th), Markelos Conias (33rd), Van Tran (32nd), Michael Manttan (31st), Brendan Mitchell (30th) and Maria Martinez (29th).

Mitchell's elimination was particularly nasty. He was all-in with [8d] [8c] against the [4d 4c] of Robert Acton, and watched the flop come [2d] [ad] 7d]. The turn bricked [2c] but the [4h] sent him to the exit.

Nguyen's elimination wasn't much better. He took [as] [qc] to the starting post against the [10c] 10h] but was quickly gathering his personals after the flop came [5d] [10s] [10d]. Ouch.

In contrast, our man from Brisbane, Jeremy Norton received a much-need injection of chips courtesy of Matt Burgoine. It was Norton's [ac] [7c] against Burgoine's [qd] [jd], and the first four cards - [kd] [10s][7h] [jh] had Norton poised for elimination. Bang - the [7s] sails down the river to save the tournament life of the PokerStars qualifier.

With just five hands remaining in day two, it seems we'll be left with 26 or 27 players for tomorrow's finale to the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney event.

Let the carnage begin! A long bubble period is usually followed by some quickfire eliminations, and that's certainly been the case late on day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

Terry Tserdamis, Taner Durust, Monica Nguyen, Milan Gurung wasted little time collecting their $4437 cheques, while Alexander Shishkin crashed out in 41st. That came after he shoved [kh] [10h] into a flop of [qc] [as] [7s], only to find Billy "The Croc" Argyros waiting with [ad] [ks]. The board ran out [2s] [qs], and Shishkin was shish-kebabed.

Argyros also claimed the scalp of Owen Oates when "The Croc" filled up with [9d] [9c] on a board of [2d] 2h] [6h] [10s] [9s] against Oates' [ks] [qh].

Tty Ly (39th) and Henry Sun (38th) were next out, with Sun unlucky when Maria Martinez's [8d] [2h] improved to a pair of eights on a board of [5d] [7c] [8c] [ah] [ac] against the Sydneysider's [ks] [2d].

Michael Tran followed in 37th when he pushed with [ac] [8c] but Peter Ling [qd] [jh] flopped a straight as the board showed [9d] [kh] [10c][7h] [js].

Argyros was at it again as Aussie PokerStars' qualifier Torgeir Solemdal launched a pre-flop raising war with the wily veteran. The money was all-in with Argyros' [js] [jh] in good shape against Solemdal's [ad] [jd]. The board came [9c] [6h] [qd] [3c] [8s] and "The Croc" was snapping at the one-million mark.

Entering the final hour of play, Peter Ling is the chip leader on 840,000 ahead of Argyros (800,000), Lisa Walsh (500,000), Phil Luu (460,000), Van Tran (445,000) and Majed Haddad (400,00). Blinds are at 6000/12,000 with a 1000 ante, with less than an hour of play remaining for today.

The never-ending bubble has finally burst and the top 45 players in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event have been decided. It took 12 hands for Sydney-based South African Mark Lasarow to commit his last remaining 1000 chip with K-7, only to find Robert Acton poised with K-Q, and a relieved group of players headed for a well-deserved break after the board ran out 10-high.

Several players had flirted with extinction during the bubble period - the now short-stacked Monica Nguyen had her stack slashed to less than 20,000 when her 8-7 ran into two players with A-K, while a handful of other short stacks, such as Maria Martinez and Michael Manttan, made the commitment only for the other players to fold.

That means the remaining 45 players are assured a minimum payout of AUD $4437, with PokerStars.net Team Australia duo Eric Assadourian and Tony Hachem among those to have cashed. And Hachem becomes the first player in ANZPT history to have cashed in two events.

The atmosphere at Star City night is amazing - the rail is three deep watching the Main Event and the $10,000 High Roller event, which attracted a field of 22 players.

They include PokerStars.net Team Australia trio Grant Levy, Celina Lin and Emad Tahtouh (a last-minute starter), Andrew Scott, high stakes regulars Sammy Youssef, Jason Gray, Jamie Pickering, Bill Jordanou and Warwick Mirzikinian and young guns Jonathan Karamalikis, Ben Delaney, Harris Pavlou and Daniel Neilson.

Already, Hoi Wing Cheung and Johnny Huynh have been eliminated, leaving Karamalikis an early chip leader but it promises to be a long night for the High Rollers field.