Two Players Disqualified from Aussie Millions Event

Two players were caught attempting to reenter a player at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship, resulting in both players being disqualified and banned from the Crown Casino.

The Aussie Millions tournament is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, and certainly the largest event of the year taking place in Australia. This year's series began with a $1,100 event that saw 274 players participate on the first of three starting day options.

The small bit of drama began when one player was eliminated early on the first day. A few minutes later, an attentive tournament official recognized the same player sitting at another table with a new stack of chips.

It was quickly determined that the player was using someone else's chips to continue in the tournament. After talking to the player, it was revealed that a second player had realized that he could not play on Sunday, the Day 2 when all three starting day fields will merge together. Realizing this, and seeing that another player he knew had been bounced from the tournament already, he waited for a table break and then handed his stack off to the previous eliminated player.

Once the scheme was uncovered, both players were immediately disqualified from the tournament. In addition, both players have been banned from the Crown Casino for a yet-to-be-determined length of time. The identities of the two players have not been released.

The 2012 Aussie Millions will feature a total of nine official events, including the Main Event, which will begin on January 22, as well as a $100,000 Challenge beginning on the same day. In addition, the Aussie Millions will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this tournament by staging a Tournament of Champions on January 21. This event will feature the previous nine event champions in a single-table event, with the winning earning free lifetime entries into the Aussie Millions Main Event.