The chips are bagged and on their way to the lock-up after a highly entertaining day of play in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney, Australia.

Of the 172 players who heard Michael Carr pump out his unique version of Waltzing Matilda/The Gambler at the start of play, only 83 will be back here on Friday for day 2.

That line-up will include two of the three Team PokerStars players in action today: Gavin Griffin and Lee “Final Table” Nelson. The fortunes of that pair contrasted – Griffin flew out of the stalls and cruised through the evening to finish near the top of the chip count on around 130,000.

Nelson had a tougher day and didn’t accumulate chips until after the dinner break. However, he finished the day strongly to be above the chip average of 41,445. The New Zealander, who won the Aussie Millions in 2006, is aiming for consecutive APPT final tables.

However, we farewelled South African Raymond Rahme midway through day 1B – the Team PokerStars Pro’s performance mirrored last year’s trip to Sydney where he bolted to a big chip lead early on day 1. Rahme was again among the biggest stacks in the early going but was KOed midway through the day.

Two PokerStars Sponsored players were also in action today – defending champion Grant Levy and Eric Assadourian. Levy just couldn’t get anything going and hit the rail before the dinner break, while Assadourian stayed well under the radar and finished with just under 40,000.

It was another Sydneysider, experienced Australian poker pro Jason Gray who topped the chip count with 180,000. The quietly spoken but fiercely determined Gray built his stack at the expense of Singapore young gun Nathanael Seet. Gray opened with a raise, there was a call, Seet made it 9,000 and Gray was the only caller.

The flop came 10c-9d-7h, Gray called Seet’s bet and the turn was Js. Seet checked, Gray bet 13,000, Seet check-raised all-in for 54,000 and Gray called.

Seet showed pocket queens for an overpair and open-ended straight draw, but Gray had a made hand (8d-5d), and sent Seet to the rail when the river came a repeat 10. That pot gave Gray more than 170,000, and he maintained that stack through the rest of the evening.

With 280 entrants already confirmed for the event, we’re expecting the biggest line-up of the three day 1 flights tomorrow, with the field headed by Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker, 2008 WSOP main event winner Peter Eastgate, PokerStars Sponsored players Tony Hachem, Daniel Craker, Bryan Huang, Ivan Tan, Eddy Sabat, Masa Kagawa, Van Marcus, Yoshihiro Tasaka and Emad Tahtouh. Should be a terrific day, we’ll be back at 12.30pm tomorrow.

By James Potter

Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin is still moving along nicely and seems focussed on the job at hand during day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

“Sydney has been really nice so far. The weather is fantastic and I even went out to Bondi Beach yesterday, it’s a great beach and lived up to all the hype,” he said.

The only player to have won the so-called ‘triple crown’ of a WSOP bracelet, an EPT event, and a WPT event, the 27-year-old achieved this milestone with wins in the 2007 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for almost USD $2.5 million, the $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event at the 2004 WSOP (then the youngest player to win a WSOP bracelet) and the 2008 WPT Borgata Winter Open. Incredibly, he’s also finished third in a WSOP Circuit Series event, taking his career tournament earnings to almost USD $4.5 million.

Unfortunately, Gavin and his partner Kristen don’t have the time to stay on in Australia for a vacation but he is expecting to be here over the weekend for a charge at the final table. WPT, WSOP, EPT and APPT titles – how would that be for a record?

Australia is a favourite among tourists from Sweden, especially backpackers, and PokerStars qualifier Alexander Soderlund is manoeuvring himself into a position to fill a pack full of cash after charging to more than 100,000 in chips early this evening.

It is his first time in Australia and he hasn’t seen anything outside of Star City yet, but he is planning to head down to Melbourne and the Aussie Millions after the APPT Grand Final.

“I am really looking forward to travelling around and might even try to catch a little of the tennis when I’m out here even though we (the Swedes) don’t have a good player at the moment,” he said.

Queensland nightclub owner Jamie Pickering has been shaking and grooving his way around many final tables in the last year. He won the Limit Hold’em tournament at this year’s Aussie Millions and had a successful campaign at the WSOP where he had a second-place finish in the $1,500 PLO event and multiple cashes.

Pickering is a man of few words at the poker table but his actions speak louder when he gets on a roll and starts to terrorise his opponents: “I was down to under 6,000 earlier and now am over 50,000. I’m feeling confident,” he said.

There will be a new APPT Grand Final champion in 2008 after last year’s winner Grant Levy bowed out just before the dinner break. The PokerStars Sponsored player’s stack was under attack from the opening hand and he made his last stand with pocket sevens against K-J. A king in the window had Levy collecting his personals and heading for the door with wife Sharon.

But the heirs apparent are emerging from the pack. One of the region’s rising stars, Nathanael Seet, has been steadily moving up the chip count throughout the day.

The dominant player in the APPT Auckland main event before bowing out sixth, Seet is just one of the young band of Singaporean players tearing it up through Asia.

The graph of Jonathan Karamalikis’ chip stack looks like the Swiss Alps, but it’s heading up the side of the Matterhorn after a cliff-hanger of a hand.

With all the chips in the middle, Karamalikis’ eights were up against A-K, and he looked in strife when the flop came Ad-10s-Ac. One of his two outs, the 8s, landed on the turn, and the player known, colourfully, as xMONSTERxDONGx online, is up to 70,000.

But amid the pimply-faced horde, a wise old head is starting to make a move: Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson.

Fresh from a final table appearance in the APPT Manila main event, Nelson, who cashed in this event last year, finally broke through the chip average of 33,000 when doubled through Andrew Scarf with pocket queens against K-J. Lads, underestimate the wily veteran at your peril.

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Peter Eastgate on PokerStars.tv

The 113 players remaining in day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final have just returned after consuming the GDP of Botswana at Star City’s Garden Buffet.

Swedish PokerStars qualifier Alexander Soderlund remains chip leader on 94,000 ahead of Aussie pro Jason Gray (84,000), Tom Rafferty (83,000), Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin (82,000) and Robert Bechava (78,500).

Just before dinner, we had a couple of special guests checking out the action – Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem and PokerStars Sponsored player Peter Eastgate, fresh off the plane and ready for his first major tournament appearance since winning the WSOP main event. No pressure on you, young man! And how about a certain wager with Billy "The Croc" Argyros ...

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Eastgate replies to the croc.. on PokerStars.tv

Mark Vos is one of Australia’s most successful poker players. He is a high stakes cash player who plays the majority of his poker online. He enjoys playing tournaments and won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in the $2000 No Limit Hold’em event. He went deep in this year’s WSOP main event, finishing in 80th position. He also scored an eighth in the Aussie Millions main event in 2006.

Despite spending much of the year on the road, Vos said he loves coming home to play in big events like the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Mark is the sort of player that doesn’t lament on lost opportunities but it is clear that there is a touch of regret about falling at the final hurdle in this year’s WSOP main event.

“When you are one of the chip leaders with a 100 left in the Main Event you start thinking about the life-changing amount of money at the end of the tournament. I would never have to play poker again if I didn’t want to if I finished high up on the final table. I’m not a materialistic person, but on this occasion my disappointment was all about the money,” Vos said.

But the APPT is not all about the superstars of world poker. It offers the opportunity to players from across the globe to not only play in world class tournaments but to travel to places that they have never previously visited.

Scott Krueger has travelled all the way from Wisconsin in the USA. He was one of the many lucky players who qualified for this tournament on PokerStars. He has been sitting with Richard Holmes all day and they have been talking plenty of NFL. Scott is a huge Green Bay Packers fan and said it was nice to talk football with such a knowledgeable handicapper like Richard.

“I love the city of Sydney. I have walked around the harbour and it’s a great place. I am here for a few days after the tournament so I am looking forward to seeing a lot more before I return home to the cold,” he said. Soak it up Scott, and good luck.

We’re on the downhill stretch to the dinner break on day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, with 144 players still seated of the 172 who crossed the start line.

Since the last break, the cry of “all-in” and “call” has started to echo across the poker room as the short stacks come under attack. Already, Sam Youssef, Sheldon Mayer, Billy Argyros, Peter Pratis and Reza Vakili have been eliminated.

The title defence of Grant 'Grunter' Levy is on the ropes as his stack falls dangerously close to the felt. The PokerStars Sponsored player has struggled to get anything going today – despite holding around 7000 in chips, don’t expect last year’s winner to give up without a fight.

Barely had that last sentence been completed when the Levy fans erupted on the rail after their man doubled up when he hit a set of nines on the flop against pocket aces. He runs well.

As Levy can attest, winning a tournament of this size and stature is hard enough without throwing away a winning hand. That’s what we just saw while catching up on the progress of young Aussie online star Ben Delaney.

After a flop of As-Jd-Ks, Delaney called a bet of 1100 and the turn came 4s. Delaney bet 4000 on the river of Qs before his opponent open-mucked Ad-Js. Sometimes, the nut flush (just the 10s short of a royal flush) isn’t that obvious!

The impressively named Alexander Forslof Söderlund of Sweden is our new chip leader on 90,000 but Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin lies second on 77,000.

Aussie Chris Levick was happy to take a nice pot off Griffin, a small measure of revenge against Team PokerStars after he was KOed by Joe Hachem in last year’s APPT Grand Final.

Levick, who operates several poker venues throughout Sydney, has two APPT cashes to his name and has been a tireless contributor to the local poker industry in recent years. Even Gavin can cope with a small contribution for the good of Aussie poker.

Australia is one of the most sports obsessed countries in the world, so it’s hardly surprising that poker has been embraced as part of the nation’s sporting culture. Long before Joe Hachem took poker from the backrooms into the mainstream in 2005, Aussies were making their mark on the world poker stage.

One of the first was Gary Benson. He is a WSOP bracelet winner in seven-card stud (1996) and has been a regular on the Australian professional poker tour for many years. He also won the ‘Bad Boys of Poker’ at the 2007 PokerNews Cup. Gary calls Sydney home and would love to win the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Graeme “Kiwi G” Putt is a proud New Zealander but has been part of the Australian poker scene for many years. He has been a consistent winner in live cash play but his passion is tournament poker.

He has cashed in tournaments all over the world including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, St Kitts, Macau, St Maarten and Austria. He has enjoyed travelling to most of the PokerStars.net APPT tournaments in the last few years and would love to cap of his career with a big win here.

Richard Holmes is a professional gambler who resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland. He mostly focuses on sport betting but has a passion for poker. He spent many years living in Las Vegas where he was considered one of the world’s best seven-card stud players. He has cashed in tournaments in Australia, America and Great Britain. Got a tip for us Richard?

By James Potter

The Hachems are certainly Australia’s best-known poker family. Everyone knows 2005 WSOP world champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem but his brother Tony, a PokerStars Sponsored player, is carving out a handy reputation as shown by his second-place finish in this year’s New Zealand Championships main event.

Tony has already enjoyed a good week and made the final table of the six-handed event yesterday. Both Joe and Tony are playing in Day 1C tomorrow.

Another family dominating in the Australian poker scene are the Assadourians. Eric is a sponsored PokerStars player and 2007 APPT Macau High Roller champion. Eric’s father Asic, started to be make his mark as a poker player after making the cash in the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland main event. Eric’s girlfriend, Lizzie Clarke, played yesterday but didn’t make it through to day 2.

Suzy Khouies (seated at table 30 today) is another player who comes from a famous Australian poker family with brothers Sam and Kevin having won many tournaments here and abroad. Suzy, has amassed a remarkable record in the biggest tournaments on the Australian Poker League circuit.

Often playing along side husband Radi Chalghin, Suzy has stamped herself as the undisputed number one female player in the APL, a pub and club based competition boasting 400,000 players around the country. She has played almost 700 APL games with 30 wins and just over 200 final table appearances. No other APL player has scored more points in the past two years.

The 39-year-old mother of eight – yes, eight – is nicknamed “Guru”, a measure of the respect she commands from other players. Having dominated APL ranks, Suzy showed that she’s far from out of her depth in the pro ranks with a stunning 23rd placing in the APPT Grand Final at Star City last December, winning $18,500. Not bad for a major tournament debut!

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Tony Hachem Chats on PokerStars.tv

After losing Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown on day 1A, the Team PokerStars crew in today’s field have stamped their authority in the early going on day 1B in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. The two biggest stacks in the room belong to South Africa’s Raymond Rahme and “triple crown” winner Gavin Griffin.

Rahme was here in Sydney last year and won over everyone with his friendly demeanour. He also impressed on the felt, charging out to the chip lead on the opening day. Despite finding himself on a tough table featuring Andrew Scott and Dennis Huntly, Rahme has been quick to establish a tough table image, taking his stack to more than 50,000.

Griffin’s table draw also did him no favours, but he’s steered clear of Chris Levick (two cashes on the APPT) and Manny Stavropoulos to be sitting on 45,000 late in level 2.

The other Team PokerStars Pro in today’s field, Lee “Final Table” Nelson, has been working tirelessly in the past few days after guiding his latest batch of students at the official APPT seminar (along with Joe Hachem). But Nelson will need to put some of that knowledge to practise after suffering a couple of early hits to be down below 15,000 in the early going.

Last year’s champ Grant Levy also looks relieved to finally take his seat after a heavy promotional schedule in recent weeks (including a role in a TV commercial that has made the Sydneysider a national celebrity). His stack headed south initially, but he’s now back to close to his start stack of 20,000.

Hand number one, elimination number one. No, we’re not kidding. The money went on the turn between local player Martin Comer and Moe Toaube, with Comer showing pocket queens against Ad-7d. Comer was already in strife with the board showing 4c-7s-2s-7h, then the Ks had him headed for the rail before some players had even taken their seats!

A quick scour of the floor has revealed an ultra-impressive line-up of starters, including seasoned Aussie pros Jeff Lisandro (WSOP seven-card stud bracelet winner in 2007), Jamie Pickering (runner-up in the $1500 PLO event at this year’s WSOP), Mark Vos (2006 WSOP $2000 No Limit Hold’em bracelet winner), Gary Benson (the first Australian to win a WSOP bracelet, in 1996), Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros, Sam Youssef, Graeme ‘Kiwi G’ Putt, Dennis Huntly and Richard Holmes.

The reputation of Mark Vos certainly precedes – his tablemates groaned in anguish when the gregarious South African-born Aussie took his seat. Wonder how long before Vos tests out the rule named in his honour at this year’s WSOP where his massive main event chip stack threatened to topple over on several occasions.

The younger Aussie brigade is represented by Haibo Chu (2006 Melbourne champion), top ranked local online player Jonathan xMONSTERxDONGx Karamalikis and Marlon Goonawardana (winner of the $1500 bounty event at the 2008 Aussie Millions).

Yesterday we had the girlfriend of Eric Assadourian, Lizzie Clarke, in the field – today it is Eric’s father Assadour who we’ll be keeping watch over. Assadour cashed at the APPT Auckland main event, how would it be to have father and son at the final table here on Sunday!

With entries still open for day 1B, already 170 players have taken their seats, taking the total entry close to 300 as we greedily eye last year’s figure of 561 players.