3:45pm: Break time

Once again the Jupiters Hotel and Casino have spoilt us with a wonderful buffet of sandwiches. Back in ten!

3:40pm: Maurie Pears eliminated

After a brief lull in play, we've just had another elimination. The gallant run of Maurie Pears has come to an end.

Pears opened with a raise to 30,000 from middle position with Nauv Kashyap calling in position. Michael Spilkin came along in the big blind and the three took a flop of [kd][4c][9c]. Spilkin led out for 40,000 before Pears moved all in for his last 100,000. Kashyap then declared himself all in over the top, covering both opponents.

"I guess I must be behind," sighed Spilkin as he mucked.

Pears opened [kh][qh] for top pair, but Kashyap had sprung his trap holding [ad][as]. It was all over when a third ace hit the turn to leave Pears drawing dead. He departed in 16th place to a nice round of applause from the room. Kashyap is now up to 820,000 chips.

3:22pm: Robertson falls

Angelo Hamataj opened with a raise before Blain Robertson moved all in for his last 75,000 from the big blind. Hamataj called with [ac][9h] as Robertson tabled live cards with [6c][7s]. The flop of [2s][ts][qs] gave him a real sweat as he picked up a flush draw to go with his pair outs but the [4h] turn and [5d] river bricked out. Robertson is out in 17th place for $7,890 in prize money.

3:10pm: A masterful double up

While there has been plenty of support whenever there's an all-in situation, we haven't seen the entire room pull harder than the support behind Maurie "The Master" Pears to double up. And he needed all the help he could get.

Pears has been battling with a short stack all day, and found himself all in with [6d][6c], but he ran into the [ac][ah] of Blain Robertson. The flop was a dry [qc][2h][3s] but the [4c] turn brought some murmurs as cries for a five surfaced around the room. The dealer burned and revealed the river [5h]! Ding! Fan-favourite Pears made a straight to the six for a mighty double up. He's up to 160,000.

2:55pm: Vuong Van Le takes out two

Vuong Van Le has surged up to 670,000 following a double KO that has sent our overnight chip leader crashing out of the tournament.

After Nick Wong had doubled up Liam O'Rourke just moments earlier, he found his last chips in the middle with [kd][qc] against the [as][kc] and the [qd][td] of the short-stacked Qi Xu.

The board ran out [4c][4d][8d][3c][4s] missing everyone to leave the ace-high of Le in front to rake in the monster pot. He's up to 670,000. Xu was the short stack, so he's out in 20th, while Wong will take 19th place.

We're now down to our final two tables!

2:44pm: Pettersson perishes

Jan Pettersson is out after he lost a preflop race against Maurie Pears. Pettersson held [js][9c] up against the pocket eights of Pears as the board fell [5s][5c][7h][7c][4d]. Both players were short as Pears finds some breathing room to get back to 110,000.

2:40pm: Blinds up: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante

2:32pm: Dodds storms into chip lead

We have a new chip leader and it's a familiar face.

Joel "StrongPlay" Dodds finished in third place in the ANZPT POY race last season, and final tabled this event last year, so he certainly enjoys playing on this tour. He's carried his good form from a successful trip to Vegas in the winter months, to now own a stack worth 757,000.

Most of his chips came in a recent clash with Aaron Benton. Catching the action on a flop of [9h][th][3c], Benton fired 25,000 and Dodds made the call. The turn was the [6c] and Benton fired another 50,000, with Dodds once again making the call. The river was the [7h] and both players checked it down. Benton opened [jc][td] but he was out-kicked by Dodds' [ah][tc]. Benton slips to 110,000 as Dodds is into the chip lead.

2:24pm: Tabrizi and Gilles depart

Esan Tabrizi has been eliminated in 25th place in a massive clash with overnight chip leader Nick Wong. The chips weren't in until the turn with the board reading [4c][ts][4d][6d]. Tabrizi held pocket nines for the lead but he had to avoid plenty of outs for Wong who tabled [ad][qd]. The river produced the [7d] to complete Wong's flush and eliminate Tabrizi from the tournament. Wong is now back into the chip lead with about 450,000.

Next to go was New Caledonian PokerStars qualifier Daniel Gilles. He pushed with [ah][3d] but ran into the [ad][kc] of Brad Wilson. The board fell [ks][6s][5c][tc][5s] to send Gilles home with $6,100 in prize money as Wilson jumps up to 350,000.

2:10pm: Short stacks succumb

Two of the shortest stacks in the room, belonging to Chris Chau and Anthony Grange, have lost their battle and have been eliminated from the tournament.

Chau was first to go when he pushed with [kc][6c] into the [ad][ts] of Michael Spilkin. Chau took the lead with a king on the flop, but running aces for Spilkin gave him the pot and sent Chau to the cashier.

He was soon followed by Grange who held pocket kings against the [as][tc] Vuong Van Le. An ace spiked on the turn to eliminate Grange in 26th place.

1:55pm: Two-outer keeps Rickwaa alive

Ricky "rickwaa" Kroesen has come back from the brink several times during this tournament, and he's once again pulled one out of the hat, with a big double up through Angelo Hamataj.

Kroesen was all in with pocket tens against the [ah][kh] of Hamataj and looked in desperate trouble when the flop landed [kc][kd][7s] to give Hamataj trip kings. But Kroesen found a miracle [tc] on the turn for the two-outer full house to take the lead. The river fell the [7s] and Kroesen doubled to 214,000 as Hamataj slipped to 250,000.

Also doubling up recently was Jan Pettersson. He was also racing with [ah][jh] against the pocket eights of David Steicke. The board ran out [ac][tc][9d][6s][kh] to pair up Pettersson to double to 180,000. Steicke is back to under 100,000.

1:40pm: Play resumes; Spilkin up, Silk out

Michael Spilkin is up to 141,000 after another double up. Spilkin held pocket aces against the pocket nines of Nauv Kashyap with the board running out [5s][3d][7h][5d][qh].

Danny Silk wasn't quite so fortunate. He was all in with [ac][kd] against the [ah][qh] of Vuong Van Le, and improved on the [5d][js][ks] with a pair of kings. However the [tc] on the turn gave Le a Broadway straight to leave Silk needing a queen to chop. It wasn't to be, as the [9c] hit the river and Silk was eliminated in 28th place for $4,665 in prize money.

1:30pm: Break time

Just before the break we lost Ian Parnell in 29th place. He moved all in with [ad][jc] against the [qh][kd] of Liam O'Rourke. Parnell flopped a jack on the flop of [jd][3c][8c], but the [th] turn and [9h] river gave O'Rourke a running straight to take it down and jump to 225,000. 28 players remain.

1:25pm: Here come the bustouts

Following the bubble bursting, the eliminations have come thick and fast. Chad Wairepo was first to go when he pushed with [as][4s] into the pocket kings of Nick Wong. There was no ace on board to save Wairepo and he was first to the cashier in 32nd place.

He was followed by Joe Vedelago in a rather strange hand. Blain Robertson opened with a raise before Duncan McKinnon shoved over the top. Vedelago also committed his stack to put Robertson in the tank. He eventually decided to fold pocket kings face up, but it was the wrong decision as McKinnon showed [as][qh] and Vedelago held pocket jacks. The board fell [qh][6d][6s][tc][9h] to send Vedelago to the rail thanks to a relieved Duncan McKinnon.

John Maklouf was next to go as his quest for four consecutive final tables just came up a little short. He was all in with pocket queens against the ace-king of James Davey. A king on the flop was enough to end Maklouf's run in this tournament, but he's done enough to claim the lead in the ANZPT Player of the Year race.

As a side note, Aaron Benton and Michael Spilkin can jump to as high as third in the POY race with victory here, while Angelo Hamataj can climb to as high as fourth.

1:10pm: Two all ins, one elimination as Mark James bubbles

The bubble has burst in rather dramatic fashion, with two all ins on different tables, resulting in just one elimination.

Mark James was first to move his stack all in with Maurie Pears making the call. As per ANZPT rules, neither players revealed their cards until action had completed on all other tables. Most players will generally fold very quickly knowing that there is an all in on another table on the bubble, but not Michael Spilkin, who decided that he would also move all in against the raise of Nauv Kashyap. The chips were cut down and it was determined that Spilkin was the shortest stack of the all-in players, so the James/Pears duel was resolved first.

James opened [ad][9d] and Pears showed a dominant [ac][jc]. The flop brought a potential chop but the final board was [ks][kd][5h][3s][kh] to eliminate James and leave him to sweat the action in the Spilkin/Kashyap hand.

The crowd gathered around as Spilkin showed ace-jack against Kashyap's queen-three. The board ran out [7h][2h][5c][js][3s] and Spilkin survived to double up to 85,000, leaving Mark James as our bubble boy!

12:55pm: Stories on the bubble

There are a couple of nice stories emerging once this bubble bursts.

Firstly John Maklouf will claim the ANZPT Player of the Year lead if he cashes in this tournament. With three consecutive final tables, and four consecutive cashes, he has been a model of consistency this year and will be tough to pass at the top of the leaderboard in the home stretch of this tour. Of course, the question remains how far will he be able to stretch his lead?

Other players still alive who are prominent in the ANZPT POY rankings are Michael Spilkin, Aaron Benton, Angelo Hamataj and Ricky Kroesen who will all move up towards the top of the leaderboard with another cash here.

The other story lays with Maurie "The Master" Pears. A member of the Australian Poker Hall of Fame and considered the Godfather of Australian poker, Pears will claim the record, according to ANZPT Commissioner Danny McDonagh, as the oldest player to cash at an ANZPT event if he can survive one more elimination.

12:45pm: Kittos bubbles the bubble

We're now officially on the money bubble following the elimination of Chris Kittos.

Kittos was short-stacked overnight and blinded down to his last 10,000 before putting them into the middle with [ac][kh]. He was up against the pocket fives of Chris Chau but Kittos couldn't connect with the board of [9h][4s][8s][4c][js].

With that elimination we're now hand-for-hand across all tables. One player will feel the pain of going home empty-handed after three days of work on the Gold Coast, while the remaining 32 players will have 4,665 reasons to celebrate.

12:30pm: Blinds up: 3,000-6,000, with 500 ante

12:28pm: Doubling for survival

It's been a rather frantic start to the day with eight eliminations in the first level of the day, putting us just two spots away from the money. While the short stacks have struggled to survive today, we've just had a couple of notable double ups.

Joe Vedelago has found a double up when his [ah][th] was able to improve against the pocket sixes of Michael Spilkin as the board fell [as][7d][kh][5d][kc].

Luke Edwards also doubled up when he moved all in with pocket queens against the [as][7c] of Adam Cameron. The board landed [ah][6c][qd][8d][9h] to give Edwards a set and the pot to move up to 170,000.

12:24pm: Two more miss the money

Robert Caccato is out after he moved all in with [ks][js] but found himself dominated by the [ah][kc] of Danny Silk. The board ran out [7c][4d][2c][kd][9d] to send Caccato to the rail as Silk moves up to 180,000.

Joining him on the rail is Jimmy Ghobrial after he shoved [ah][qs] but ran into the pocket kings of David Steicke. The board was spread [th][2h][2d][jc][qh] and Ghobrial is gone as 34 players remain.

12:15pm: Allan runs into the rockets

Dave Allan has been eliminated when he ran his [ad][kh] into the [as][ac] of Blair Robertson. There were no miracles for Allan as the board bricked out [4s][2s][qh][9s][3s]. Robertson has recovered well this morning to now be up over 200,000.

While most of the short stacks haven't had much luck so far today, one short stack who managed to find a double up was Ian Parnell. He moved his last 35,000 into the middle with [9s][9s] and was called by Liam O'Rourke's [ad][9c]. Parnell avoided an ace on board to give himself a bit of breathing room as he's back to around 73,000.

12:00pm: Maklouf crushes Kazonis

John Maklouf is heading towards another cash result after the elimination of Christos Kazonis. The chips went into the middle on a flop of [js][9s][4h] with Kazonis holding [ac][jc] for top pair, top kicker, but Maklouf tabled [jd][9d] for top two pair. The [9h] turn improved Maklouf to a full house before the [6h] bricked the river.

Maklouf is now up to 205,000 chips.

11:53am: Dzian done

We've lost another one. Daniel Dzian pushed his short stack with [qd][tc] but ran into the [kc][kh] of Trevor Wills. The board fell [9c][as][2s][7d][7s] to eliminate Dzian from the tournament. 38 players remain.

11:45am: Gray gone

It won't be three final tables in a row for ANZPT Canberra champion Jason Gray.
Gray only had one bullet left to fire this morning, as he committed his short stack with [8s][8h] but he ran into Ricky Kroesen's [qs][qd].

The flop was ugly for Gray when it landed [ks][td][qh] but he picked up chop outs on the [js] turn. However the river bricked the [3s] to send Gray to the rail as Kroesen gets himself back into contention.

The buck stops here

A few days ago we mentioned how the button is known as the "Buck" here in Queensland, and no one seemed to really know why.

Well, we may have an answer for you, thanks to a man who has seen it all in Queensland. After reading our report, Maurie Pears offered the following explanation:

"In Harry Truman's memoirs it was mentioned that he had a motto on his desk 'The buck stops here' meaning he has to carry the ball and take all the major decisions. He has to make it for everyone else. So it was derived that the dealer's button refers to the one who need to make the decisions, hence the name 'buck'."

They don't call him "The Master" for nothing!

11:35am: It's not Wayne's world

Well that didn't take long. We've had our first elimination of the day when Wayne Hockey shoved his short stack in a blind-on-blind battle against David Steicke and came off second best.

He was soon followed by Wayne Dever who pushed his last 37,000 with [ac][jh] but was called by the [ad][kh] of Dominic Coombe. The board ran out [qs][9s][4c][2d][ah] and Dever headed to the rail.

11:30am: It's go time!

The players found their way to their new seats as Jupiters Poker Room manager Martin Coughlan has gave the official word for the dealers to shuffle up and deal.

It was a nervous night for 42 people on the Gold Coast last evening. Some would've slept better than others. But some would've had a restless night as they think of a strategy to avoid being one of the ten casualties on day three of play that will go home with nothing but a story to tell the folks back home.

Welcome back to Jupiters Hotel and Casino for our continued coverage of the 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event. It's going to be an exciting, and likely abbreviated, day as our goal is to first burst that pesky bubble and then form our final table of nine. Only 32 players are going to profit so the early stages of play today are sure to provide us with some interesting, and potentially heart-breaking moments.

While the short stacks will be anxiously watching each other like hawks, there are a few big stacks in the room that will no doubt be looking to press their advantage as the bubble approaches. Bubble play is a crucial period for tournament success, and our chip leaders will be doing everything they can to pressure those keen to sneak into the money.

Of course they come no bigger than the stack of Hong Kong's Nick Wong, who lit up the Jupiters Poker Room late yesterday with a lucky river and a massive pot to claim the overnight chip lead with 376,500 in chips. Others in our top five include Nauv Kashyap, day one chip leader Darko Balaban, PokerStars sponsored Aaron Benton and young gun Liam O'Rourke.

Join us as the cards will be in the air at 11:30am local time as the 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event continues.

It was a nervous night for 42 people on the Gold Coast last evening. Some would've slept better than others. But some would've had a restless night as they think of a strategy to avoid being one of the ten casualties on day three of play that will go home with nothing but a story to tell the folks back home.

Welcome back to Jupiters Hotel and Casino for our continued coverage of the 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event. It's going to be an exciting, and likely abbreviated, day as our goal is to first burst that pesky bubble and then form our final table of nine. Only 32 players are going to profit so the early stages of play today are sure to provide us with some interesting, and potentially heart-breaking moments.

While the short stacks will be anxiously watching each other like hawks, there are a few big stacks in the room that will no doubt be looking to press their advantage as the bubble approaches. Bubble play is a crucial period for tournament success, and our chip leaders will be doing everything they can to pressure those keen to sneak into the money.

Of course they come no bigger than the stack of Hong Kong's Nick Wong, who lit up the Jupiters Poker Room late yesterday with a lucky river and a massive pot to claim the overnight chip lead with 376,500 in chips. Others in our top five include Nauv Kashyap, day one chip leader Darko Balaban, young gun Liam O'Rourke and PokerStars sponsored Aaron Benton.

Benton has had a stellar year after his breakthrough live victory at the season-ending APPT Grand Final in Sydney last December. Benton cashed at the ANZPT in Perth, before reaching the final table at the ANZPT Canberra for another $12,000. He then headed over to take on the world at the WSOP before returning to collect a win and a runner-up result in side events at the ANZPT in Queenstown.

His form also extends beyond the ANZPT after collecting a 3rd place finish in a pro-am event last weekend in Sydney worth another $55,000.

Benton will be one to watch early as his big stack and aggressive style will be relentless on the short stacks, as he eyes off another ANZPT final table berth.

Join us as the cards will be in the air at 11:30am local time as the 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event continues.

Poker players can be a strangely superstitious lot. Many own a lucky card protector, some wear their lucky cap at every event, while some players have been known to re-wear the same clothes over and over for the duration of the tournament to avoid the wrath of lady luck.

If there's ever a day where those superstitions make any sense, it would have to be today, Friday the 13th. Some players had to avoid walking under ladders or crossing a black cat on their way to the casino today, but it didn't do much good for the 90 players who met their demise during Day 2 of the ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event.

It was fitting on Friday the 13th, that a man named "Darko" was our runaway chip leader to start the day. However his lead soon evaporated as the peloton soaked up the advantage, led by Ricky Kroesen and George Moussa.

Both managed to tease the chip lead as they cracked 200,000 in the early goings, but both would hit hurdles later in the day. Kroesen managed to recover and survive the day on a short stack, but Moussa fell chasing another big pot when his nut flush draw failed to deliver.

We lost our defending champion in Scott Kerr as well as the most recent ANZPT champion in Julian Cohen. However the big elimination of the day was undoubtedly the fall of ANZPT Player of the Year points leader Tony Hachem. His POY lead is now under threat for the first time this year after he ran his pocket jacks into the pocket queens of JP Yahn. It's the second consecutive year that Hachem has missed out on points up north, and he may rue the missed opportunity if his nearest rival, John Maklouf, manages to reach the money tomorrow.

While young guns Dave Allan (123,500), Liam O'Rourke (227,000), Dominic Coombe (114,000) and Joel Dodds (217,500) all had moments towards the top, the big story of the day was with Hong Kong's Nick Wong.

Wong started his surge when his pocket queens cracked the pocket aces of Tom Grigg. He jumped to the chip lead and maintained that advantage for most of the afternoon, before ending the day with a bang with the largest pot of the tournament.

It was Wong's king-queen up against Nuno Da Silva's queen-ten on a flop of [ts][jd][qc]. The turn bricked but Wong spiked a king on the river to make a bigger two pair to cement his place as the man to catch on Day 3 with 376,500 chips.

But Wong won't have it easy as there's plenty of quality still in this field including 2009 APPT Sydney winner and PokerStars sponsored Aaron Benton (271,000), David Steicke (170,000), ANZPT Sydney champion Angelo Hamataj (153,000), John Maklouf (129,500), Michael Spilkin (122,500), Australian Poker Hall of Famer Maurie "The Master" Pears (72,500) and ANZPT Canberra champion Jason Gray (49,000).

Play will recommence at 11:30am local time tomorrow as we burst the money bubble and head towards our ANZPT Gold Coast final table. We look forward to your company then!

Day 3 Table Draw

Table 5
Seat 1: John Maklouf - 129,500
Seat 2: James Davey - 179,500
Seat 3: Aaron Benton  - 271,000
Seat 4: Nicholas Wong - 376,500
Seat 6: Joel Dodds  - 217,500
Seat 7: Chad Wairepo - 133,000
Seat 8: Christos Kazonis - 74,500
Seat 9: Jan Pettersson - 168,000

Table 6
Seat 1: Michael Spilkin - 122,500
Seat 2: David Allan  - 123,500
Seat 4: Blain Robertson - 72,500
Seat 5: Dominic Coombe - 114,000
Seat 6: Duncan Mckinnon - 192,000
Seat 7: Nauvneel Kashyap - 323,000
Seat 8: Wayne Dever  - 38,000
Seat 9: Christopher Chau - 48,000

Table 7
Seat 1: Wayne Hockey - 27,500
Seat 2: David Steicke - 170,000
Seat 3: Anthony Grange - 62,000
Seat 4: Adam Cameron - 160,500
Seat 6: Luke Edwards  - 123,000
Seat 7: Angelo Hamataj - 153,000
Seat 8: Mark James - 103,000
Seat 9: Maurie Pears - 72,500

Table 8
Seat 1: Qi Xu - 122,500
Seat 2: Brad Wilson - 173,500
Seat 3: Danny Silk  - 133,000
Seat 4: Daniel Dzian - 71,000
Seat 5: Daniel Gilles - 122,500
Seat 6: Robert Ceccato - 24,500
Seat 7: Joe Vedelago - 86,000
Seat 8: Vuong Van Le - 139,500
Seat 9: Trevor Wills - 123,000

Table 9
Seat 1: Sheldon Mayer - 182,000
Seat 2: Ricky Kroesen  - 37,500
Seat 3: Esan Tabrizi  - 166,000
Seat 4: Chris Kittos - 44,000
Seat 5: Jimmy Ghobrial - 102,500
Seat 6: Liam O'rourke  - 227,000
Seat 7: Ian Parnell  - 41,000
Seat 8: Jason Gray - 49,000
Seat 9: Darko Balaban  - 290,000

5:50pm: Break

The players are now taking their last ten-minute break of the day. When they return, we'll play just one more level before we call it a night.

5:38pm: Steicke takes out Watson

Andrew Watson won't be able to replicate his runner-up finish in Queenstown as he's just been eliminated from the ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event. Watson moved his last 36,000 in preflop with [ks][td] but David Steicke woke up in the small blind with [qh][qd] and insta-called. The board ran out [ah][4c][th][8s][Qc] to give Steicke a set and send Watson crashing from the tournament. Steicke is up to 180,000.

5:28pm: Easy Tabrizi

We arrived at the table of Esan Tabrizi to see a rather brutal flop sitting in between Tabrizi and his opponent, Italian Carlo Graziano. The board read [2s][3s][5h] and Graziano had flopped a set of deuces with [2h][2c] but Tabrizi showed [ad][4d] for the flopped straight!

The turn was the [7c] and river the [ac] to leave the straight of Tabrizi in front for the double up. He's up to 200,000 with Graziano down to just 30,000.

5:15pm: 20 to go

Play has started to grind to a halt as players have one eye on the "Players Remaining" figure on the tournament clocks around the room. With just 32 players finishing in the money, 20 of our remaining 52 players are going to go home unhappy. It's likely that this slow pace will continue until the blinds start to put a bit more pressure on the short stacks around the room.

5:09pm: Kroesen living dangerously

"I just had a heart attack!" said Ricky Kroesen to us as he passed our blogging desk on the way to the sandwich buffet. He was referring to the following hand that nearly led to his downfall.

Kroesen opened to 8,000 before Damien Bennett put in a three-bet. Kroesen four-bet jammed and Bennett snap-called with [kh][kd]. Kroesen showed [as][kc] but managed to spike an ace on the board of [8s][ah][7h][6h][7s] to climb back up to 124,000.

4:50pm: Blinds up: 1,500-3,000 with 300 ante

4:44pm: A rose among the thorns

We have one lone female left standing in the field in local player Rhonda Whitford.

Whitford started out with just 5,525 in chips but has managed to fight her way back into contention.

"I've survived about seven all ins already today!" said Whitford as she has worked back to a stack of 33,000. She's still short, but is now within sight of the money with 53 players remaining.

4:40pm: Coombe takes out Aristidou

The hot streak of Peter Aristidou has come to an end as he was unable to make it third time lucky. Aristidou raised from the small blind, with Coombe re-raising from the big blind. Aristidou called, and then check-raised all in on the [5d][6c][3d]. Coombe made the call with pocket queens as Aristidou was in trouble with his pocket jacks. The turn was the [6s] and river the [3h] to eliminate Aristidou from the tournament.

Coombe is a quiet achiever who flies under the radar in live tournaments, but that may quickly change if he carries his momentum to a deep run in this event. Known as "The Spewtard" online, Coombe has an impressive online resume with two triple crowns to his credit. He's now up to 225,000 and definitely one to watch.

4:24pm: Revenge of the short stacks

The short stacks are fighting back, with several recent double ups. Liam O'Rourke doubled up to 80,000 after flopping two pair holding [jc][tc] on a board of [jd][td][3d][9h][3s] against the [ad][qc] of Nick Hronis.

Luke Edwards also doubled to 80,000 when his pocket kings held against an opponent's ace-jack on a board of [2h][5h][7s][ts][9d].

Finally, it was Peter Aristidou's turn when he once again received some help from lady luck when his pocket queens spiked a set to double up through Jimmy Ghobrial's pocket kings. Aristidou is up to 88,000.

4:05pm: Tony Hachem eliminated

The tournament has ended for PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem. He opened from early position to 6,700 before JP Yahn popped it to 25,000 from the big blind. Hachem moved all in for his last 65,000 and Yahn made the call, tabling pocket queens to have Hachem in trouble with his pocket jacks. The board ran out 8-T-T-5-A and Hachem made a disappointed walk from the poker room.

Hachem's elimination now opens the door for John Maklouf to potentially take the lead in the ANZPT Player of the Year race.

3:55pm: Double deuce for Aristidou

Peter Aristidou has doubled up, thanks to a fortunate river. He committed his last 25,000 chips with [ah][2d] and was called in the big blind by Nick Wong holding [ac][js]. All was calm until a deuce fell on the river to give Aristidou the three-outer for the double up to 50,000.

3:50pm: Play resumes; Cohen busts

The players are back in action following the break, but Julian Cohen didn't stick around for long after he was just eliminated from the tournament. Action folded around to Cohen in the small blind who moved all in with his short stack holding nine-ten. The big blind made the call with a dominant jack-ten and the board bricked out, to eliminate the ANZPT Queenstown champion.

There are 64 players remaining.

3:40pm: Ten-minute break

3:35pm: Kittos doubles

Chris Kittos was all in for his tournament life with [7c][7h] against the [as][qh] of Wayne Hockey. The race was short-lived as Kittos spiked a set on the board of [7d][8c][9h][8h][5s] to double up to 45,000.

3:25pm: Moussa crashes and burns

It wasn't long ago that we were writing about George Moussa commanding a 200,000-chip stack. Well, it's now gone. All of it. He was left with about 75,000 which he committed in a three-way pot on a flop of [kd][qd][9s]. With two players all in, Moussa chirped, "How can I fold?" before splashing his last chips into the pot.
Moussa held [ad][3d] for the nut flush draw as both opponents opened king-queen. The turn was the [3c] and river the [5c] to brick out and send Moussa to the exit.

3:10pm: Moffo gets caught

Liam Moffett is the latest casualty after making a move on a flop of [ah][9c][6s] against Christos Kazonis. Moffett held [jh][qc] and wasn't happy when Kazonis made the call with [ad][th]. The turn was the [7d] and river a repeat [ac] to leave Moffett to depart the poker room. Kazonis is up to 47,000.

2:55pm: Allan doubles through Kroesen

Ricky Kroesen continues to find big cards, but unfortunately for him this time they led him astray as Dave Allan doubled up in a massive clash.

It was Kroesen's [qd][qs] up against Allan's [ah][kh] with all the chips in preflop. The flop was a safe [2h][tc][9s] but the [ks] turn and [ad] river both hit Allan as he doubled to 207,000 to leave Kroesen back in the pack with 80,000.

2:48pm: Bower banished

Brad Bower's tournament is over after he lost a race for his tournament life. It was Bower's [5d][5c] against the [ad][8d] of Peter Aristidou which improved on the board of [as][jc][6c][3c][ks]. Aristidou is up to 46,000.

Michael Spilkin is also on the charge after flopping a full house with pocket tens. He's up to 160,000.

2:40pm: Blinds up: 1,000-2,000 with 200 ante

2:26pm: More chips Dodds and Kroesen

Joel Dodds has eliminated another player when his [qc][qs] were up against [tc][ts] with all the chips in preflop. The board ran out [ah][5h][4c][7s][8d] as Dodds jumps up to 108,000.

Ricky Kroesen also recently eliminated another player. Kroesen recalled to us that he'd lost a couple of sizable pots to drop back into the pack, but he righted the ship when his [as][kh] held against an opponent's [ac][qd] on a 2-5-7-8-5 board. Kroesen sits just under 200,000.

2:14pm: Steicke power

In a three-bet pot, Tommy Vo and David Steicke went to a flop of [jh][4c][6h]. Steicked checked it over to Vo who shoved all in. Steicke deliberated before deciding to make a gambling call with [8h][7h] for flush and straight possibilities as Vo tabled pocket tens.

The turn bricked the [ac] but the river was the [5h] to give Steicke a flush and eliminate Vo from the tournament. Steicke has built up plenty of experience, and results, in his short time in poker and he even ventured into the depths of the $50,000 buy-in Player's Championship at this year's WSOP. With chips in hand, his aggressive style is tailor-made to reach final tables. He is yet to make an impression on the ANZPT tour, but perhaps this is his event, as he's now up to 135,000.

2:04pm: Crocky and Colman say goodbye

We've lost of a couple of Australian poker stalwarts as Billy "The Croc" Argyros and Julius Colman have both lost their battles with their short stacks.

Colman committed his last chips with pocket tens but ran into pocket jacks, while Argyros held the best hand with ace-king against two opponents with ace-jack and ace-ten, but a jack on the river was not what Argyros wanted to see as his tournament came to an end.

1:48pm: Grigg gone as Wong soars into chip lead

We have a new chip leader and his name is Nick Wong. Just following the break, Wong and Tom Grigg played out a monster pot that shot Wong into the chip lead, and Grigg to the rail.

All the chips were in preflop with Grigg holding pocket aces against Wong's pocket queens, however Wong spiked another lady on the turn to take it down and jump up to a massive 285,000.

1:40pm: Play resumes

The players have stretched their legs and grabbed a quick smoke, before returning to their seats to continue the battle. It was a pretty rapid first two levels as our field was reduced by 42 players - over a third of the field. Darko Balaban has managed to increase his stack to maintain the chip lead, but the margin has been reduced drastically as Ricky Kroesen and George Moussa are now lurking close behind.

Our two ANZPT Player of the Year contenders in Tony Hachem and John Maklouf also both managed to increase their stacks nicely during the last session as both sit with around 75,000 chips.

1:30pm: Break

1:22pm: Gray climbing

ANZPT Canberra champion Jason Gray is on the move after coming into the day with a below average stack. He got his day going when his [jd][js] held up against Koudai Suzuki's [tc][th] when the board was spread [6s][kh][9s][4s][5h].

Arguably Australia's most consistent player of the last decade, Gray is heading towards another cash result on the Gold Coast as he chips up to 69,000.

1:16pm: Moussa quads up

George Moussa has a habit of building a big stack, and he's done it again after making quads to eliminate Yoani Kobangui. It was Moussa's pocket kings up against the ace-queen of Kobangui with all the chips in preflop. A queen on the flop was followed by running kings to give Moussa quads and a stack of 203,000.

1:10pm: Defending champ KO'd

We'll have a new champion here on the Gold Coast after the recent elimination of Scott Kerr. His last stance came on a flop of 6-2-2 as Kerr went with pocket fours but Matthew Pilat had him in trouble with pocket sevens. Kerr couldn't find a four on the turn or river and he was sent to the rail.

Another on the rail is PokerStars sponsored player Sally Snow. She got her last chips in with ace-queen but ran into the white-hot Ricky Kroesen who held pocket aces. There was no miracles for Snow and she was eliminated.

Moving in the other direction is Tom Grigg who is now up to 133,000 after the recent elimination of Richard Harrison. Grigg held [ad][kd] and was in dominant shape against Harrison's [kh][qc] as the board ran out [ac][5d][2d][7c][6d].

12:56pm: No love for big pairs

Michael Spilkin is continuing to gain momentum as he's just eliminated Brad Lynch. Lynch held pocket kings on the 5-8-9 flop as the chips went in against Spilkin's 7-8 for pair and straight draw. The turn was a repeat 8 and the river a 7 to improve Spilkin to a full house. He's up to 83,000.

Another big pair to fall was held by Bodo Sbrzensny when his pocket queens were all in preflop against the [ac][kc] of Speros Stramarcos.

"Oh no!" sighed Stramarcos when he saw he was up against Sbrzensny's queens and it got worse when the flop landed [5c][kd][qh] to give Sbrzensny a set. However the [jc] turn and [ts] river gave Stramarcos a running straight to take the pot and eliminate Sbrzensny.

12:45pm: Huge pot for Rickwaa

PokerStars qualifier Ricky "Rickwaa" Kroesen is one of the most promising young players in Queensland, with an impressive online career as he looks to make his mark on the live circuit in his home state.

He's just landed a massive three-way pot to jump up towards the top of our chip count leaderboard.

Kroesen held [ks][kc], Kris Cunz tabled [ah][kd] while Ron Beggs would need a lot of help with his [ad][js]. Kroesen extended his advantage on the [kh][3s][8c] flop, and filled up on the [5d] turn and [5s] river.

A double KO for Kroesen as he climbs to a massive 195,000 chips.

12:38pm: Steicke slips

David Steicke has a knack for accumulating chips as he's motored along so far today, but he's just hit a small road block after doubling up Adam Cameron. They were all in on a flop of [8d][9d][4h] with Steicke going with [7s][tc] for an open-ended straight draw against the [qd][qc] of Cameron.

The turn was the [3c] and river the [kd] to double Cameron to 70,000. Steicke is still comfortable with 78,000.

12:30: Blinds up: 600-1,200 with 100 ante

12:28pm: Karma is a bitch

Well, Jack Drake's good luck certainly turned around in a hurry. His final hand saw him move all in with pocket aces on a flop of [kc][5h][9h]. The only problem was that Jimmy Ghobrial had flopped a set with his pocket nines. The [tc] turn and [3h] river didn't provide Drake with a third ace and he was bundled out of the tournament. Ghobrial is up to 120,000.

Others who also recently departed the poker room for sunnier surrounds include Jai Kemp and Michael Pedley.

12:12pm: Champ takes a body blow

The defending champ has just taken a hit after making a big call on a flop of [ad][9d][7s]. Matthew Pilat had moved all in, with Kerr tanking and then calling with [as][jh] for top pair. However Pilat opened [ac][9h] for top two to leave Kerr in need of some help. The turn was the [6c] and river the [4c] to give Pilat a big double up to 95,000 as Kerr slips to 34,000.

12:02pm: An ugly one for Cerone

Tournament poker requires you to move your chips. You can't just sit on your hands as the blinds and antes increase and hope to survive. At least, that's the logic that Jack Drake is using to try and explain his devastating elimination of Tony Cerone.

When action folded to Drake in late position, he moved all in with just [2s][3s] to try and steal the blinds and antes but Cerone woke up in the big blind with pocket eights and made the call. Cerone was in a dominant position to double up but the poker Gods unleashed a cruel flop of [3d][kh][3c] to give Drake trips. The turn was the [kc] and the river the [5h] as Drake now sits behind 37,000 as Cerone goes home with a bad beat story to tell.

11:55am: Chips are flying early

"There's been eight all ins on my table already!" laughed Michael Spilkin after he recalled to us a hand where he held pocket aces and eliminated an opponent who held queen-ten.

"I've gone from 6,500 in the final level last night, to now have 80,000!" he continued.

Another off to a good start this morning is Alex Lynsky after eliminating Dominique Gerson. It was Lynsky's [ad][9c] up against the [qh][th] of Gerson as the board ran out [ac][2s][4s][td][4c].

Joining him on the rail is Brett Petersen who ran his pocket tens into the pocket kings of Chad Wairepo. Petersen actually spiked a ten on the turn, but it was too late as Wairepo also spiked a set on the flop. Wairepo is up to 54,000.

11:40am: Everyone's a winner

Rather than the usual "bag and tag" process adopted by the majority of casinos around the world, Jupiters Poker Room instead have players sign for the number of chips in their stack at the end of the day's play. All chips are then locked away overnight, before tournament staff cut out the correct stack sizes for each player this morning.

While it sounds like a lot of effort, there are some advantages to this method. Overnight all of the green 25-denomination chips have been coloured up, which means there are no hassles or time delays with racking up green chips and colouring up during play. There's also no need for a race off of the leftover greens.

"Everyone's a winner already today, " announced Jupiters Poker Room manager Martin Coughlan as he explained that everyone's stack had been rounded up to the nearest one hundred.

11:30am: Shuffle up and deal!

The 132 survivors of the day one action have returned to the Jupiters Poker Room, keen to make an impression today. They've taken their seats as Jupiters Poker Room manager Martin Coughlan welcomed the players and gave instructions to the dealers to "Shuffle up and Deal!"

We'll be playing seven levels today. That should tease us with the money stage but most likely the bubble won't burst on our final 32 players until tomorrow.

The Gold Coast is renowned for being a fun, family holiday destination with its expansive beaches, sports activities and of course, the theme parks. There's six of them sprinkled only a short drive from Surfers Paradise and many poker players were heard to be enjoying themselves yesterday on the thrills of "The Cyclone", "Wipeout", "The Claw", "The Giant Drop" and "Tower of Terror".

A poker tournament is much like a roller coaster ride and it's an analogy that we often use in our reports. The ride usually starts off pretty comfortably to lure you into a false sense of security, before a savage drop gets your heart racing. It's followed by an equally abrupt rise. It swings left, it swings right. Up and down again. Suddenly you're hanging on for dear life wondering how you'll survive, before you fly through three "loop-de-loops" for the ultimate rush. You're praying for it to all be over when, before you know it, the ride comes screeching to a halt. You made it. You're heart is beating, the adrenalin is pumping, you're feeling a bit nauseous and a beat of sweat drops from your brow. It's an amazing buzz to have survived and you can't wait to do it all over again.

Today 132 players will be fastening their safety belts for another ride on the ANZPT Gold Coast roller coaster. It's going to be seven levels of highs and lows for our players as their goal is to simply survive the ride. If they do make it through the day, we expect they will be within a breath of the money, but it's likely that the bubble won't burst until tomorrow.

Our front runner is Darko Balaban who holds a massive chip lead entering today's play. Balaban is an easy man to spot, with his name tattooed impressively on his right arm and dark shades to provide an intimidating presence at the table. The chips flowed freely to him yesterday, but can he carry that momentum into today's play?

There are plenty of sharks still lurking in the field, including PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem, Aaron Benton, Julian Cohen, Joel Dodds, Scott Kerr, Andrew Watson, Billy Argyros, Tom Grigg and David Steicke. Today will be mover's day with the cream expected to rise to the top, and the pretenders pushed to the side.

Please remove all loose items from your pockets, hold on to your hats and buckle up tight, as we let fly on another wild ride from 11:30am local time. See you then!

It was a day that brought with it a lot of expectations. And after eight levels of frantic action, you would have to say that those expectations were met. Last night we knew we were in for a big day as the whispers surfaced of a likely capacity field. The "full house" sign was out very early this morning as the Jupiters Poker Room was jumping when Day 1B of the ANZPT Gold Coast Main Event got underway.

150 players, including ten alternates, hit the felt and the rapid rate of eliminations saw us end the day with just 63 survivors. Along the way we lost several big names with Andrew Scarf, John Caridad, Tyron Krost, Brendan Rubie, Donna Ciric, Jamie Pickering and Mike Ivin all failing to make it through the day.

It seemed that the circulation of chips ended with one man - PokerStars qualifier Darko Balaban. After accumulating quietly in the early stages of play, Balaban kicked it up a gear in the second half of the day with some aggressive play, big hands and favourable boards that saw his stack balloon to epic proportions. At the start of the day we wondered if we'd get someone to six figures today. Well, Balaban smashed that number and will enter day two as an overwhelming chip leader with 203,150 chips.

Nick Wong (124,025) was the only other player to reach six figures, while Anthony Grange (90,725), Danny Silk (82,400) and Mark James (82,250) rounded out the top five from today's field.

It was also a solid day on the felt for PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem. After chipping up in the first level of play with pocket aces against an opponent's pocket queens, Hachem carried that momentum throughout the day to bag up a solid 58,150. With the ANZPT Player of the Year race heating up, Hachem found himself seated on the very same table as John Maklouf who is going for an unprecedented fourth ANZPT final table in a row. The two points leaders were able to keep a close eye on each other's progress and Maklouf will be content after finishing the day with 50,700.

Other PokerStars sponsored players also had good days on the felt with 2009 APPT Sydney champion Aaron Benton bagging up 57,700, 2009 ANZPT Melbourne champion Chris Levick surviving a tough day to end with 56,475 and Sally Snow finding some late "run good" to end the day at her high point of 49,275.

Some of the other notables to survive include Peter Aristidou (61,500), Chris Kittos (55,400), Angelo Hamataj (48,700), David Steicke (45,650), Sheldon (41,250), Michael Spilkin (41,050), Jason Gray (23,200), Raj Ramakrishnan (20,800), Billy Argyros (18,225) and Karl Krautschneider (2,500).

The 63 survivors will join the 69 who made it through Day1A as play recommences at 11:30am tomorrow for Day 2 of the 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast. It should be a cracking day of poker, so make sure you don't miss a moment and keep your browser locked on the PokerStarsBlog for our live and exclusive coverage!