2020 Aussie Millions kicks off, Crown Resorts donates big

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The Australian outlasted a field of 1,665 during a span of six days, to become the first champion of this year's series.

"...just to whack it off out of like 1,600 people is...you have to get pretty lucky. And for that to be my first event is outrageous."

The first event of the 2020 Aussie Millions is in the books, with Australian Jo Snell coming out on top of the 1,665-entry strong field, which earned him A$341,325 and the prestigious ANTON Jewellery Championship Ring.

Opening Event Final Table Results

Place Player Payout (AUD) Payout (USD)
1 Jo Snell $341,325 $235,514
2 Samuel Jeffries $210,775 $145,435
3 Jonathan Karamalikis $125,445 $86,557
4 Michael Egan $90,625 $62,531
5 Jungwoon An $61,450 $42,401
6 Ryan Henry $44,375 $30,619
7 Egor Bulychev $37,550 $25,910
8 Sohrab Rezvanpour $32,425 $22,373
9 Bo Jin $27,315 $18,847
10 Andrew Shanahan $20,825 $14,369

The champion later told the reporters, that he "wasn't trying to pay jump or anything. When I got to the final table I was annoyed because I had a decent stack, with the two big stacks to my left. I was pretty handcuffed, so I really thought once the draw came out it was going to be really tough to do well."

However, despite the unlucky seat-draw, Jo managed to maneuver himself through the final table and found himself heads-up for the title. A very fortunate hand for him rewarded him with a massive lead when he got pocket kings against the pocket queens of runner-up Sohrab Rezvanpour. He was able to close out the tournament and added an Aussie Millions title to his name, after several cashes in the Australian Poker Tour.

Crown Resorts' generous donation

The whole world is in shock at the images of the terrible biggest-ever bushfire in Australia. The damages are invaluable and many people lost their homes in the past days. Home of the Aussie Millions, Crown Resorts announced, they donate a total of $5 million to help those in need, with the following details.

Cause Amount Pledged (AUD) Link
NSW Rural Fire Service $1,000,000 Donate
Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) $1,000,000 Donate
Western Australia Bush Fire Brigade (BFB) $500,000 Donate
Australian Red Cross $500,000 Donate
Victorian Government fund in conjunction with Bendigo Bank and the Salvation Army $1,000,000 Donate
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), Zoos Victoria $1,000,000 Donate

Chair of the Crown Resorts, The Hon Helen Coonan said: "We are incredibly thankful for the hard work and sacrifice of our nation's firefighters, emergency services and charitable organisations.

"We encourage all Australians to give generously to assist those that have lost their homes and livelihoods, and to support our wildlife and firefighters risking their lives in the field."