In what can best be described as a surreal poker experience, the 2011 Aussie Millions contest came to a thrilling conclusion. Of all the players – and the competition was fearsome – it was the local lad David Gorr who triumphed. 68 year-old Gorr, a Melbourne native outplayed a field of some 721 players to win this coveted tournament. And his reward will resonate the world over – an AUD$2 million for 1st place. And the accolades accompanying such a feat will include massive publicity, celebrity appearances and sponsorship deals aplenty.

The man behind the millions is already the proud grandfather of 5 and what better way to kick off 2011 than with millions of dollars in prize money. The contest inspired a massive turnout with the Top 8 players claiming massive poker pots for their stellar efforts. Here’s the final table standing and prize money that was recorded:
1. David Gorr won AUD$2 million
2. James Keys won AUD$1,035,000
3. Jeff Rossiter won AUD$700,000
4. Michael Ryan won AUD$450,000
5. Randy Dorfman won AUD$325,000
6. Samad Razavi won AUD$225,000
7. Chris Moorman won AUD$175,000
8. Patrik Antonius won AUD$138,000

Two days of play are in the books at the Southern Poker Championship, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). From a starting grid of 214 players, a total of 66 remain. Kevin Elias paces the survivors with a stack of 229,900, while brand name poker pros like Lee Markholt and Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith are hot on his heels.

Among those zooming upward late in the day on Monday at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi was Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. The Victory Poker pro came out on the winning end of a race with A-J against Jean “Prince” Gaspard‘s pocket nines when the board came 7-5-4-3-J. A jack on the river saved Little’s tournament life and he moved to 61,000 in chips. The former WPT Player of the Year ended the day at 63,600.

Brent “Astrolux85” Roberts could not survive Day 2 on Monday. The RPM Poker pro met his demise in especially brutal fashion, as his A-K offsuit fell to Timothy “highland” Finne’s A-K offsuit. Roberts Tweeted, “Just lost A-K to A-K aipf for 40bb each… I’m sad.” Finne shared his side of the story through the Twitter: “Busted B Roberts A-Ko to A-Ko. He was favorite with two live suits as well.”

Two days of play are in the books at the Southern Poker Championship, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). From a starting grid of 214 players, a total of 66 remain. Kevin Elias paces the survivors with a stack of 229,900, while brand name poker pros like Lee Markholt and Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith are hot on his heels.
Among those zooming upward late in the day on Monday at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi was Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. The Victory Poker pro came out on the winning end of a race with A-J against Jean “Prince” Gaspard‘s pocket nines when the board came 7-5-4-3-J. A jack on the river saved Little’s tournament life and he moved to 61,000 in chips. The former WPT Player of the Year ended the day at 63,600.
Brent “Astrolux85” Roberts could not survive Day 2 on Monday. The RPM Poker pro met his demise in especially brutal fashion, as his A-K offsuit fell to Timothy “highland” Finne’s A-K offsuit. Roberts Tweeted, “Just lost A-K to A-K aipf for 40bb each… I’m sad.” Finne shared his side of the story through the Twitter: “Busted B Roberts A-Ko to A-Ko. He was favorite with two live suits as well.”