Simon Watt was eliminated toward the end of day 1B, after 4-betting all in with 55.

By JAMES PUGSLEY, AUGUST 26TH, 2011

After three 8 hour days of intense tournament poker, it’s finally time to begin day 2 of ANZPT Queenstown Snowfest. Many big names joined the rail throughout the deep stacked play of the first days, with Pokerstars Team Pro Joe Hachem departing from SKYCITY’s Summit Room around 5 pm on day 1B. Hachem was reportedly knocked out after being shown trips as he triple barreled his stack away on a flop with two tens in the window. Simon Watt also joined the ranks of vanquished champions when he 4-bet shoved 55 into the 99 of Reggie Lyons, who found a board full of bricks to send Watt home.

Cole Swannack returns to day 2 with a massive stack and a wealth of experience.

As for those still in the running, there is a tonne of talent ready to come out of the gates on day 2, which starts today at 12:30. Day 1A saw a slew of competent grinders climb the ranks, with the likes of Jackson Zheng (80,125), Koray Turker (85,075) and Cole Swannack (86,050) all sitting near the top of the leader board after crushing the tables on day 1A. Our chip leader for day 2 however, came from day 1C — where Selina Sale ended the day as overall chip leader at 91,750.

Sale found a massive comeback after limping pre-flop with Ad 6s, only to find the nut flush draw when Leo Boxell raised her and they went three ways to a flop of Qd 9d 2d. Sale then overcame Boxell’s top pair and another contenders flopped flush, by turning the better flush, and was off running. Shortly after, Australian player Joel Dodds ran a massive bluff against the kiwi, who eventually got all her money in with As 3h after again limping in pre-flop. After isolating the action with a raise, Dodds bet out at a board of  Ac 5c 3s, only to find a raise, which he then re-raised again as a bluff. With the turn bringing the K of diamonds, Dodds completed his bluff, putting in the remainder of his stack — with Sale eventually making the call. Dodds tabled QhTh for complete air, while Sale raked in the massive pot to shoot up to 103,000. After losing a few smaller pots, Sale bagged up for the day as chip leader for the whole event.

Alicia Sale leads the day 2 combined field, with an impressive 91,750 to end the day.

Here are the chip leaders as we move into day 2. For more information and comprehensive coverage, you can also check out Pokerstars ANZPT blog, found here.

1 – Alicia Sale (NZ): 91,750

2 – Cole Swannaack (NZ): 86,050

3 – Koray Turker (NZ): 85,075

4- Jackson Zheng (NZ): 80,125

5- Ben Paurini (NZ): 77,225

6 – Marcel Schreiner (Germany): 72,600

7 – Matty Yates (NZ): 62,100

8 – Daniel Laidlaw (Australia): 60,075

9 – Octavian Voegele (Austria): 59,975

10 – Andrew Henrichsen (Australia): 54,450

With a 1st place prize of $94,300, and many good players still remaining,  the most crucial aspects of the tournament are still to come. Stay informed with Poker NZ as we continue coverage over the next few days.

By JAMES PUGSLEY : AUGUST 20TH, 2011

2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem will be attending the event.

After the widely successful New Zealand Poker Champs last weekend, pro’s from all over NZ and throughout Australasia come to battle it out in ANZPT’s Queenstown’s Snowfest. Set to take place at SKYCITY Queenstown, and sponsored by Pokerstars.net, this event is held in high regard for many of the players on the international live circuit. Confirmed to be attending the event are Pokerstars Team Pro’s Joe Hachem and potentially Brian Huang from Team Pro ASIA. Included amongst the big names will be newly inducted Hall of Fame player Leo Boxell; who is straight off a Melbourne APPT title this year worth $330,000 AUD. The 69 year-old bested young kiwi prodigy Phillip Willcocks in a heads-up battle that lasted more than 2 hours to take victory on August 2nd this year.

Leo Boxell will be coming to Queenstown straight off his APPT victory in Melbourne.

Also out for a shot at a second title, will be previous winners Julian Cohen and Danny Chevalier, who took the event down for $75,530 and $87,435 in 2010 and 2009 respectively. Chevalier’s share from his 2009 1st place represents the highest payout from a pool which sat at just over $300,000 total. This might be some indication of the kind of prize pool we can expect, which according to media representatives from Pokerstars, has encouraging numbers, despite the overall decrease in tournament numbers world wide this year.

As for the tournament itself, this features a 20,000 chip starting stack, with blinds starting at 50/100 and eventually broken down into standard denominations with 1 hour intervals. This should make for relatively deep stacked play for the majority of the tournament, with things typically getting a bit shorter toward the final table. Play will begin on Tuesday, 23rd of August at 12:30 with day 1A. Action will then continue on Wednesday and Thursday, with day 1B and 1C starting at the same time. The idea is to spread the field across the starting days, enabling a cap of 200 players total, which would make for an impressive increase over last years 119 player field. For more information regarding registration and SKYCITY Queenstown’s role in the event, visit their website, found here.

Also starting on Monday the 22nd, SKYCITY Queenstown will be running satellites on-demand throughout each of the first days. These will be in the form of $330 single table Sit and Go’s, granting the winner a $3,000 seat to the Main Event. You can also still qualify online at Pokerstars, where you’ll pay a slightly lower rake fee — battling it out for a $2,509 (since Pokerstars uses USD) seat for a $320 entry fee. Stars will continue to run these “seat only” satellites until the evening of day 1A, with the last chance being at 9:15 p.m on Tuesday the 23rd.

Overall it should be a unique event, with plenty of attractions available — poker or otherwise. SKYCITY Queenstown’s manager Michelle Ballie expressed her satisfaction at being able to host such an event, claiming that they “expect this year to be our biggest tournament yet.” More specifically, Michelle reflected that; “not only will there be fantastic poker, but it will be a great boost to Queenstown’s tourism and local economy.” With that in mind, check it out this weekend if you’re in the area, or — just in the mood for a holiday and some great competition. We’ll be keeping a close eye on events as they transpire.

After a one year leave of absence from the APPT, Auckland 2006 WSOP Main event champion Joe Hachem is rumoured to be returning to Auckland for this years event.

Joe’s brother and ANZPT tour leader Tony Hachem will almost certainly make the trip to the City of Sails in September but not many expected to see the return of his much in demand brother. Pokerstars have recently narrowed their Australasian team to just Tony, Joe and New Zealander Lee “Final Table” Nelson dropping regular visitors Grant Levy, Emad Tahtouh and perenial crowd favorite Eric Assadourian.

Instead SKYCITY expects a swarth of Australia’s latest poker sensations to make the journey many of whom played just a month ago in The ANZPT Queenstown.