Our tireless reporters at PokerStars.tv have got a couple of entertaining interviews to tickle the most discerning of any poker followers. Firstly we have Andrew Scott and his good mate Kelly Flynn talking blackjack, poker and all things interesting. Then we have the Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson’s co-host from local TV show ‘Joker Poker’, Brooke Howard-Smith.

Watch APPT Auckland 08: Kelly and Andrew Playing BJ on PokerStars.tv

Watch APPT Auckland 08: Brooke Howard-Smith on PokerStars.tv

PokerStars.net APPT SkyCity Auckland Festival of Poker Day 1B has come to a close, locking in our contenders for Day 2 tomorrow. After a great day of poker we have 47 players left out of the 142 that started the day. That brings the total entrants for the event to 306, an amazing record breaking effort for New Zealand, the APPT, and SkyCity.

The most notable early departure was Eric Assadourian who lasted less than ten minutes before he was making his way to the rails. The other big name player to go was Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson who was knocked out when he pushed on a draw. The crew from PokerStars.tv had an opportunity to chat with Assadourian leading up to today's event:

Watch APPT Auckland 08: Eric Assadourian on PokerStars.tv

With the bad beat stories also come the happier ones with a few of the big names making an impact. Team Pokerstars Pro Joe Hachem is still in the tournament with just under 22k in chips. He will have to make an impact early on Day 2 which will make for some interesting poker. The other name to make it through is APPT Sydney Main Event 2007 Champion Grant Levy, on just over 30k, who will be confident of going on with the job tomorrow. Local Jockey Shane Dye remains in the game with a little over 20K, a huge effort given that he slipped to under 3k earlier in the day.

The chip leader for Day 1B was a neck and neck battle between local Amant Nauhria (94K) and Bryan Huang from Singapore (93K). Huang held a commanding chipstack throughout today's flight and is looking to better his third place in the APPT Macau Main Event last month. They will both join Nathanael Seet from Singapore (Day 1A chip leader with 75k) on top of the leader board.

Poker was again the winner and field of just over 100 players who have made Day 2 should all be well rested with the relaxed structure of the Day 1 flights. Tomorrow is when it all starts, however, and we could well be in for a long one. The blinds will start to go up, the chip leaders will gain some dominance, and the shortstacks will feel the pressure as we approach the bubble at 33rd place. There will be plenty of play time and Danny McDonaugh the APPT tournament director expects around 9 to 10 levels in what will undoubtedly be another lively battle here at SkyCity Auckland.

Look forward to seeing you all tomorrow for Day 2 at 12.15pm NZ time.

Amant Nauhria considers himself a local Aucklander who is from India. What he most certainly is at the moment is the chip leader of the Pokerstars.net APPT Auckland SkyCity Festival of Poker Main Event. He currently has 94K in chips and is terrorizing his table. Unless something goes wrong he will be the man they are chasing tomorrow.

Zane Kopua is a proud local from the West Auckland suburb of Ranui. He has been quiet all day but has found himself in a very strong position with nearly 50K in chips. He is deep in concentration and will have plenty of local support tomorrow.

Matt Cheer is another one who leads the local charge and was described to us as a 'SkyCity Pro'. He laughed at the suggestion but he is certainly showing plenty of skill at the felt and is also just under the 50K mark with under 30 minutes of play left today.

Kelly Flynn, the American born native who resides in Hong Kong, has just departed the poker room. Flynn got involved in a 4 way raised pot pre flop and shoved his small stack in on the flop in late position on a bluff. In a hand that took over 10 minutes he was finally called and only had 1 overcard with two cards to come and didn’t get the luck he needed. Flynn is heavily involved in poker throughout Asia and was looking for a good performance today.

James “Paddywhack” Honeybone is very short on chips. He currently has around 5k and will be forced into making a move at some stage today. He looks well focused and his stable of supporters are still very confident. He hasn’t had any cards to speak of today and needs to get lucky in the next level.

Graeme “Kiwi G” Putt is on the move and has nearly 30k in chips. He has toiled away all day and has never put any of his chips at risk. The wily Kiwi has more experience than anyone in the field and will certainly feature late into tomorrow with an ounce of luck.

The team from PokerStars.tv have continued to take opportunities to chat with players as they play in the APPT Auckland Main Event. Neil Stewart, from Scotland, happened to be in town and decided to throw his money into the pot. Here is the interview with Stewart:

Watch APPT Auckland 08: Neil Stewart on PokerStars.tv

Martin Cardno, a New Zealander, has travelled the globe to play poker and is today happy to be playing a major even on home soil. The PokerStars.tv crew pinned him down for a few words:

Watch APPT Auckland 08: Martin Cardno on PokerStars.tv

We are down to 65 players and it has certainly tightened up in the last hour after a flurry of eliminations. The room is starting to fill up and the spectators section is 10 deep as the locals pour in to cheer on their players and catch a glimpse of some of their poker idols.

Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson is the latest casualty and had been nursing a small stack for some time. He pushed in on a draw and failed to hit after he was called down. Nelson is a true ambassador of NZ poker and was applauded on his departure.

Andrew Scott is an interesting character and has been on a roller coaster ride all day by his own admission. He has been up to over 30k in chips and well down under 10k at different stages. He is currently at a little over 20k and the blackjack expert always keeps his opponents guessing with his strange style and colourful antics. Scott recently gained a huge poker status by finishing second in the APPT Macau High Rollers Event this year.

Paul 'The Voice' Khoury has unfortunately blessed the table with his last warm tones as he eventually succumbed to a lack of chips. Khoury lost a few early pots and found himself very short before fighting back to over 6k. He drew an up and down straight draw on the flop and called a bet. The top pair repeated on the turn and The Voice moved all in.

“I had him on an over pair and thought I could get him off.”

It was a good read by the APPT Season 1 Television host but he was called by Q-Q and the straight wasn’t to come on the end. Goodbye to the great man but make sure you all catch him and his mate Daniel Negreanu on Season 1 of the APPT.

The boys from PokerStars.tv are hard at work and have more good footage from the start of Day 1B here at SkyCity Casino, Auckland.

Watch APPT Auckland 08: Day 1b Intro on PokerStars.tv

The inaugural World Poker Seminar that we brought to you yesterday finished last night in a tournament that saw the winner put into the APPT Auckland SkyCity Festival of Poker Main Event by Team PokerStars Pro’s Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson. The winner was local boy Chris Walton who was a ball of emotion when he won the event.

“I was going to win it. I just knew it. I was going to fight it out to the end. The help that the guys gave me today gave me the confidence to take out the seat.”

Walton is a real learner of the game and he was a popular winner. When they got down to a heads up battle for the seat Walton was offered a deal and replied “NO! I fight to the death. Let’s play on!”

When he eventually triumphed the room erupted as the likable Kiwi broke down. Walton is still alive and is every bit as happy as he was yesterday when he won the seat, he is also in decent position so far with 15k in chips, just over the average.

The winner of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland SkyCity Festival of Poker Main Event will walk away with $257,000 NZD. The top 32 will get paid which will make 33rd the dreaded bubble to avoid at all costs late tomorrow.

Mark “the Ginger General” Vos caught a plane from Queenstown this morning, where he was doing some Heli-boarding, to come to SkyCity to add another title to his impressive resume. Unfortunately he only lasted a few levels today and he was eliminated when he pushed his last 8k in chips into a 3 way pot with A-K. He ran into another A-K and A-A and a blanked board spelled the end of the flamboyant playboy. He was heard saying as he left the table that he was looking for the next plane back down south as the snow was so good.

Even though we have lost some of the big name players early today some of the others have got off to excellent starts. Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson are both up to nearly 20k in chips. Grant Levy the 2007 APPT Grand Final Champion is sitting comfortably on a little over 20K and the Doyle Brunson of New Zealand poker, Kiwi G (Graeme Putt), is also a little over 20k.

There is a big charge of local hopefuls here taking on the world. We all know the exploits of Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson but we would like to introduce you to some of New Zealand’s biggest names and best poker players who are battling it out on Day 1B of the Pokerstars.net APPT Auckland SkyCity Festival of Poker:

James “Paddywhack” Honeybone is New Zealand’s newest poker sensation. This lovable teddy bear turns into a shark when he is at the table. Honeybone has a final table at APPT Seoul in Season 1 and has travelled the globe getting some excellent results.

If Honeybone represents the new then some may venture to say that Graeme ‘Kiwi G’ Putt may represent the old. But don’t let this friendly ‘grandfather figure’ of a poker champion fool you. We don’t have enough time to tell you the poker exploits of Kiwi G but he has been considered one of the region's greatest poker players for many decades.

New Zealand born Shane Dye is one of the regions finest jockeys. Not only has he ridden multiple group 1 winners he is also an accomplished poker player. When he returned from a riding stint in Hong Kong he started his love affair with the game and has recently won two tournaments at Sydney’s Star City Casino, which is the home of the APPT Final in Sydney later this year.

Auckland born Brooke Howard-Smith has returned to New Zealand after growing up in the United States. Co-hosting New Zealand television show ‘Joker Poker’ with Team PokerStars Pro Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson, Howard-Smith has been a keen poker player for the past nine years, having been one of the early pupils of the hold-em boom. Howard-Smith speaks highly of Nelson’s love of the game: ‘Lee is like the crack rock of poker, he has such a passion for the game and passes that passion on to others. You can’t be around him and not develop a love for the game.’

Mike King, New Zealand comedian and television personality, has been a keen hold-em player for the past three years and a Manila player for a decade before that. King has been a regular sight at local poker tables and has had some great success in local tournaments. Currently working on a New Zealand documentary on the Treaty of Waitangi, as well as his local comedy gigs, King commented “I’ve got a gig tomorrow night that I’m hoping I have to cancel”, as he cracked his trademark grin.

With the local talent packed into the tables, there will be a number of strong contenders looking to making the APPT Auckland Main Event a New Zealand title. We will be keeping you posted with updates as we track our local boys through the course of the day!

In contrast to yesterday’s slow morning, with subdued action, today looks to be filled with bloodlust. Chips are riffling incessantly throughout the poker room, and a good number of them have already made their way into the middle on the felt.

Young Aussie legend, PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian, started today full of energy and optimism, having yesterday closed off the $550 PLO event after a prolonged heads-up battle with good friend and APPT Sydney 2007 Main Event Champion Grant Levy for a $12k payday.

His hopes were crushed within the first ten minutes of play here at the SkyCity Auckland poker room and he is already on the rail commiserating. Holding pocket Kings, Assadourian got all of his chips in the middle against New Zealand player Ray Walker when the flop came full of rags. Walker rolled pocket Jacks to be well behind but found himself hooking a lucky Jack on the river to bust one of the favoured contenders to win the event.

While Assadourian may have beaten up on Levy in the PLO yesterday, Levy has already doubled his stack this morning and is in a great spot. Facing a raise from middle position, Levy holding TT on the button called, as did the blinds. A flop of T-4-3 gave Levy the stone cold nuts and, facing a bet from the middle position player, Levy managed to get all the chips in on the flop. No help came for his opponent’s KK and Levy scooped a 20k pot.

We will be keeping you posted as play progresses and more spectacular knockouts occur.

Welcome all to the Pokerstars.net APPT SkyCity Auckland Festival of Poker as players prepare themselves for Day 1B. It looks like we are well on our way to the $800,000 NZ dollar mark, with 159 players confirmed for today’s flight. Registration will remain open for the first two levels, and with players flying into Auckland at the last minute, there is every chance we will see a couple of flustered last minute entrants.

The standard of play today should be world class with a long list of world class players getting ready to make their impact on the tournament. Heading the list are Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson who are certainly legends of the game down under. Other notable players include Mark “the Ginger General” Vos who has apparently flown in from the South Island of NZ and will certainly make for some exciting poker. Also PokerStars Sponsored players Eric Assadourian and Grant Levy, hot off their final shootout in the Pot Limit Omaha, will be flying the flag for Sydney, Australia. New Zealand legend Graeme (Kiwi G) Putt, and young rising star James Honeybone will be among the strong contenders looking to keep the APPT Auckland title on home soil.

With his huge table presence and ‘larger than life’ attitude, there will be no missing Paul “the Voice” Khoury who will be looking to make an impact on Day 1B. Last year Khoury teamed up with his good mate, Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu, as host of Season 1 of the APPT. Not only does Khoury posses the golden tonsils he is also a hardened poker player himself and PokerStars is looking for a big showing from their A List host.

APPT President Mr Jeffrey Haas is over the moon about the tournament up to date;

“SkyCity here in Auckland have really put on an exciting event. It is well run we have had an excellent tournament and we hope to be here in the years to come “

The Main event was just opened again today with another powhiri, a traditional Maori Welcome, this time featuring a lovely display on ‘poi’, which saw APPT President Mr. Jeffrey Haas and SkyCity Executive Manager Ejaaz Dean welcomed into the room. Haas took an opportunity to thank our hosts here at SkyCity Auckland, as well as the poker players who have come far and wide to support the event, local players who have supported poker in New Zealand, and finally to thank all of the New Zealanders for putting up with the APPT Players coming to Auckland to “steal their women and eat their food.”

Keeping the energy high, a traditional haka was again performed by our group of local Maori performers. The haka is a cultural icon of New Zealand, with its roots sunk deeply in the warrior culture of Maori tradition, giving a symbolic challenge from the local warriors to the incoming visitors. With a repeat performance, players from both Day 1A and Day 1B got to enjoy this unique experience, and there were even a few of our less punctual players from Day 1A who snuck over to watch today.

PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem took today’s honours and got the tournament underway with a traditional “shuffle up and deal!”.

As with yesterday, players will be facing a relatively relaxed seven levels of play today. This will see a large contingency make it through to the Day 2. In total 59 players made it through from yesterday's Day 1, and their stack sizes can be found on the chipcount page. We will be keeping you posted with Day 1B chipcounts as the day progresses. So buckle up for a long day guys and we will look to keep you up to date with all information, from both on and off the felt, as soon as it comes to hand.