A gruelling but enthralling day 2 has ended with the 48 players guaranteed of a cash after the bubble burst on the final hand of the day in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

We started with 217 players, including a trio of Team PokerStars Pros (Lee Nelson, Gavin Griffin and Chris Moneymaker) plus PokerStars Sponsored players Ivan Tan, Van Marcus, Masa Kagawa and Eric Assadourian. Only Assadourian, the one Sydney based player of that group, remained at the end of the day.

Other big names to tumble during day 2 included John Juanda, Wooka Kim, Dory Zayner, Chris Levick, Harris Pavlou, Julius Colman, Jimmy Siu, Martin Cardno, Mark Vos, Dennis Huntly, Carter Gill, Nobbi Tanaka, Emanuel Seal, Warwick Mirzikinian, Alex Dickinson, Suzy Khoueis, Assadour Assadourian, Andrew Scott, Leo Boxell, Sam Korman, Kent Hunter, Tony Dunst and Jonathan Karamalikis.

The chip leader is Frank Saffioti, who was at the heart of the hands that ensured the bubble burst after a long and tense period on the precipice of the payouts.

David Sanis was the unfortunate victim. On a flop of 8d-5c-Jd, the money went in with Sanis holding pocket aces and Saffioti Q-9. Sure enough, the turn came 6h and the river 10h to rake in a massive pot. Then Sanis shoved with A-8 but found Tim English holding pocket queens. The board came 8s-Qc-9c-10s-3h, and Sanis was out in 49th. Tough break fella.

But that hand was typical of a day when the best hand with the money going in was often overtaken, and set over set or flopped quads weren’t unusual.

Behind Saffioti were Melbourne’s Brendan Edmonds (500,000), Phil Willcocks (390,000), Marlon Goonawardana (370,000) and Jamie Pickering (360,000). Other prominent players still in contention for the AUD $1 million first prize are Jason Gray (270,000), Graeme Putt (130,000), champion jockey Shane Dye (130,000), David Gorr (115,000), and Frank Bianco (65,000).

We’ll be back at 12.30pm for a massive program, including the race for spots on the final table of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, plus the AUD $15,000 High Rollers Challenge from 6.15pm.

We'll leave you inside the minds of Team PokerStars Pro couple Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown - they seem to know each other pretty well!

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Inside the mind of a pro couple. on PokerStars.tv

The nerves have well and truly set in for the remaining 56 players in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final with the bubble just spots away. Frustrations are boiling over as players strive to protect their short stacks long enough to ensure a minimum payout of AUD $8400.

The atmosphere around the poker area is electric. And that’s not a poker reporter beating up the story with a big stick – Star City is absolutely pumping with poker players, railbirds and plenty of Sydneysiders celebrating the festive season.

And several big names have been freed to join the party after busting out of the APPT Grand Final in the past hour, including Wooka Kim, the last two players who cashed in last year’s APPT Grand Final – Gary Diamond and Patrick Fletcher, the 2007 PokerNews Cup champion Dory Zayner, West Australians Petar Lackovic and Sam Jessop, Chris Levick, Derrick Wall, Harris Pavlou, Julius Colman and Jimmy Siu.

The top five chip counts heading into level 16 are Brendan Edmonds (440,000), PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks (390,000), Marlon Goonawardana (370,000), Jamie Pickering (360,000) and Ray Lapitan (330,000).

We get used to seeing quads in the early stages of tournaments when the tables are packed and the action thick and fast. But with 24 players to go before the money kicks-in at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, we’ve seen quads twice in the past five minutes.

Hong Kong’s Manish Sansi just made quad jacks (holding A-J) against A-2, which earned him a nice pot and a warning from APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh for persistent slow play. Just like the Australian Test cricket team!

Forget the title of leading female finisher – Wooka Kim, Lisa Delellis and Valerie Gigliotti are still here to win. Valerie Gigliotti works for the Daily Telegraph, Sydney’s biggest newspaper. Star City recently held a media event and gave away an APPT Grand Final seat as first prize. Miss Gigliotti was the lucky winner and finds herself in the last 72 players and still in with a chance of winning the AUD $1 million.

“I just love the game and this is a thrill to play in this tournament. I have only played pub poker but felt that the skills I learnt there stood me in good stead to win my way into this tournament. The longer structure in this tournament really suits my style,” she said.

The most experienced of the trio, Wooka Kim. Wooka has travelled to tournaments throughout the world. In the past 12 months she won a ladies tournament in Japan and is considered the best female player in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Lisa Delellis hails from Wollongong, a regional city about an hour south of Sydney. Lisa plays in a pub-based competition called Satellite Poker. She won her seat in the APPT Grand Final through Satellite Poker.

“This is my greatest poker experience so far. I am just starting playing more seriously now and hope that in the future I can make an impact in the poker world. I am currently pregnant but who knows what the future holds,” she said.

Here’s the scenario: there’s 15 minutes to go at level 13 (1200/2400 with a 400 ante), the average stack is 116,000, you lose a big pot and get left with 4500.

Limp out? Not Petar Lackovic, who has staged an amazing comeback since his pair of kings was overtaken by a set of kings to leave him with nine purple 500 chips.

You can take the boy out of Perth but you can’t Perth out of the boy – Lackovic has since gone on a charge and after his A-9 connected on the flop against Jason Gray’s pocket 10s, his stack had climbed back above 55,000. Last year Petar’s brother Aleks cashed 49th in this event.

And a quick look at last year’s results reveals that two players remain in contention for successive in-the-money finishes, South African Gary Diamond and former Brit Patrick Fletcher – both now Sydney residents.

We also just took a look back at last year’s event to see how the tournament was progressing at the same point. Just two of the 10 players among the chip leaders went on to make the final table – eventual winner Grant Levy and Sol Bergren, who finished fourth.

Players have just returned from a break with just 28 spots until the bubble is reached. Blinds are now up to level 14 (1500/3000 with an ante of 500). Five players have more than 200,000 in chips – Brendan Edmonds (400,000), Stewart Davidson (340,000), Antonio Fazzolari (335,000), Jamie Pickering (260,000) and David Lee (240,000).

Before getting back to the action, David Lee told our video team about poker in Australia and Asia...

Watch APPT Sydney S2: David Lee on PokerStars.tv

Apparently a handful of players wanted to extend their meal break judging from the frenzied activity just before the dinner bell sounded.

Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin, PokerStars Sponsored player Ivan Tan and Tom Guise were all KOed in a remarkable few minutes.

Tan and Guise were eliminated by Simon Wallace on the same hand after the flop came Js 10s 3h. Guise showed Ks-Jc; Tan showed pocket threes for bottom set; Wallace showed pocket 10s for middle set. Wallace’s set held through the river taking his stack to 200,000.

Griffin’s tournament ended when he committed the last of his chips with A-8 against Michael Whibley’s A-Q. The Team PokerStars Pro took the lead on a flop of Ah-8d-10d but his tournament ended when the Qh hit on the turn.

Whibley then put a big dent in the stack of former chip leader Jason Gray (two-pair against Gray’s pocket kings) to send him back to the pack for the first time today.

Maybe it was Mexican on the menu at the Garden Buffet tonight as the action has been fast and fiery since players again took their seats. Greg Cook doubled up when his pocket queens improved to a set on the turn against pocket aces, then almost straight after, Jamie Pickering won a hand in almost identical circumstances (set of queens against pocket aces).

Other recent eliminations have included New Zealand’s Martin Cardno, Jay Huxley, Kristine Milinkovic, Khac-Trung Tran, Mark Vos, Dennis Huntly, Warwick Mirzikinian, Alex Dickinson and Suzy Khoueis.

It’s like 100 buses just pulled up at Star City Casino and unloaded their contents in the past hour. With the teams’ event about to kick off, many players have returned to the poker room, joining the scores of railbirds and players still chasing glory in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.

Many businesses around the city are also holding Christmas parties tonight, and you can be assured many of those party animals will make their way to Star City at some stage this evening. It’s going to be a huge night.

It’s already shaping as a night to remember for our new chip leader Brendan Edmonds. The Melbourne player just added the chips of Brooke Howard-Smith, the co-host of Celebrity Joker Poker in New Zealand to his stack after his middle pair held up against the Kiwi’s busted flush draw.

Edmonds overtook Stewart Davidson, who smashed the 200,000 barrier when his pocket aces took down Guillaume Lignon’s A-K on a board that came Qh-Kh-7h-6d-7d.

One player we’ve barely mentioned today is PokerStars Sponsored player Ivan Tan. He’s struggled to get much going today and has spent the day well below the chip average. The Singaporean just received a much-needed boost when his Kd-Qd held-up against an opponent’s 6h-9d with the board showing 7s-Qh-6d-7c-10s.

Predictably, the huge contingent of Australian players is dominating the APPT Grand Final, but the internationals have started to crash the party. French PokerStars qualifier Mamouni Smain has climbed over 200,000, US PokerStars qualifier Patrick Carron is on 195,000 and Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin has almost 160,000. It’s almost dinner time!

If there’s a cult figure in today’s event, it’s Scott “Punty” Smith. He has fans following online and a big contingent on the rail, and they’ve had plenty to cheer about today.

He’s been a steady climber all day and recently took out another player when his opponent pushed all-in on a board of Qs-Ac-Qc-Ks. Smith called and tabled As-Kd, ahead of his opponent’s Ah-10s, with the 6c on the river sending a nice pot in Punty’s direction as his stack closes on 150,000.

Another player on the climb is PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian. This Sydney young gun burst onto the scene when he won the 2006 Melbourne Championships main event. He showed that win was no fluke when he captured two titles at the 2007 NZ Championships, including the main event, then took out the 2007 APPT Macau High Roller for more than $360,000. He also had an event named in his honour here during the APPT Grand Final preliminaries!

With 20,000 already in the pot, Karim Jomeen and Assadourian saw a flop of Jc-Kc-4d, Jomeen bet all-in for 15,500 and Assadourian made the call. He showed pocket aces, but Jomeen’s pocket jacks were ahead.
Sure enough, Eric showed why he is nicknamed “Blessadourian” when the Ad landed on the turn to KO Jomeen.

In parent-sibling news, Eric’s father Assadour has been eliminated while Vera Milinkovic is also on the rail, but her daughter Kristine has charged to 110,000.

Want to run as hot as Eric? Listen to his tournament tips and you'll be on your way...

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Eric's Tourny Tips on PokerStars.tv

Other recent eliminations include Big Brother contestant Nobbi Tanaka, when Antonis Kambouris filled a runner-runner straight against Tanaka’s pair of jacks. Carter Gill is also out after he failed to improve on a flush draw against the two-pair of George Kassis.

With one hour until the dinner break and the blinds at level 11 (800/1600 with a 200 ante), 117 players remain and the average stack is 80,000.

Aside from the scores of PokerStars qualifiers we’ve been featuring over the past four days, many players in the APPT Grand Final field are doing so after qualifying through satellites at the host venue, Star City.

One of those is David Sanis, who we recently featured after he KOed Vincent Ha. David is a regular Star City player and won his way through in a single-table satellite earlier in the week.

“This is a really great tournament, well run and one that we are lucky to have here in Sydney,” David said after he just finished getting a massage, due reward after he took the chip lead.

Christopher Lee is another likable local who is working himself nicely into the tournament. He started the day on the feature table with Chris Moneymaker and Tony Dunst but has had no problem finding good opportunities to see his stack grow and now has nearly 150,000.

Lee has only been playing for only two years and he considers himself a cash player who is just starting to move into tournaments.

“This is my first big tournament and I would just love to make the cash. At the start of today I just wanted to concentrate on making it through day 2 but I might have to set my heights a little higher after such a good start to the day,” he said.

Roberto Damelian also won his way into the tournament via a Monday night tournament, with the seat to the APPT Grand Final part of the prize package.

He is sitting next to Irishman Anthony thepirat Rafter who told us that Roberto was playing very well and won a huge pot with suited connectors a little while ago. We asked what Roberto’s strategies were for the rest of the day: “I can’t tell you that … these other guys will be listening!”

Marlon Goonawardana is aiming to book-end 2008 with another big result on home soil. The Melbourne-based player, who won AUD $155,000 in the $1500 Bounty event at the 2008 Aussie Millions has been the big mover in the second session of day 2.

On a flop of 4h-6h-8h, Goonawardana (6c-8c) went heads-up with Wang Che Jung (Kh-2h), but the New Zealander failed to fill his flush. The 6d on the river gave Marlon and full-house and a stack of 150,000.

The Team PokerStars representation has been reduced to one after the recent elimination of Lee Nelson. Cashing his second APPT final table in a row, Nelson’s kings ran into the pocket aces of Martin Rowe, which held up. Gavin Griffin is left to wave the flag, but is looking strong on just over 100,000 (average stack 65,000).

We’ve also lost another of the PokerStars Sponsored players after Japanese high stakes gambler Masa Kagawa walked his pocket deuces into the jacks of Thomas McLaughlin.

That leaves Eric Assadourian (80,000) and Ivan Tan (24,000) as the last two PokerStars Sponsored players in the field.

The fairytale is also over for Sydney’s own Vincent Ha. He won a radio promotion on the Austereo Network, which included a seat to the APPT Grand Final.

Despite his lack of experience, Ha was among the chip leaders heading into day 2 (holding 123,800) and held his own early before he tangled with David Sanis just minutes ago.

The flop showed Qh-Js-6s when the money went in, and Ha was well placed with pocket jacks against the As-Ks of Sanis. The 10s gave Sanis a flush, and the brick 3h sent Ha to the rail, but he carried that ever-present smile to the rail after an unforgettable experience over the past four days.

We’ve mentioned several family combinations over the past two days – brothers Joe and Tony Hachem (both eliminated); father and son Eric and Assadour Assadourian (both still in contention) – but it’s not everyday you come across a mother and daughter combination in a poker tournament of this stature.

Even more remarkably, Vera and Kristine Milinkovic have both reached day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Originally from Serbia and now residing in Sydney, Vera cashed 50th in the APPT Grand Final last year and is hoping to go much deeper in this year’s APPT season-ending event.

Kristine told us that she loves the fact that she can share an interest in poker with her mother and is looking forward to sharing a spot at the final table on Sunday along side Vera. Now that would be a good story.

Speaking of the generation gap, two Melbourne players representing the old and new guard have had contrasting fortunes during the opening session today.

Dave Lee, a top cash-game player and emerging tournament star just took a big pot against former day 1A chip leader Warwick Mirzikinian. With the board showing 5s-5h-8c-4d, Lee check-raised to 40,000, with Mirzikinian getting out of the way after flashing an 8. Lee showed pocket kings and started piling chips into his stack of 120,000.

But it was a miserable afternoon for ‘Colonel’ Sam Korman. The Melbourne poker icon committed the last of his chips on a board of 9s-Qs-8d-Kc. Derrick Wall insta-called with Jd-10d, leaving the Colonel’s K-9 in the dust.

Players are back from the first break, with the approximate chip counts showing Jason Gray (180,000) leading from Derrick Wall (150,000), Dave Lee (145,000), Wang Che Jung (140,000) and Ray Lapitan (135,000). Around 160 players remain in the running.

One up, one out – that’s the story so far today for Team PokerStars with Lee Nelson doubling up and Chris Moneymaker eliminated. The New Zealander Nelson (can you believe he lives near a town called Nelson) took control with A-K against Justin Cleary’s K-J, and the paint-free board took the 2006 Aussie Million winner’s stack to 50,000.

Here he tells all to the PokerStars video team...

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Lee Nelson and Erin McNaught on PokerStars.tv

Moneymaker started the day on the ultra-tough feature table, and was among the first victims when he moved in with pocket 10s against A-K and his opponent saw an ace on the flop (eerily similar to the elimination of Joe Hachem from the same table yesterday).

Tony Dunst has also left the feature table after his A-K stayed behind Jason Plant’s pocket kings on a board showing 4h-3h-10s-3s-3d. We’ve also lost WSOP Europe champion John Juanda after his pocket kings were cracked by Ad-Jd when his opponent turned the nut flush.

At the other end of the chip tally, some of the early movers have been PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian (52,000), Graeme Putt (40,000), Dennis Huntly (60,000), Tom Guise (90,000) and Chris Levick (95,000), who is on a charge after a big double-up with aces against queens. But it’s been a tough start for Mark Vos (25,000), jockey Shane Dye (30,000) and Jamie Pickering (25,000).

We’ve also just lost APPT Manila champ Van Marcus, who nursed a short stack through the opening level today before committing with pocket jacks. He found a jack on the flop, but his opponent’s pocket aces improved to a set on the turn, sending the PokerStars Sponsored player to the rail.

We’re about halfway through level 9, with blinds now at 500/1000 with a 100 ante. The first break is about 30 minutes away.

Sydney’s most famous amusement park (indeed only amusement park) sits just over the Harbour Bridge. Known as Luna Park, it features all the usual carnival fare, including roller coasters, ferris wheel, dodgem cars, etc. Best of all is the giant maniacal clown face that greets patrons on arrival.

Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin has experienced a Luna Park-style start to day 2. With the board showing 7c-Qs-4s, Griffin called the all-in of Simon Wallace and tabled 10s-9s. Wallace showed As-7s, and slipped behind when the 10d fell on the turn. Both players made a flush on the river (8s) but Wallace had the nut flush and slashed Griffin’s stack to 76,000.

Barely a minute passed when Griffin had them all back. Kevin Wagler though he was good with pocket sixes making him a full-house on the board of Qc-6c-Qs-Ac-9s, but Griffin called his all-in on the river and celebrated after showing pocket aces. That took Griffin back to 153,000.

The day 2 madness is well and truly underway with the short stacks quickly making the move to double-up or begin plans for a day at the beach or shopping in the nearby Sydney CBD.

One of the first victims was Terrence Chan. The Canadian started with just 13,000 and elected to commit those chips on the opening hand, but found himself on the wrong end of the flop and is free to explore Sydney – a city he knows well after living here for several months last year.

Even some of the not-so-short stacks are under attack. Adelaide’s Jonathan xMONSTERxDONGx Karamalikis looked good with A-K against fellow Australian Frank Saffioti (K-10), but the board was horrible to the youngster (8d-6h-7s-Kc-9s). He crashed out on the same orbit with A-J against A-Q.

It might be just after noon on a Friday, but the Star City Casino is heaving – the tables and slots are packed and 219 anxious poker players have started to assemble for day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. With the top 48 players paid, we should be close to the money before the end of play tonight.

Our chip leader Jason Gray has just wandered past the media area. Not the most gregarious character in the poker world, Gray offered a nervous smile as he headed for his seat.

Gavin Griffin’s charge towards an incredible achievement of adding an APPT title to his WSOP, WPT and EPT tournament victories continues today, as he brings the second largest stack – 134,700. PokerStars qualifier Phillip Willcocks from New Zealand is close behind with 129,000.

We’ll also be keeping a close eye on the two other Team PokerStars Pros Lee Nelson and Chris Moneymaker who remain in contention.

The PokerStars Sponsored contingent is represented by Japan’s Masaaki Kagawa (who finished third in the 2007 Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in High Stakes event); Ivan Tan from Singapore (two APPT cashes including one final table); Eric Assadourian (winner of the 2007 APPT Macau High Roller event) and the short-stacked Van Marcus (2008 APPT Manila champion). There are also 55 PokerStars qualifiers in today’s field.

The feature table line-up to start play is impressive: Jason Plant (27,100), Frank ‘The Bank’ Bianco (41,700), Chris Moneymaker (30,700), Tony Dunst (30,300), Christopher Lee (95,900), Irishman Anthony Rafter (68,600), Roberto Damelian (61,600), Dominic Sinagra (46,300) and Andy Meldrum (81,500). Structure for today’s play is:

Level 8: 400/800 (100 ante)
Level 9: 500/1000 (100 ante)
Level 10: 600/1200 (200 ante)
Level 11: 800/1600 (200 ante)
Level 12: 1000/2000 (300 ante)
Level 13: 1200/2400 (400 ante)
Level 14: 1500/3000 (500 ante)

Watch APPT Sydney S2: Day 2 Intro on PokerStars.tv