Thursday, January 7, 2010
My first Aussie Millions Coverage
Crikey! What a job! I had no idea what I was getting myself into doing a complete Aussie Millions Coverage with just a photographic assistant. To start with I was like Steve Irwin and his snakes (snakes which came into the picture not so long after me being like this); I kept saying “I’m excited”. Soon my feet got the better of me and I found myself tired and warn out taking naps in my car. Of course I may not have been so tired if I had have missed the player party and had accommodation close to Crown Casino ;)
Preparations for undertaking this Aussie millions coverage is as difficult as the coverage itself. It takes weeks to be fully prepared in every way. Let me list just a few things I had to pre organise: Press passes, photography passes, photographic; film and mobile pc equipment, transportation, accommodation, contact times with overseas employees, a blog spot so I could instantly upload major highlights, interviewees who were prepared for being filmed out of tournament time. Simply, the list is endless!
On arrival at Crown Melbourne Aussie Millions Poker Championships my first stop was Vegas Poker room. Here I collected my press pass, checked out the press room and prepared for my afternoon of tournament floor walking and directing my photographer and film man towards the well known poker stars. After a long draw out day it was time to get changed into my cocktail dress and go party!
The party wasn’t just any old party though. It was a showcase of the brilliance in the Aussie Poker Scene as poker players were inducted one by one into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. Sure there were the global stars; the likes of Patrik Antonius, Alexander Kostritsyn (2008 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Winner), Gus Hansen (2007 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Winner) and Michael Vartan (Hollywood Star) BUT all eyes were focused on our Aussie Greats and hall of fame recipients. Some of these included Billy The Croc, Joe Hachem, Lee Nelson, Maurie Peers, Tony G, Gary Benson plus more!
After a load of Aussie Millions events came Australia Day and then the final table of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Eyes would still be all focused towards an Aussie as Stewart Scott screamed “Just One Time Baby!” as he flipped over his pocket aces heads-up. Stewarts aces held up and he was crowned 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Champion! The first Australian to ever take the title and keep it on Aussie turf. Sure made the highlights of my Aussie millions coverage.
I wasn’t present for the final table play; none the less I still had work to do; following up with Stewart Scott for an exclusive interview as part of my Aussie millions coverage and doing a 2 page spread on all the results of all events. I also had 400mbs of pictures to upload and some final writing for the online site I worked for. 3 days solid nonstop around the clock work with no sleep! Damn now my fingers and eyes hurt as well!
This year I am more prepared and less stressed. I am a single person team (or duo if my photographer is included) and by no means expect myself to do the job of 40 again!
The Aussie Millions is indeed an event that no one wants to miss. Australians flock to Crown Casino Melbourne, as do many overseas contenders year after year. The difficulty level for an Aussie millions coverage keeps growing as Main Event numbers increase. More players equate to more pics, more hands to watch and more names to write down. This is brilliant for the industry though in every way!
I will be heading to Crown Melbourne 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in the up and coming weeks and I must say I can’t wait to see you all there; especially those overseas friends I don’t get to catch up with too often. This year, my Aussie millions coverage will not be as in-depth; but nevertheless precise. In 2011 I plan to be on both sides of the rail – maybe one of the first females to make the final table; who knows? For now I can say that “2010 is set to be a great year for poker in Australia, especially for the Aussie Millions events and-> “Crikey am I going to love it if it’s anything like last year!”.
On arrival at Crown Melbourne Aussie Millions Poker Championships my first stop was Vegas Poker room. Here I collected my press pass, checked out the press room and prepared for my afternoon of tournament floor walking and directing my photographer and film man towards the well known poker stars. After a long draw out day it was time to get changed into my cocktail dress and go party!
The party wasn’t just any old party though. It was a showcase of the brilliance in the Aussie Poker Scene as poker players were inducted one by one into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. Sure there were the global stars; the likes of Patrik Antonius, Alexander Kostritsyn (2008 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Winner), Gus Hansen (2007 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Winner) and Michael Vartan (Hollywood Star) BUT all eyes were focused on our Aussie Greats and hall of fame recipients. Some of these included Billy The Croc, Joe Hachem, Lee Nelson, Maurie Peers, Tony G, Gary Benson plus more! 
After a load of Aussie Millions events came Australia Day and then the final table of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Eyes would still be all focused towards an Aussie as Stewart Scott screamed “Just One Time Baby!” as he flipped over his pocket aces heads-up. Stewarts aces held up and he was crowned 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Champion! The first Australian to ever take the title and keep it on Aussie turf. Sure made the highlights of my Aussie millions coverage. 
I wasn’t present for the final table play; none the less I still had work to do; following up with Stewart Scott for an exclusive interview as part of my Aussie millions coverage and doing a 2 page spread on all the results of all events. I also had 400mbs of pictures to upload and some final writing for the online site I worked for. 3 days solid nonstop around the clock work with no sleep! Damn now my fingers and eyes hurt as well! This year I am more prepared and less stressed. I am a single person team (or duo if my photographer is included) and by no means expect myself to do the job of 40 again!
The Aussie Millions is indeed an event that no one wants to miss. Australians flock to Crown Casino Melbourne, as do many overseas contenders year after year. The difficulty level for an Aussie millions coverage keeps growing as Main Event numbers increase. More players equate to more pics, more hands to watch and more names to write down. This is brilliant for the industry though in every way!
I will be heading to Crown Melbourne 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in the up and coming weeks and I must say I can’t wait to see you all there; especially those overseas friends I don’t get to catch up with too often. This year, my Aussie millions coverage will not be as in-depth; but nevertheless precise. In 2011 I plan to be on both sides of the rail – maybe one of the first females to make the final table; who knows? For now I can say that “2010 is set to be a great year for poker in Australia, especially for the Aussie Millions events and-> “Crikey am I going to love it if it’s anything like last year!”. 
1 comments:
Great post. I very keen on being an intern writer/blogger at this years series. If you need any support then I would love to assist. My email is brook.Mcallister@gmail.com if you would like to know more.
January 3, 2011 at 7:57 PMPost a Comment