John Bogdanovski Wins Poker Palace Summer Championships Main Event
Live poker returned to Australia and did so with a bang. Club Marconi hosted the Poker Palace Summer Championships, which concluded on March 8 with the crowning of the Main Event champion. John Bogdanovski is that champion, he turned his $1,150 entry into $100,000.
The three-week festival was a roaring success. The organisers estimated combined prize pools worth between $400,000 and $800,000, but $1,375,440 was paid out. Bogdanovski secured the festival’s largest prize after triumphing in the Poker Palace Summer Championships Main Event.
Those frequenting Club Marconi in Sydney usually head to the 300+ pokies on offer. Not during the Poker Palace Summer Championships, however, because poker received their full attention.
The Main Event attracted a 366-strong field, including top Aussie poker pro Grant Levy who fell in 11th place for a $5,000 score. Kiavash Arbabi and Joseph Antar busted at the same time to set the final table.
Steve Gergis was the first player eliminated from the now-eight handed final table. Gergis moved all-in with king-four but lost to the pocket kings of Bogdanovski. The $8,500 Gergis won was the last prize not to weigh in at five-figures.
David Hirst was the next Bogdanovski victim. Hirst’s seventh-place finish earned him an $11,500 payout. Bogdanovski continued in his role of executioner when he sent Adnan Al-Maliki to the showers in sixth-place.
Bogdanovski Busts Another Poker Palace Summer Championships Main Event Player
Didier Guerin must have known the writing was on the wall when he found himself all-in against Bogdanovski. His pocket sixes held the narrowest of edges over Bogdanovski’s ace-king preflop. That all changed on the flop courtesy of the king of hearts making an appearance.
Bogdanovski held 13 million of the 18 million chips in play when the tournament was four-handed.
Mark Staples closed the gap slightly when he busted Michael Tran in fourth, but the gap reopened when Bogdanovski eliminated Toby Giles in third.
Staples trailed his opponent by 4,700,000 to 13,600,000 chips going into heads-up. It took four hours of one-on-one action to settle the tournament, despite the difference in chip stacks. The final hand saw Staples move all-in for 10 big blinds with jack-two. Bogdanovski called with ace-king, flopped an ace, and the rest is history. Staples padded his bankroll with $63,000 but the Poker Palace Summer Championships Main Event champion scooped $100,000
Poker Palace Summer Championships Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Bogdanovski | $100,000 |
| 2 | Mark Staples | $63,000 |
| 3 | Toby Giles | $40,000 |
| 4 | Michael Tran | $24,500 |
| 5 | Didier Guerin | $19,500 |
| 6 | Adnan Al-Maliki | $15,000 |
| 7 | David Hirst | $11,500 |
| 8 | Steve Gergis | $8,500 |
| 9 | Joseph Antar | $6,500 |
Dejan Boskovic Wins $2,500 High Roller Event
Dejan “Junior” Boskovic won the Poker Palace Summer Championships High Roller event. He turned a $2,500 investment into $80,500. Boskovic’s prize should have been larger, but h struck a deal with runner-up Jarrod Thatcher when heads-up. Thatcher collected $72,500 for his second-place finish.
Club Marconi must be delighted to see 135 players buy into the high roller. Indeed, players turned out in droves for the entire series, showing poker is booming in Australia.
The solid attendances give much hope to the upcoming APT Gold Coast festival. Twenty-one events take place at the Southport Sharks venue and have estimated combined prize pools of $900,000.
The Poker Palace at Club Marconi has poker back on its regular schedule from March 16. Tournaments run Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday costing between $175 and $550. Club Marconi calls the Poker Palace “the #1 poker room in Sydney.”
It opened in 2008 as a small venue and has grown to boast more than 20 tables. Check it out if you get the chance and are a fan of playing poker.
