World news – Australia – Australian millions postponed and may not return in 2021

2021 Aussie Millions has been postponed indefinitely due to ongoing uncertainty about COVID-19 restrictions in Australia and the world at large.

Aussie Millions won’t take place in January, and may not happen at all in 2021. (Photo: Daily Mirror)

The host venue, The Crown Casino in Melbourne, has been announced to the public through an advertisement on their website. Citing safety concerns, the organizers have not set a date for the return of the Popular Championship, but have said they will make a plan when it is « safe » to do so.

The delay comes just days after Crown Casino gave the green light to reopen with limited capacity after the local government requested it to close in March..

The loss of Australian millions is another blow to poker players. The annual event has been a staple of the calendar since 1998. Originally known as the Australian Poker Championship, it was later renamed Aussie Millions.

Over the past 20 years, the main event and the festival as a whole have grown in popularity. The last three champions, Toby Lewis, Brian Kenny and Vincent One, each had to outdo 800 players to win the main event worth A $ 7,650..

The Australian series was also an early pioneer of Super High Roller events. The $ 100,000 tournaments have added something to the festival over the past decade and have kept the likes of Phil Ivey coming back more than once every January..

“Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Crown Melbourne would like to inform that the schedule for the 2021 Aussie Millions Poker Tournament and other poker events scheduled for 2021 will be suspended until further notice” Notice posted on the Crown website.

Whether that means or not, Aussie Millions is hanging until 2022 is unknown on this point. What we do know is that the situation is flexible.

« Crown will continue to monitor and review the situation, and work closely with the Victorian state government and health authorities to determine whether and when such events can be safely reconsidered, » update continues.

Statistically, Australia has not suffered from the number of COVID-19 related deaths like other countries. At the time of writing, 907 people have died after testing positive.

However, in terms of restrictions, Australia has imposed some of the toughest restrictions in the world. Stay-at-home orders have been implemented alongside travel bans and non-essential businesses shutdowns.

In Victoria, where the Crown Casino is based, people can only see up to two people in their home. Other states have removed such restrictions, but life is far from normal in Australia, or the world.

Aussie Millions organizers can follow the 2020 trend and turn their live event into a digital one. However, due to regulatory restrictions in Australia, this may exclude one of the basic demographics.

Online poker has been illegal in Australia since 2001. However, the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) contained loopholes that allowed overseas operators to continue serving Australian residents..

The government closed these loopholes in 2017 with the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill. Professional online poker groups have been fighting since then but every major operator has since left the country.

As such, the online Aussie Millions may not align well with the Australian government. Moreover, it could mean that anyone in Australia would lose what has become the highlight of the country’s annual poker calendar.

WSOP Main Event, World Series of Poker, Poker, Australian Crown Poker Championship