Poker Unknowns Dominate Day 3 of 2008 Aussie Millions

Poker pro Erik Seidel is one of the few recognizable names left at the 2008 Aussie Millions. (Bodog Beat Image)

Day 3 of the 2008 Aussie Millions main event came to a close with 22 players left from the 96 that began. Of that starting number, 16 would find themselves with unfond (possibly bitter) memories to go home with as the tournament only paid out the top 80.

While several pros were among the field that did survive the money bubble, most of them would succumb before the end of the day, leaving a field of relatively unknown players. Among the notable players that cashed in this event were online poker pros Tom "durrrr" Dwan and Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul, Andy Black, Erick Lindgren, Kenna James and Tiffany Williamson, with Black being the last to go down just before the end of the day, taking home $30,000.

Day 2 chip leader Matthew Lagarde also saw his stack go from monster to minuscule, eventually busting out in 26th place for $40,000. The pros that did survive included eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel, our favorite Italian pirate, Max Pescatori and... well, actually that's it.

We're sure that the other 20 players in the field are super nice guys. And with a little research we could probably find out what accomplishments they have racked up while languishing in an obscurity that is not proportional to the talent potential that they have, but we're also pretty lazy.

What we do know is that the chip leader at the end of Day 3 is Antonio Casale, who must either be really lucky or have some poker talent. We're gonna go with talent because skill always wins the day over the long run in major tournaments like this that draw hugely talented fields.

Anyway, play will resume today/tomorrow, depending how you look at it, at 12:30 p.m. local time, so make sure to head back over to the Beat for more insightful and informative analysis of the 2008 Aussie Millions.

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