The Crown Melbourne in Australia has confirmed that the Aussie Millions poker series will return next year, running from April 24 to May 10, 2026.
The return will mark the end of a six-year period in which the Aussie Millions — also known as the Australian Poker Championship — did not feature in the poker calendar. The last running of the series took place in January 2020, shortly before the global COVID lockdown caused a major barrier to live poker and international travel.
The casino then found itself subject to investigations into various regulatory lapses including allegations of money-laundering and a lack of protections for problem-gamblers. The Aussie Millions series was postponed indefinitely, with live poker series only returning to Crown Melbourne last year.
The festival’s return in 2026 will feature 18 days of play, 18 events and a guaranteed prizepool of at least AUD $14 million (approx. USD $9 million). A full tournament schedule is yet to be announced, but confirmed highlights include a Main Event with a buy-in of AUD $10,600 (approx. USD $7K) and buy-ins across the series ranging from AUD $1,500 to $25,000 (USD $1K to $16K).
Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Bryn Kenney among former winners
The Aussie Millions’ status as one of — if not the — premier poker series in the southern hemisphere is backed up by the roll call of big name international players it has regularly attracted over the years, many of whom have won big in Melbourne.
With its international appeal kicking off during the ‘poker boom’ era, stretching from Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 WSOP Main Event win to Black Friday in 2011, the Aussie Millions has been attended by many of the game’s biggest names, from the USA and beyond.
The Main Event final table has been contested by the likes of Erik Seidel, Annette Obrestad, Chris Moorman, Patrik Antonius, Scott Seiver, Brian Rast, Ari Engel, Fedor Holz, Bryn Kenney and many other globally successful players. Winners have included Gus Hansen, who went on to document every hand he played en route to his 2007 victory in his book Every Hand Revealed.
The Aussie Millions has also proved to be a happy hunting ground for Phil Ivey, who recorded back-to-back victories in the AUD $250K (approx. USD $160K) Super High Roller events in 2014 and 2015, in addition to winning the event in 2012.
A High Roller event with a buy-in of AUD $100K (approx. USD $65K) was also a regular fixture, with a winners’ list featuring the likes of Andrew Robl, Nick Petrangelo and Dan Smith.
Exactly which events will be returning — and which players — remains to be seen, but the reputation of the series is such that we expect it to figure large on the international poker calendar when it makes its long-awaited return next April.
Additional image courtesy of Aussie Millions.
