SKYCITY Auckland Anniversary title heads to the Bay of Plenty
Wednesday 3 February 2010, 8:52AM
By SKYCITY Entertainment Group
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James Honeybone from Tauranga emerged on Monday 1 February with the trophy and title of the 2010 SKYCITY Auckland Anniversary Poker Champion. James collected NZD $36,030.00 in prize money for his win. Oliver from Wellington picked up NZD $23,720 for second place.
The tournament started on 31 January with 121 players, with increased player numbers from last year. Noticeable local players competing in the poker champs included SKYCITY Poker Ambassador and TV celebrity Brooke Howard-Smith, New Zealand Comedian Mike King, local player Richard Lancaster (who came fifth in last year’s SKYCITY Festival of Poker main event) and Dawn Raid Entertainment boss, Brotha D.
War was waged over the SKYCITY poker tables for nine levels with day 1 ending at 11.00pm. Day 2 began with a large crowd on the rails and 35 of the starting 121 players returning for the chance to take home the title of 2010 SKYCITY Auckland Anniversary Poker Champion.
Play continued in the SKYCITY poker room at 2pm on Monday with the remaining 35 taking their seats. The blinds for Day 2 started at $800/$1600 with an ante of $200. From Day 1, the big players surviving included Brooke Howard-Smith, Dan Sing and James Honeybone.
The final nine players formed the final table at 7.30pm with play continuing until just after 3.00am when James went ‘all-in’ with Jack, Ace against Oliver’s pair of Kings. The final cards gave James an Ace-high flush over Oliver’s triple Kings and the title of the 2010 SKYCITY Auckland Anniversary Poker Champion.
The results for the main event were:
12. Thomas McDonald – Auckland - $2,060.00
11. Paul Reid – Auckland - $2,420.00
10. Haiou Xu – Auckland - $3,150.00
9. Timothy Phillip – Auckland - $3,510.00
8. Mitch McClenghan – Auckland - $4,240.00
7. Dan Sing – Auckland - $4,840.00
6. Steve Quanborough – Australia - $5,930.00
5. Martin Cardno – Auckland - $9,200.00
4. Srdjan Mitrovic – Auckland - $11,620.00
3. Koray Turker – Auckland - $14,280.00
2. Oliver – Wellington - $23,720.00
1. James Honeybone – Tauranga - $36,030.00
The next major event on the SKYCITY Auckland poker calendar is the Lee Nelson Deep Stack tournament held on the 27-28 March.