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Dan Shak Wins the 2010 Aussie Millions $100K Challenge

Day trader turned poker player Dan Shak may want to consider a career shift after facing the world's best poker players in the 2010 Aussie Millions $100K Challenge on January 25th, 2010 and coming out the champion.

Shak said that he is very happy with his achievement since the level and quality of the tournament's final table members was so high that includes poker legend Phil Ivey.

A total of twenty-four poker players paid the $100K buy-in to participate in the world's most expensive poker tournament and the field played down to a final table of eight on January 22nd, 2010.

When they returned to crown a champion on January 25th, 2010, short stacked Howard Lederer was the first one to go home, running an ace ten against the aces of Tony G. Chip leader Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis was the next one to go home.

The young Australian online poker legend doubled up a few of the smaller stacks before running an ace/ten into Shak's nines and failing to improve. Barry Greenstein then had his kings defeated by Tony Bloom's jacks and the Team PokerStars Pro busted out a few card hands later when Bloom's king's held against Greenstein's queen/ten.

Tony G was the next one to go home, getting his buy-in back when Shak's ace/king cracked his tens and it was not long before 2009 $100K Challenge runner-up Bloom got dominated by Ivey and bowed out in 4th place, taking home $200,000 AUD. Local cash game poker pro Bill Jordanou went home in 3rd place, taking home $300,000 AUD when he got it in with his top two against the overpair of Ivey. But Ivey turned a set and rivered a flush.

The heads-up showdown started with Shak and Ivey about even but Shak took the veteran poker pro to task, building a 3-1 chip lead through a series of outstanding pre and post flop players.

Eventually, Phil Ivey got it in with an ace/ten against ace/seven but Shak flopped a seven to win and while the Team Full Tilt Pro and the 2009 November Niner was forced to settle for 2nd place and the $600,000 AUD, pushing him to the top slot on poker's all-time leading money's winner list. Shak won a total of $1.2 million AUD.

While Shak has been recording cashes on the high-stakes poker circuit since 2004, including a 4th place finish in this event last year, his biggest win before the 2010 Aussie Millions $100K Challenge was a victory in the first Ante Up for Africa charity event at the 2007 WSOP (world series of poker).

02/15/2010, Monday
Todd Sanders

Dan Shak Wins the 2010 Aussie Millions $100K Challenge

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