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Aussie High Roller Event Announced
Posted By: Phil Simborg
Date: Wednesday, 25 July 2018, at 3:59 a.m.
P40 Aussie High Roller Announced A Ralph Burd, Phil Simborg, BLC Event Melbourne, Australia, January 20-27, 2019
Open letter from Ralph Burd, Melbourne, Australia.
Dear Backgammon Players.
I have met so many wonderful people since I began playing backgammon just a few months ago. I want to particularly thank my teacher and good friend, Phil Simborg, for introducing me to so many quality people particularly in LA and Las Vegas, several who have graciously invited me into their homes to take my money. (Once in a while, they even succeeded, but the few times I walked away with their cash, the looks on their faces was priceless!)
Now its my turn.
January in Australia is a terrific place to be. Its our summer which isn’t as hot as most people think. Melbourne is the place to be as we have the Australian Tennis Open as well as the Aussie Millions Poker event that runs most of January.
I am looking to host daily chouettes and “special” competitions such as PaskoGammon, SpeedGammon, and BluffGammon at my place from Jan 20-27th. I have chosen those dates specifically so that everyone has time to enjoy all the offerings as well as backgammon.
Thursday January 24th and Friday the 25th I will host a tournament with a A$5,000 entry which is approximately US$3,700 at the exchange rate of 74 cents. I choose that specific date as it has the least poker on.
There will be a $500 to $700 management fee (depending on the number of entrants) to cover miscellaneous expenses and special prizes and pay for a professional staff, led by Phil. Its a shame Phil has taken this on as he would surely be one of the biggest fish in this event which already has an impressive field. :-))))
I like top heavy payout personally and would like to see the winner getting 50% of the prize pool, and of course we will also offer buy-backs and side pools for those who like more action. Some form of Calcutta or Pari-mutuel will be offered for those who like more action.
We already have 40 players from outside of Australia who have stated they will come subject to seeing the final details, and we will cut it off at 64. My guess is we will end up with 64 players so without any side pools or re-entries that’s A$320,000 in the prize pool! (Over $100,000 US to the winner.)
P40 Boards will sponsor the event and we will give away two of their awesome boards and have a dozen more that will be used during the tournament and either auctioned off at the end or we will run some blitzes for them. We are in discussion with other potential sponsors and that will add both money and special prizes. Why are others interested in sponsoring? Because we hope this will be the first of a series of combination Poker and Backgammon events we hope to run annually in Melbourne and elsewhere around the world.
We know that many of you who have already committed to come have much experience in backgammon events, but this will be unique in that we are leaving plenty of time before, after, and during the event for those who wish to attend matches at The Australian Open and play in the Aussie Millions poker, or just relax and sightsee in our amazing city. We welcome your suggestions relative to side events and format.
In addition to the main tournament, Phil has planned for many fun and exciting side events including PaskoGammon, BluffGammon, SpeedGammon, Interlocking chouettes, and of course, there will be plenty of time for normal chouette action. We will poll the participants to see if there is interest in Tennis, Gin Rummy, Hearts, and Table Tennis competitions.
To keep the event running quickly and smoothly, we will supply clocks with faster time controls. We think the game is more fun and interesting for players and spectators this way, and hope you agree. We will extend those controls some for the finals. For example, an 11 point match will have a 12 second delay but instead of the normal 22 minutes, it will be 16 minutes.
January 27th is the Australian Open Tennis final which I will have an evening at my place. January 27th is also Day 1 A of the Aussie Millions and there are 2 further Days being Jan 28th or 29th to still play day 1 of the main even. We had 800 players last year at the A$10,000 entry fee.
For those of you who want to stay longer and enjoy Aussie Hospitality and more backgammon action, the Super Bowl is February 3rd and we will have our own Backgammon/SuperBowl party and offer more backgammon for those interested.
If you are interested in staying at Crown Casino, it has 3 different hotels all connected to the only Casino in Melbourne and that is where the Aussie Millions Poker tournament is being held. Its also a short taxi or uber ride to the tennis and about 20 minutes from my home. I have attached rates below for the various properties. Hayley Breen is the person to contact for reservations and all you need mention is that you’re friends of me and she will look after you.
Hayley.Breen@crownmelbourne.com.au
If you’re not interested in poker or the tennis there is a nice hotel 5 minutes from my home overlooking St Kilda Beach called the Novatel St Kilda which is a lot cheaper option and we may be able to get a group rate depending on where people choose to stay.
https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-1506-novotel-melbourne-st-kilda/index.shtml
And if you’re a tennis fan I can point you in the right direction for tickets. Pricing changes hugely once the players are known but the following tickets are from my broker and available today.
The pricing in A$ is as follows:
Tuesday AM 1/4 Finals 11am $449.00 $349.00 Tuesday PM 1/4 Finals 7pm $649.00 $449.00 Wednesday AM 1/4 Finals 11am $449.00 $349.00 Wednesday PM 1/4 Finals 7pm $649.00 $449.00
Category 1 Baseline seats on the left hand side, Cat 2 sideline the right hand side
All seats in great locations
Contact Rob via xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Now, here is what you have to do to receive an invitation and reserve a spot:
Email Phil Simborg at PJSimborg@gmail.com and you will receive instructions on where to paypal or wire a $500 registration fee to hold your spot.
Note that since this is my personal, private event (though properly registered with the Australian Government through my attorneys), we reserve the right to reject entry from any person for any reason. We will only accept known players with fine reputations for honesty and good sportsmanship and anyone exhibiting anything to the contrary during any of our competitions will immediately be asked to leave. Our major goal is to have a great time, and our secondary goal is to attract more of the poker players in the Aussie Millions to come and give backgammon a try, either in our main event or in side events.
Also note that according to Australian Law, there can be no profit to the tournament organizer, so every bit of the registration fee will be used to provide hospitality, cover expenses, and/or add to the prize pool.
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