World champion female poker player, Samantha Abernathy named an Aussie Millions 2018 ambassador
Tuesday 23 January 2018. Hosted by Crown Melbourne, Asia-Pacific’s largest poker event, Aussie Millions is welcoming back 25-year-old American professional poker player Samantha Abernathy for the second time – only this year as an ambassador for the highly acclaimed Main Event.
It was the Aussie Millions Main Event in 2016 that gave the former graphic designer and illustrator an opportunity for her breakout performance. Abernathy made it to the final table; and played one of the most iconic hands in Aussie Millions history where she got a slow roll from local Mike Habb then managed to spike a two-outer on the river to eliminate him. Habb had been saying, “Ship it to Papa” for much of the tournament so Jason Somerville decided to adopt it for Abernathy after she took all Habb’s chips and the phrase ‘Ship it to Mama’ was adopted. Abernathy then finished the Main Event in third place against some of the world’s top poker players and taking home an impressive $625,000.
With her profile growing at a rapid rate, Abernathy is a new generation of poker player and a force to be reckoned with at this year’s tournament, having finished in the top ten of her last
eight tournaments.
“I had a great time at Aussie Millions in 2016, and was really happy with the result as I had only been taking poker seriously for a couple of years. This year I have double the experience
and a lot more tournaments under my belt, so I am confident I can go further,” said Abernathy.
A penchant for strategy games and making money off bets as a child is what led Abernathy to a career in poker, beginning at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida in 2012, when she
registered for a poker tournament to pass the time. A week later, Abernathy flew to Prague to play World Poker Tour events – returning to her home town of Gainesville, Georgia only to
decide to make the move to the mecca of gaming, Las Vegas.
Since its inception in 1998, the Aussie Millions tournament has fast become a major stop on the international poker circuit for the world’s greatest poker players. With an ever increasing
amount of women participants, there are fewer barriers than ever for women to stamp their authority on the poker scene.
Aussie Millions Tournament Director, Joel Williams says, “It is brilliant to see so many women getting involved in Aussie Millions and embarking on poker as both a hobby and career. That is why we looked to Samantha to be one of our ambassadors this year – she is an ideal role model and her own Aussie Millions experiences in particular show the breadth of opportunity the poker landscape provides to women”
Nearly 100 poker tables will be set up across the award-winning complex over the coming weeks to accommodate the thousands of players from around the world who attend the event.
This years’ tournament commenced on Wednesday 17 January and runs until Monday 5 February, with anyone able to enter via the satellite events until Monday 29 January.
Jason Somerville will be streaming the Main Event exclusively through his channel on Twitch.tv on Thursday 1st, Friday 2nd and Sunday 4th February 2018.
For more information visit the Aussie Millions website at https://aussiemillions.com
For further PR & media information, please contact.
CATHERINE WILCOX
Senior Communications Manager
p: +61 3 9292 8608
m: +61 434 219 041
e: [email protected]
w: crownresorts.com.au
ELLE WARWICK
PR & Partnerships Executive
p: +61 3 9292 5538
m: +61 421 331 378
e: [email protected]
w: crownresorts.com.au
