The first-ever Benny Binion Shootout event was held from Dec. 18-20, 2020 at the South Point Poker Room. The $2,050 buy-in no-limit hold’em event attracted 128 entries to build a $256,000 prize pool, which was paid out among the top 16 finishers. The largest share was ultimately awarded to William Firebaugh, who defeated decorated tournament poker professional Nicholas Pupillo heads-up to secure the title and the top prize of $100,000.

The Crown Poker Room occupies an enormous space in the casino basement with over 50 poker tables to play in. It offers a variety of poker games and holds weekly tournaments. Buy-in for the tournament can range from $0 to the sky’s limit. New Poker Tournament Crown Casino players Only. £10 min deposit. £5 max bet using bonus. 40 x wagering applies. Bonus valid for 14 days. 20 Spins on Starburst games Poker Tournament Crown Casino will be credited instantly + then 20 per day for 9 days. Free Spins valid for 72 hours from credit. Max Free Spins winnings £100. Skrill + Neteller excluded.

This was Firebaugh’s third recorded live tournament win, and his first score of six-figures or higher. His biggest previous payday came when he took down the 2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Tunica $600 big-blind ante event for $36,219 and a WSOPC gold ring. Firebaugh now has $373,530 in career tournament earnings to his name.

In addition to the title and the money, Firebaugh was also awarded 264 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. This was his second POY-qualified score of the year, having won a $400 buy-in event at the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati back in January. His two victories are enough to move him inside the top 500 in the 2020 POY race, which is sponsored by Global Poker.

Pupillo took home $50,000 and 220 points as the second-place finisher. This was his seventh POY-qualified final-table finish of the year. With $249,732 in year-to-date earnings and 1,139 in total points, Pupillo now sits in 52nd place in the overall rankings. The score increased Pupillo’s lifetime earnings to $3,353,741.

The final table also featured WSOP bracelet winner Dan Matsuzuki, who earned $14,000 for fifth place. Fellow bracelet winner Ronnie Bardah finished 13th for $3,000.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

One of Australia’s largest casinos is at risk of losing its license, according to a report from the Australian Broadcasting Company.

The Crown Casino in Melbourne is about to go under the guise of the Victorian Government as officials are preparing to crack down on the casino after it admitted that some of its accounts were likely used to launder money. The Victorian Government is appointing a special commissioner to review the allegations and whether or not the establishment is fit to hold a gambling license.

The reviews are scheduled for every five years, but the Crown Casino was just audited two years ago in 2018. The special commissioner will report his findings in February.

“Crown will continue to work cooperatively with the VCGLR (Victorian Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation) to support this review,” said Crown Resorts in a statement.

The Crown Casino was one of the most popular destinations for poker players in Australia as it was home to Aussie Millions, the most famous poker series on the continent held every January.

Past winners of the $10,600 AUD no-limit hold’em main event include Bryn Kenney, Toby Lewis and Ari Engel. Vincent Wan won the most recent installment this past January.

In November, Crown announced that the 2021 Aussie Millions was put on hold. Last weekend, poker dealer and tournament director Landon Blackhall confirmed on Twitter that the casino was, at least temporarily, closing its poker room.

Confirmed: the @CrownPoker Room has been stripped entirely and will (for the short term, we hope) revert to other forms of table games. No indication as to when or to what capacity poker will return. https://t.co/AytB5Z0vVf

— Landon Blackhall (@LandoNation) December 13, 2020

The initial impulse as to why it’s closed would be the COVID-19 pandemic, which is hurting poker rooms all over the world. Several Las Vegas poker rooms have yet to reopen since the virus began spreading throughout the U.S. in March. It’s rumored that most of those still closed will stay that way.

But Australia doesn’t have the same problems as the U.S. The Australian government implemented strict lockdown and immigration measures to mitigate the virus, which has become nearly nonexistent in that region of the world, making it much less likely that that the poker room closure has anything to do with COVID-19.

In fact, just an eight-hour drive northeast in Sydney, the Star Casino is allowing seven-handed poker without masks or plexiglass, measures that have become the norm in the rest of the world. A week ago, World Poker Tour host and Australia-raised Lynn Gilmartin tweeted photos from the poker room showing a bunch of maskless Aussies grinding away.

Poker Tournaments At Crown Casinos

One of the last restrictions to lift in this covid-free state is allowing casino tables to open seven-handed…. Poker is BACK at The Star Gold Coast!!! pic.twitter.com/MmX2SOFf0H

— Lynn Gilmartin (@LynnGilmartin) December 11, 2020

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