Key Takeaways
Aussie Thousands and thousands returns in April 2026 after a six-year hiatus on account of COVID-19 and regulatory points.
The event will function 18 occasions with AU$14 million in complete ensures and a AU$10,600 Most important Occasion buy-in.
Crown Melbourne’s management change, together with new CEO Ed Domingo, was key to reviving the collection.
Stay satellite tv for pc occasions will return for native gamers, whereas worldwide on-line satellites stay unsure.
The timing avoids main world conflicts and should increase turnout amid Australia’s ongoing on-line poker restrictions.
Arguably the poker world’s most anticipated announcement of 2025 has lastly arrived. Crown Melbourne formally confirmed that the legendary Aussie Thousands and thousands will return in April 2026, ending a painful six-year absence that left Australia’s poker group questioning if their flagship event would ever come again.
The Aussie Thousands and thousands will make its return subsequent yr in a brand new slot, from April 24 to Might 10. The collection options 18 occasions with buy-ins starting from AU$1,500 to AU$25,000. The Most important Occasion will keep the AU$10,600 Most important Occasion value level. AU$14 million is assured throughout the schedule.
Additional particulars, together with the opposite occasions and a reside satellite tv for pc schedule, are anticipated quickly.
Six Years Ready
The collection, broadly considered probably the most prestigious event within the Southern Hemisphere, final ran in January 2020 with 820 gamers within the Most important Occasion. That event, held simply earlier than the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, would show to be the ultimate version till now.
What adopted was an ideal storm of challenges. The pandemic shut down reside poker globally, however Crown Melbourne confronted further hurdles that prolonged far past well being restrictions. Cash laundering investigations and regulatory scrutiny created uncertainty that continued lengthy after different venues resumed operations.
The breakthrough got here with Crown Melbourne’s management overhaul. In March 2025, the on line casino appointed MGM govt Ed Domingo as CEO, changing earlier administration tainted by scandal. Domingo’s expertise with main on line casino operations and dedication to restoring Crown’s fame proved instrumental in reviving the event.
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Aussie Thousands and thousands again to Crown Melbourne after six years and reestablishing the event as a must-visit on the worldwide calendar for amateurs and elite rivals alike,” Domingo acknowledged within the official announcement.
From Humble Beginnings to Poker Powerhouse
The Aussie Thousands and thousands journey started modestly in 1998 because the Crown Australian Poker Championship. That first event attracted simply 74 gamers with a AU$74,000 prize pool, performed within the now-extinct Restrict Maintain’em format.
The event’s evolution mirrors poker’s world growth. By 2003, it had doubled its buy-in to AU$10,000 and attracted 122 worldwide gamers. The collection actually hit its stride within the mid-2000s, with the 2019 version setting data with 822 gamers and AU$8.22 million in prize cash.
Innovation turned the event’s trademark. The AU$100,000 Problem, launched in 2006, was billed as the best buy-in event in poker historical past on the time. Much more formidable was the AU$250,000 Problem launched in 2011, attracting legends like Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, and Tom Dwan.
The 2020 event practically matched the all-time file with 820 entries, however it might develop into the collection finale because the world modified dramatically simply weeks later.
Satellite tv for pc Uncertainty in Australia’s On-line Poker Desert
The event’s return carries additional significance for Australian poker gamers, who’ve been successfully lower off from the worldwide on-line poker ecosystem since 2017. The Interactive Playing Modification Act pressured main operators like PokerStars and PartyPoker to exit the market, creating what trade consultants describe as a “black market” state of affairs.
This regulatory isolation means Australian gamers can not entry worldwide participant swimming pools or take part within the huge on-line event collection that outline fashionable poker. In contrast to gamers in Europe or North America, Australians face a binary alternative between unregulated offshore websites or reside tournaments.
The satellite tv for pc qualification panorama tells an fascinating story. Greater than half the 2019 Most important Occasion subject certified via satellites, however these have been reside satellites held at Crown Melbourne itself – the web poker blackout had already been in impact for 2 years by then. Earlier than the 2017 blackout, on-line satellites from operators like PokerStars supplied further qualification paths, however these disappeared together with authorized on-line poker entry.
For 2026, reside satellites will nearly definitely return to Crown Melbourne, offering Australian gamers with inexpensive paths to the larger buy-ins. The on line casino has traditionally run intensive satellite tv for pc applications main as much as the Most important Occasion, with buy-ins beginning as little as AU$250.
The larger query mark hangs over on-line satellites for worldwide gamers. GGPoker and WPT World don’t settle for Australian gamers however function in lots of Asia-Pacific international locations, so might make sense as a web-based satellite tv for pc associate within the area.Specifically, New Zealand on-line poker is at present going via native regulation which can go reside a while in 2026.
For Australian gamers, the event represents one thing distinctive: a respectable, world-class poker event accessible with out authorized issues. This will truly profit reside attendance, as six years of pent-up demand mixed with the web poker drought creates situations the place native gamers are significantly looking forward to event alternatives.
The April-Might timing additionally positions the event uniquely on the worldwide poker calendar, probably avoiding conflicts with European and American collection whereas profiting from Melbourne’s nice autumn climate.
With 18 occasions and AU$14 million in ensures, the 2026 Aussie Thousands and thousands guarantees to reclaim its standing because the premier poker vacation spot within the Southern Hemisphere. For a poker group that has endured scandal, pandemic, and regulatory isolation, the event’s return alerts that reside poker in Australia is lastly able to deal once more.
