21-year-old Alexander Kostritsyn of Moscow survived a record field of 780 players to win the 2008 Aussie Millions Poker Championship at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. The event is the richest poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere, with a prize pool of over AU$7.8 million (US$6,983,494). Alexander took home the title, which was won last year by poker pro and fan-favorite Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen, by beating seasoned poker professional Eric Seidel in a thrilling upset. For his efforts, Alexander, the youngest player and sole European at the final table, won the first prize of AU$1.65 million (US$1,474,895), the largest prize ever won in a poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.

Peter Mim, Crown Casino’s Executive General Manager of Table Games, stated: “We congratulate Alexander Kostritsyn on his tremendous accomplishment. He played superb poker over a prolonged period against a record field that included virtually every top professional and hundreds of talented amateurs from Australia and around the world.”