You��d like to assume that you��re always going to enjoy coming back to a casino where you have previously won AUD$850,136 (approx. $600,000), and former WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event champion Scott Davies says he always has good memories of coming back to the Crown, Melbourne.

��I remember after I won walking along the riverfront outside of the casino,�� he said, ��You know, when something like that happens you just want to get away from everyone for a few minutes. Being out there at night, in front of the casino��just every time I get here it still brings back a lot of good memories.��

Davies is here early and has been playing in the Opening Event, a AUD$1,150 event with five starting flights and a AUD$1,000,000 guarantee.

��It��s just another tournament, but I do feel like all tournaments here at the Crown are a bit more special for me. The atmosphere is incredible; you look around and there are dozens of players on the rail in Level 2 of a $1,000 event! There aren��t many places where that��ll happen. You definitely feel like the locals support this; like it��s their event.

��That being said there are people from all over the world here. It��s pretty cool. I know that the Germans seem to love it here!��

With a packed schedule, there��s plenty of poker action for Davies to sink his teeth into at the start of the year, but he says he ��won��t be playing everything.��

��I put together a schedule that I intend on keeping. I definitely want to grind some of the satellites because I think they��re super good value.��

And what about the Crown��s ��Flip Zone�� offering ten-handed $100 and $1,000 flips for players to try and work their way up to a Main Event seat, will Davies be trying his hand at those?

��Maybe not the Flip Zone,�� he laughed, ��But if you��re a poker player and want to degen and gamble a little bit, then that��s what you should be doing!��

Away from the tables, Davies has been enjoying a bit of life run-good over the festive period.

��I spent the holidays in Maui,�� he said with a smile. ��I run pretty good because my wife��s parents live there. They were living in Ohio when I proposed and we got married in Maui. They loved it there so much that they moved! I just run really good.��

With so much going on in Melbourne besides the 2019 Aussie Millions, including a lot of sporting action, Davies says he hopes to find a free afternoon to enjoy what��s on offer.

��I definitely want to get out to the tennis a few times. I got the chance to go to the men��s final a few years ago which was amazing. I don��t really grind as much as I used to. I come to things that I think would be interesting.

��My schedule for the year has this on and then South America; I really want to go to Brazil. I��ve got a place in Vegas so I��m just going to stay at home and grind there. I don��t really need to be on the road so much, but the Aussie Millions is one of the few stops that I would absolutely never miss!��

As a result, Davies says he has built up strong relationships with players and staff members here in Melbourne.

��It��s fun to reunite with everyone. I feel like I��ve come home every year. Everyone��s so great to me; at the cage, registration, the floor guys��everybody here is so friendly.

��The restaurants are awesome, the weather��s great, and Australia Day is coming up. There��s just so many reasons to come back!��

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