PokerNews Talks to Aussie Millions First Timer Joey Weissman
Joey Weissman admits that his first trip to the Aussie Millions has been a long time coming. After receiving recommendations from the likes of fellow Americans Jesse Sylvia, James Romero and David Peters, Weissman told us that he's been meaning to come for years, and 2020 marks the first time he's made the trip down under for what he says is one of the greatest poker stops in the world.
"The poker community just love it here," Weissman told PokerNews on break in the Opening Event. "Melbourne is so well-known for its food and the people here, but also for the quality of dealers and tournament staff here at the Aussie Millions. I've been hearing about it for a long time and had always said to myself 'Maybe one day!'"
However, with the absence of the PCA on the January poker calendar, Weissman along with his girlfriend decided in late 2019 to make the journey, extending their trip with a holiday to New Zealand and Asia.
"We're just taking the opportunity to travel and taking advantage of being on this side of the world. It's been something that my girlfriend and I have been talking about for the last couple of years, and wanting to do, but never pulling the trigger. We decided we wanted to do it sooner rather than later, before settling down and having a family one day.
"We've got a few days after the series is done to really enjoy the city, and I'm sure I'll take some days off. I'm sure things will work out organically to really enjoy our time here, but you can't beat being here in the summertime, right?"
Now with the long flight behind him, Weissman has thrown himself into a full poker schedule here at the 2020 Aussie Millions, but a unique situation has come up that he says will change his approach to the trip as a whole.
"I'm here for the whole thing and planning on playing most days. It's an interesting situation because most tournaments like this $1,000 don't allow you to re-enter on the same day, so [if you bust] you just have the rest of the day to enjoy!
"Considering the structures, there are going to be early casualties, and some of those days I'm going to be one of them. Sort of forces you to play every day because it's not like you're going to be re-entering until 8pm in each flight. You don't have that excuse, you could be done by 2pm so you're going to be able to play the next day. "
Looking ahead, Weissman admits that his priorities for 2020, at least in the short term, are away from poker.
"I think it would be pretty safe to say that after the Aussie Millions we're going to be taking some time to enjoy being in places like New Zealand and Asia, and who knows how much poker there will be! Probably very little.
"You do see these little tours in the Philippines or Thailand, but I'll definitely be back in Vegas for the full WSOP and after that, who knows!"