Seat 5: Ang Italiano -- 510,000
Ang Italiano enters the final day of the tournament as the short stack, with 510,000 in chips and just 17 big blinds, but she's already won much more than she ever hoped for in this event.
Italiano having won her seat into this event for just AU$130. She played two "Phase One" AU$65 satellites and won her second to earn entry into an AU$250 "Phase Two." She won that before winning a AU$1,100 "Phase Three" to win her seat in this Main Event. That means she's seen a 91,260% increase on her original investment being guaranteed at least AU$118,769.
Although nearly all of Italiano's cashes come from Australia, her previous largest cash came from all the way over in Las Vegas. In 2007, Italiano placed in the money in the WSOP Main Event for $20,320, and she has career earnings of $87,656.
Married with two children, the 60-year-old Italiano lists her profession as a ceramic teacher and also a restaurateur. She's a local to Melbourne and will no doubt have plenty of supporters in her section rooting her on. Late on Day 4, the rail was comprised of a good handful of people cheering for Italiano as her run from a small AU$65 satellite to the final table has been nothing short of amazing.