Aaron Benton has won the final stop on this year’s Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT).

Benton, from Australia, won APPT Sydney, which concluded this week and was held at the Star Casino in Sydney, Australia.

Specifically, Benton won the APPT Sydney Grand Final, which is what they call their Main Event.

The APPT Sydney Grand Final was a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament that had 396 entrants and a buy-in of 6,300 Australian dollars.

For the big win, Benton earned 594,000 Australian dollars.

Runnerup in the Grand Final was Ernst Hermans of the Netherlands, who snagged 475,000 Aussie bucks.

Taking third was Leo Boxell of Australia, earning 213,840 Oz dollars.

Fourth was Wayne Carlson of Australia, picking up 166,320 Australian dollars.

In fifth place was Tom Grigg of Australia, who collected 130,680 Oz bucks.

Sixth was Andrew Hiscox of Australia, taking home 106,920 Down Under dollars.

Seventh was Barry Forrester of Australia, earning 83,160 Aussie bills.

Eighth was David Formosa of Australia, collecting 65,340 Australian dollars.

Taking ninth was the only American at the final table of nine, Thomas “T.J.” Slifka, who pocketed 47,520 Aussie dollars.

Among the top poker pros participating in the event were Aussies Joe Hachem, who won the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, and his brother Tony, and Denmark’s Peter Eastgate, who won the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

Afterwards, organizers were wondering whether poker in Australia is on the wane.

The APPT Sydney Grand Final in 2007 drew 561 entrants.

The same event in 2008 drew 477 participants, a drop-off of about 15%.

Then, this year, the event drew 396, a drop-off of another 17% or so.

With participation down a total of some 32% over the past two years, event organizers have good reason to be concerned.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)