Poker Players Set to Decend Upon the Bahamas for the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
The 2010 tournament chase is set to get under way with what has become one of the most anticipated poker events of the year, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure poker festival in the Bahamas.
This ten-day tournament series, which runs from January 4 through 14, features the world's second largest big buy-in tournament ($10,300 Main Event) event, which trails only the World Series Of Poker Main Event when it comes to player attendance. Players only have to be 18.
Featuring 50 events, the PCA has something for everyone and is open to players as young as 18. In addition to the Main Event, several tournaments that are expected to draw the attention of poker fans, including the $25,000 High Roller event, the World Cup of Poker, the amFar charity tournament, the $5,000 PokerStars Heads Up Challenge, and several high stakes Battleship tournaments that have become player favorites.
What does Battleship has to do with poker? It's a heads-up tournament played on laptops; however, competitors are literally sitting face to face while they play. PCA's decision to add several Battleship events to this year's schedule proves there is a demand for this kind of action as the game's popularity continues to grow among poker players because of the strategic aspects of the game.
Possibly the biggest reason for players to make the trip to the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island is the Main Event's first-place prize. Last year's winner, Poorya Nazari, took home $3 million when the Canadian topped the field of 1,347 runners. Considering that the prize pool reached $12,674,000, it doesn't take much to understand why players descend upon the island in droves.
The second reason that players come out of the woodwork for the PCA, besides the sun and fun, is that last year's winner won his way into the tournament via a $33 triple turbo rebuy event on PokerStars. Like "Moneymaker Effect" that followed Chris Moneymaker's improbable run to the 2003 WSOP Main Event title (Moneymaker won a $39 satellite to get into the WSOP Main Event), Nazari's story has inspired a legion of online players to try to win their spot in this year's PCA Main Event.
The PCA marks its sixth year with the start of the 2010 series and early word is that this year's Main Event field may top last years and set a new PCA record.
Previous PCA Main Event Winners:
2009 - Poorya Nazari - $3,000,000
2008 - Bertrand "Elky" Grospeiller - $2,000,000
2007 - Ryan Daut - $1,535,255
2006 - Steve Paul Ambrose - $1,388, 600
2005 - John Gale - $890,600
2004 - Gus Hansen - $455,780
PokerNews will be on hand at the Atlantis Resort to bring you full coverage of all the action. Be sure to follow daily with our live updates, photos and videos.
While most of the satellites are complete for this years PCA, sign up for a PokerStars account to start winning seats for upcoming events. Also be sure to blog about your experience using My.PokerNews.com
