Mark your calendars. The 2009 Aruba Poker Classic will take place from October 3rd to 10th at the Radisson Resort on the sunny island. Officials from Ultimate Bet, which serves as the event’s presenting sponsor, are expecting 550 runners.
The Main Event in Aruba will carry a $5,500 buy-in and begin on October 5th, crowning a champion five days later. The event’s website has even received a makeover to mark the countdown to the festivities, which begin in just 170 days. In a press release distributed by Ultimate Bet this week, one of its main faces, 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, commented that he’s already ready to head to Aruba: “Aside from winning my 12th bracelet, the week-long Aruba Poker Classic poker experience is what I’m looking forward to the most this year. Millions in prize money, more players than ever, UB’s 10th birthday bash, and unbelievable parties. I mean, what’s not to love?”
Tournament Directors’ Association co-founder Matt Savage will serve as the officiate in Aruba. Also slated to appear is Ultimate Bet pro and Celebrity Apprentice runner up Annie Duke, who is fresh off reaching the final two of the popular NBC reality show. Ultimately, comedian Joan Rivers bested her in the season finale, but Duke raised over $730,000 for her charity, Refugees International. In addition to the Main Event, Duke, Hellmuth, and others in attendance will be battling it out in a series of preliminary tournaments. Here is the full schedule of events for the 2009 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic:
$5,000+500 Aruba Poker Classic Championship Event: October 5-10th
$2,000+100 Two-Day No Limit Hold’em Tournament: October 7th
$1,000+60 No Limit Hold’em Tournament: October 8th
$2,000+100 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Tournament: October 9th
$500+40 No Limit Hold’em Tournament: October 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th
Charity Poker Tournament to Benefit the Aruba Community: October 8th
The Aruba Poker Classic Main Event’s reigning champion is Matt Brady, who pocketed $1 million for the win last year. In 2007, Travis “TravestyFund” Rice emerged victorious from the field of 548 players en route to an $800,000 first place prize. In 2006, it was Devon Miller, who went toe to toe against then-Ultimate Bet pro Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, who parted ways with the site in December. In 2005, two-time WSOP bracelet holder Feddy Deeb took home the title for $1 million. Eric Brenes stole the show in 2004, besting 646 players, while another Eric, Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren, won it all in 2003. The very first installment of the Aruba Poker Classic took place in 2002 and was won by Juha Helppi, who defeated Phil Gordon.
Deeb’s win in 2005 marked the last time that the Aruba Poker Classic served as a stop on the World Poker Tour. In October of 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in the United States, leading to events like the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure looking for new tour partners. The latter is now part of the European Poker Tour (EPT); Ultimate Bet’s remains an independent event. Despite the flux, Ultimate Bet will celebrate its decade-long anniversary in Aruba and host a Welcome Party on Day 1, which it touts as the “don’t miss social event of the Aruba Poker Classic.”
Ultimate Bet, which comprises one-half of the CEREUS Network, recently rolled out a software update that includes ante games, a “final table view” design, and automatic tournament pop-ups in case the software client is closed or disconnected. Absolute Poker also makes its home on the CEREUS Network, the seventh largest worldwide in terms of cash game traffic according to PokerScout.com. The Network boasts a seven day running average of 2,150 real money ring game palayers with a 24 hour peak of nearly 3,000.