The European Poker Tour (EPT) is taking the idea of a Festival of Poker to heart with its upcoming 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). What used to be just a single big buy-in tournament has evolved into a multi-day affair with more than 50 side events to keep players busy should they bust out of the Main Event early.
The 2010 PCA, which will take place from January 4th through 14th, will once again be held at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, so participants will also have their fair share of island activities to take part in should they choose to step out of the tournament area for awhile. The stop has been a longtime favorite of online and live pros, thanks in part to the beautiful location and large number of satellite qualifiers helping to generate an ample prize pool.
Last year’s field of 1,347 players included nearly 850 satellite qualifiers competing for their share of a $12.6 million prize pool. The 2009 PCA Champion, Poorya Naazari, netted $3 million for the victory and each of the eight players at the final table took home at least $230,000. The 2010 event will once again feature a $10,000 buy-in and PokerStars is predicting an even larger field with a projected prize pool of $14.5 million.
Several of the events will once again be shown on PokerStars.tv and various networks across the globe, including the Main Event, World Cup of Poker, and High Roller Event. Last year’s High Roller tournament was won by 2008 PCA Champion and Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. Fresh off an amazing World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) showing, Grospellier is already getting excited about the upcoming PCA even though it is still a few months away. “I love going to the Bahamas for the PCA! The location and the organization are great and I believe the competition is probably the toughest you can find in any live tournament, with all the internet pros and the best live players,” he said in an official press release from PokerStars.
One of the most popular events on the tournament circuit outside of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the PCA often has some of the largest fields and biggest prize pools of the year. While its purse far exceeds any of the other high buy-in events outside of the WSOP, its will have a difficult time beating the new participation record set by the Commerce Casino earlier this month, when one of the West Coast casino’s smaller buy-in preliminary tournaments drew nearly 4,000 players. However, should the PCA attract a field of 1,450 players as expected, it would certainly surpass the attendance of any other five-figure buy-in event this year besides the WSOP Main Event.
Popular side events like the Battleship Heads-Up event will once again return to the schedule and they will be joined by a host of games ranging from No Limit Hold’em to Badugi. The Festival of Poker will also feature unique versions of more popular games, like a tag team event and Battleship-Multi-Tabling Championship. The side events begin on January 4th and will continue until the 14th, which is the day the High Rollers Event plays down to a champion.
The complete schedule of events is included below. All times are local:
January 4
18:00: Super Satellite to Main Event, $1,060 + $40
20:00: Nightly NL Turbo, $200 + $20
January 5
12:00: Main Event Day 1A, $10,000 + $300
14:00: Unl. Re Buys Super Satellite to Main Day 1B, $200 + $20
20:00: 1 Re Buy Super Satellite Main Day 1B, $530 + $20
20:00: Nightly PLO Turbo, $200 + $20
January 6
12:00: Main Event Day 1B, $10,000 + $300
14:00: PLO Freezeout, $500 + $50
16:00: Badugi / 2-7 Mix, $500 + $50
20:00: Step 1 to Step 2 High Roller Super Satellite, $550 + $50
20:00: Nightly PLO8 Turbo, $200 + $20
January 7
12:00: Main Event Day 2, $10,000 + $600
14:00: NL Freezeout – 6 Max, $1,000 + $100
20:00: 8 Game Championship – Day 1, $5,000 + $250
20:00: Step 1 to Step 2 High Roller Super Satellite, $550 + $50
20:00: $200 + $20 Nightly NL Turbo, $200 + $20
January 8
12:00: Main Event Day 3, $10,000 + $600
12:00: Battleship – Multi Tabling Championships, $2,000 + $150
13:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1A Round 1, $5,000 + $250
14:00: PLH/PLO Tag Team Mix, $2,000 + $150
14:00: 8 Game Championship – Day 2, $5,000 + $250
16:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1A Round 2, $5,000 + $250
18:00: PokerStars Charity Event, $5,000 + $250
18:00: NL Freezeout, $1,000 + $100
19:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1A Round 3, $5,000 + $250
20:00: Super Sat to 1K Ladies ONLY NL, $110 + $10
20:00: Nightly PLO Turbo. $200 + $20
22:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1A Round 4, $5,000 + $250
January 9
12:00: Main Event Day 4, $10,000 + $600
12:00: Battleship – Multi Heads Up Challenge (64 Cap), $1,000 + $100
12:00: PLO Championships – 8 Max – Day 1, $5,000 + $250
13:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1B Round 1, $5,000 + $250
13:00: Ladies Only NL Freezeout, $1,000 + $100
14:00: 8 Game Championship – Finals, $5,000 + $250
16:00: NL Freezeout, $1,500 + $100
16:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1B Round 2, $5,000 + $250
19:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1B Round 3, $5,000 + $250
21:00: PokerStars Party
21:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Day 1B Round 4, $5,000 + $250
January 10
12:00: Main Event Day 5, $10,000 + $600
12:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 1, $2,000 + $150
12:00: PLO Championships – 8 Max – Day 2, $5,000 + $250
13:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Quarterfinals, $5,000 + $250
14:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 1, $1,000 + $100
14:00: PLO – 6 Max, $1,000 + $100
15:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 2, $2,000 + $150
16:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Semi-finals, $5,000 + $250
16:00: NL Freezeout, $5,000 + $250
17:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 2, $1,000 + $100
17:00: Ladies Only NL Freezeout, $300 + $30
18:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 3, $2,000 + $150
19:00: Step 2 Super Sat to $25,000 High Roller, $2,700 + $200
20:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 3, $1,000 + $100
20:00: 8 Game (2 Day Event), $500 + $50
20:00: PS Heads Up Challenge Finals, $5,000 + $250
20:00: Nightly NL Turbo, $200 + $20
21:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 4, $2,000 + $150
23:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1A – Round 4, $1,000 + $100
January 11
12:00: Main Event Day 6 – Final Table, $10,000 + $600
12:00: Battleship Main Event, $2,000 + $150
12:00: PLO Championships – 8 Max – Finals, $5,000 + $250
12:00: PokerStars Bounty Hunter, $500 + $100 + $50
12:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 1, $2,000 + $150
12:00: Limit – 6 Max, $1,000 + $100
12:00: PLO 8 or Better, $500 + $50
13:00: World Cup Preliminaries – Day 1A
14:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 1, $1,000 + $100
15:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 2, $2,000 + $150
16:00: High Roller – 8 Max – Day 1, $25,000 + $500
17:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 2, $1,000 + $100
18:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 3, $2,000 + $150
20:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 3, $1,000 + $100
20:00: Nightly NL Turbo, $200 + $20
21:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 4, $2,000 + $150
23:00: NL Live Heads Up – Day 1B – Round 4, $1,000 + $100
January 12
12:00: High Roller – 8 Max – Day 2, $25,000 + $500
12:00: Pot Limit 5 Card Draw High, $500 + $50
13:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Quarterfinals, $2,000 + $150
13:00: NL Live Heads Up – Quarterfinals, $1,000 + $100
13:00: World Cup Preliminaries – Day 1B
14:00: 8 Game, $1,000 + $100
16:00: NL Freezeout, $1,000 + $100
17:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Semi Finals, $2,000 + $150
17:00: NL Live Heads Up – Semi Finals, $1,000 + $100
20:00: Nightly NL Turbo, $200 + 20
21:00: PLO Live Heads Up – Finals, $2,000 + $150
21:00: NL Live Heads Up – Finals, $1,000 + $100
January 13
12:00: High Roller – 8 Max – Day 3, $25,000 + $500
12:00: World Cup of Poker – Final
12:00: Triple Stud (Razz, High, High – Low), $1,000 + $100
14:00: NL Freezeout 6 Max, $5,000 + $250
16:00: NL Freezeout 6 Max, $500 + $50
20:00: Nightly NL Turbo, $200 + 20
January 14
12:00: High Roller – 8 Max – Final, $25,000 + $500
12:00: NL Shootout, $500 + $50
14:00: PLO Shootout, $500 + $50