If you won’t be attending the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas, you might feel a bit lonely the next couple of weeks. That’s because seemingly the rest of the poker world is getting ready for what is sure to be a warm and potentially profitable vacation.
The annual poker series is highlighted by the inaugural PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC). This $25,000 buy-in five-day event guarantees $8 million in prize money and kicks off Sunday.
Over 300 of the competitors got in for free. Many won Platinum Passes which also included travel money from PokerStars Team Pro members such as Daniel Negreanu and Chris Moneymaker throughout the year. Expect some high-stakes pros to buy-in anticipating a lot of dead money in the pot.
This certainly won’t be your typical high-stakes event. Most tournaments with such steep buy-ins have under 100 players, most of whom are regulars on the high-roller circuit. Due to PokerStars’ strategy of handing out passes for free to the “Average Joe’s,” many low-stakes pros will get an opportunity of a lifetime.
It isn’t easy for most poker players to come up with $25,000. Hence, why so many are excited to make the trip. Well, that and the upper-70’s temps expected in the Bahamas. Not bad for January.
Poker Twitter Stoked for PCA
Poker Twitter is unusually positive this weekend. That is because many are getting ready for maybe the most exciting PCA ever. Poker podcaster Joe Ingram appears even more excited than others.
https://twitter.com/Joeingram1/status/1081561106642944001
Ingram recently made a somewhat controversial decision to accept a Platinum Pass. Given his shaky relationship with PokerStars in the past, some of his fans were disappointed he, as they claim, “sold out.” But few poker players would turn down a free trip to the Bahamas and ticket into an $8 million guaranteed tournament.
Joe’s decision to accept the pass helped another lucky player, Jeremy Hilsercop, to also receive one. And for the Tennessee resident who plays low-stakes games, this is a dream come true. His wife, Randi, is coming with.
Me and @JHilsercop ready for our first flight of the day! We are tired but excited!!! #PSPC #pokerstars @PokerStars pic.twitter.com/rkammQwnlI
— Randi Hilsercop (@Randi_heatlifer) January 5, 2019
Randi bought her husband a trip to the WSOP this summer for Christmas. She recorded Jeremy’s reaction to receiving the gift and posted it on social media. The video went viral which inspired Ingram to let PokerStars know he would only accept the Platinum Pass if Hilsercop also got one. The poker site almost instantly snap-called that bet.
More than Just the PSPC
Poker players aren’t just heading down to the Bahamas for the PSPC. The 2019 PCA also features 39 other events from January 6-16 at the Atlantis Resort and Casino.
That includes the annual $10,300 Main Event which begins Friday with the first of two Day One sessions. Argentina’s Maria Lampropulos became the first woman in the tournament’s 15-year history to win last year. She took home $1,081,100 for beating a 582-player field.
Other past champions include Gus Hansen (2004), Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (2008), and Christian Harder (2017). This year’s event will almost certainly have a large field full of talented pros, and of course some fish.
