The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was an annual televised
poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table (called a "heads up poker, heads-up" tournament), and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on th ...
. The event was first held in 2004 and was originally co-sponsored by
PokerStars
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the large ...
and the
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...
. In 2008, the event moved from the WPT to the
European Poker Tour
The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour (WPT), created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Tex ...
. In 2010, the event was moved again and served as the inaugural event of the
North American Poker Tour
The North American Poker Tour (NAPT) was a series of international poker tournaments held in North America. The NAPT included an associated television series broadcasting the final table of some of the tournaments.
The NAPT was started in 2010 ...
. In 2017 the tournament was the inaugural event of the new
PokerStars Championship
The PokerStars Championship was a series of global poker tournaments which began in 2017. The formation of the series was announced in August 2016, when PokerStars revealed that the European Poker Tour and other poker tours were being rebranded. Se ...
tour and renamed PokerStars Championship Bahamas. The name was changed back to the PCA for 2018 and the buy-in restored to $10,000.
In 2004, the event took place on the
Royal Caribbean ''Voyager of the Seas'' cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
. For 15 years (from 2005 to 2019), the event took place at the
Atlantis Paradise Island
Atlantis Paradise Island is an ocean-themed resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It is built around Aquaventure, a waterscape.
Property history
The property was originally part of the Paradise Island Hotel and Casino, which opene ...
and after a three-year break, it returns to the Bahamas at the brand new
Baha Mar Resort.
The 2011 PCA commenced on January 4, 2011. Over fifty events took place over ten days, including the main event with an estimated prize pool of
$20 million. Players either buy into the main event directly for $10,300, or they may win their way into the event via
satellites
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
running on PokerStars and at the event. The main event final table was aired live on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
, featuring commentary by
James Hartigan
James Edward Hartigan (born in Carshalton, South London) is an English journalist and broadcaster who is best known as a poker commentator on British and American television, and as a presenter and film critic on London talk radio station LBC.
...
and
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu (; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. In 2014, independent poker ranking service Global Poker Ind ...
.
John Dibella, a 43-year-old stock trader from New York, won the 2012 PCA for $1,775,000. Dibella won a live $1,000 satellite into the $10,000 Main Event and is the first amateur player to win the tournament.
In 2019,
PokerStars
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the large ...
announced that the PCA would be discontinued in 2020.
In April 2022,
Pokerstars
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the large ...
announces the return of the PCA and PSPC to the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
in 2023 at a new location the
Baha Mar Resort.
Main Event winners
High Roller winners
Super High Roller winners
References
External links
Official siteOfficial FAQ Page
{{Major Poker Tournaments
PokerStars
European Poker Tour
Television shows about poker
Poker tournaments
Poker in North America