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PokerStars has scrapped its popular PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) festival after running it for 15 consecutive years.
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, or PCA as it was affectionately known, is to cease being after 16 years as a traditional new year showpiece. The Adventure began life in 2004 with a field.
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- Jan 15, 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure ( PCA ) is an annual TV Show over a Poker Tournament taking place at the Atlantis Casino and Resort on Atlantis Paradise Island since 2005 and prior that and for one time only at the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas cruise ship in 2004.
- Jan 15, 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure ( PCA ) is an annual TV Show over a Poker Tournament taking place at the Atlantis Casino and Resort on Atlantis Paradise Island since 2005 and prior that and for one time only at the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas cruise ship in 2004. PCA was originally co-sponsored by World Poker Tour (WPT) and PokerStars.
The PCA has been a mainstay on the live poker tournament calendar since 2004. Players from all over the world jetted off to The Bahamas each January to compete in the PCA. It was the first major poker festival of the year, set in paradise, it was perfect.
Eric Hollreiser, PokerStars’ Marketing Director explained the decision to scrap the long-running festival.
“It’s no secret that after 15 successful years, the PCA [prior to last year’s PSPC] has been losing momentum and there’s been increasing player criticism of the location. As such, we will not be returning to Paradise Island in 2020. PokerStars and our players have had some great success at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas over a strong 13-year run, and we have very many fond memories of ringing in the New Year with our PCA. Our research, alongside player feedback, has shown, however, that it is time for a change to keep things fresh and give our players what they are asking for.”
PCA: A Brief History
The PCA started life back in 2004 when it was part of the World Poker Tour. It commanded a $7,500 buy-in and attracted 221 entrants aboard a cruise ship in The Bahamas. Danish superstar Gus Hansen emerged victoriously, defeating Hoyt Corkins heads-up, to bank $455,780.
PokerStars found the PCA a proper home for the 2005 edition where it stated for the next 14 years. Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island was a fitting location. Vast, sprawling and highly luxurious, it was a match made in heaven for PCA and its players.
Attendances continued to rise with 461 players competing in the now $8,000 buy-on PCA in 2015. John Gale triumphed over then and won $890,600. Steve Paul-Ambrose won the first seven-figure first-place prize at the PCA the following year. Paul-Ambrose outlasted 723-opponents to bank a cool $1,388,600.
PCA saw its first 1,000-plus field in 2008 when 1,136 entries created an $8,562,976 prize pool. Frenchman Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier got his hands on the biggest PCA prize to date, $2 million.
With the might of PokerStars’ online satellites behind it, the PCA continued to grow and evolve. It became part of the European Poker Tour (EPT) and dozens of side events appeared on the schedule. It the latter years, High Roller and Super High Roller often stole the show.
Black Friday: The Beginning of the End for the PCA
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure 2018 Winner
The 2011 PCA Main Event is the biggest-ever with 1,560 entrants. Galen Hall won that tournament and its $2,300,000 top prize. Only two of the remaining eight PCA Main Events would go on to break through the 1,000 player barrier.
“Black Friday” happened on April 15th, 2011 when the United States Department of Justice issued an indictment against three online poker sites: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. PokerStars and Full Tilt immediately stopped offering real money online poker to residents of the United States. It had a dramatic effect on the PCA’s attendance.
Only 1,072 players turned out for the 2012 PCA Main Event, a reduction of almost a third. The decline continued in 2013 with 987 entries, but rose slightly to 1,031 in 2014. It was a brief revival as only 816 players bought in during 2015.
PokerStars reduced the PCA Main Event buy-in to $5,300 in a bid to attract more players. It worked slightly in 2016 when Mike Watson had to battle through 927-opponents on his way to victory. 2017 slumped to 738 with 2018 only attracting 582 players, and the writing was on the wall.
The PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC), a $25,000 buy-in Super High Roller that PokerStars gave freerolls to more than 320 players, helped boost the 2019 PCA Main Event attendance to 865. Chino Rheem became its champion and won $1,567,100.
All Former PCA Main Event Champions
| Year | Entrants | Buy-in | Prize pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 221 | $7,500 | $1,657,500 | Gus Hansen | $455,780 |
| 2005 | 461 | $8,000 | $3,487,200 | John Gale | $890,600 |
| 2006 | 724 | $8,000 | $5,647,200 | Steve Paul-Ambrose | $1,388,600 |
| 2007 | 937 | $8,000 | $7,063,842 | Ryan Daut | $1,535,255 |
| 2008 | 1,136 | $8,000 | $8,562,976 | Bertrand Grospellier | $2,000,000 |
| 2009 | 1,347 | $10,000 | $12,674,000 | Poorya Nazari | $3,000,000 |
| 2010 | 1,529 | $10,300 | $14,831,000 | Harrison Gimbel | $2,200,000 |
| 2011 | 1,560 | $10,300 | $15,132,000 | Galen Hall | $2,300,000 |
| 2012 | 1,072 | $10,300 | $10,398,400 | John Dibella | $1,775,000 |
| 2013 | 987 | $10,300 | $9,573,900 | Dimitar Danchev | $1,859,000 |
| 2014 | 1,031 | $10,300 | $10,070,000 | Dominik Panka | $1,423,096 |
| 2015 | 816 | $10,300 | $7,915,200 | Kevin Schulz | $1,491,580 |
| 2016 | 928 | $5,300 | $4,500,800 | Mike Watson | $728,325 |
| 2017 | 738 | $5,300 | $3,376,712 | Christian Harder | $429,664 |
| 2018 | 582 | $10,300 | $5,645,400 | Maria Lampropulos | $1,081,100 |
| 2019 | 865 | $10,300 | $8,390,500 | Chino Rheem | $1,567,100 |
Moving to Barcelona?
PokerStars recently announced the PSPC is running again in 2020, but in Barcelona and not The Bahamas. Without the PSPC to attract more players to the PCA Main Event, it looks like PokerStars has decided to pull the plug instead of risking further decline.
Players have long complained about the astronomical costs of staying at Atlantis Resort. Rooms start at around $300 per night. Food and beverage prices border on obscene. A casual dining plan costs more than $105 per day with taxes included with the gourmet option increasing to more than $170 per day.
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure Episode 4
Barcelona is not one of the cheapest cities in Europe, but travel and accommodation costs are a slither of those associated with The Bahamas. It is also the most popular stop on the EPT with the latest edition breaking attendance records in several events. Perhaps PokerStars will launch the Barcelona Adventure?
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure 2018
Since it was launched PokerStars has been a leader in the global poker sector and this is because of its dedication to making big impressions on the live circuit through its amazing selection of popular poker tournaments. One of the poker operator’s most popular tournaments was the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) that has been running since 2004. After 15 successful years of operation, PokerStars has decided to discontinue the tournament series which was one of the premier live stops on the international poker scene.
The PCA garnered a massive following in the poker community mostly due to its huge guaranteed prize pools as well as its reputation for being the host of some of the first and biggest $100,000 in the history of poker tournaments. Its $25,000 High Roller events were also among the most attended poker events. That said, the reasons that the poker operator has given for its decision to discontinue the event may be rather surprising.
Declining Interest
As mentioned above, the PCA has been premier live poker stop for years but this was apparently not enough since the tournament series had been experiencing some hard time in recent years. To put things into perspective, the PCA began showing signs of decline and PokerStars responded by experimenting and making some changes hoping that these would boost player participation. Some of the changes included dropping the buy-in from $10,300 to $5,300 for two editions of the tournament and, needless to say, these failed.
Things seem to have taken a turn after 2011 when the tournamentrecorded peak attendance – there were no online satellites available to NorthAmerican players contributed to a significant drop in attendance. Moreover, thepoker environment became more competitive and this reduced the appeal of thePCA.
“It’s no secret that after 15 successful years, the PCA has been losing momentum and there’s been increasing player criticism of the location. As such, we will not be returning to Paradise Island in 2020,” PokerStars Marketing Director Eric Hollreiser said.
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure
Fans of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will certainly be disappointed with the news that the tournaments series will not be returning next year. However, over the years, PokerStars has been able to build up an impressive portfolio of amazing tournaments that can be enjoyed by players from all around the world. If you are open to exploring more of these options then you are in luck as the poker world never runs out of action.
As it stands, one of the most anticipated PokerStars tournaments is the PSPC which will be returning in August 2020, in Barcelona, Spain. The high-profile tournament is being marketed heavily which gives an idea of how big it will be. You do not want to miss out on that one.