Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournaments
Posted : admin On 3/15/2022Pearl River Poker Open, Choctaw: 13 - 22 Nov 2020: United States: Bally's Las Vegas Back in Action Poker Series, Las Vegas: 13 - 25 Nov 2020: International partypoker LIVE - partypoker Caribbean Poker Party Online, Online: 2 - 13 Dec 2020: United States: 2020 Winter Poker Open, Tampa: 3 - 5 Dec 2020: United States: Aria High Roller Tournaments. The 2019 Bahamas PSPC, presented by PokerStars LIVE, has become the largest $25,000 buy-in poker tournament ever. UPDATE — 9:20pm ET Sunday: Day 1 of the 2019 PokerStars PSPC has concluded. Bagged a peaceful 75K in the #PSPC, play continues tomorrow at noon!
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Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournaments Poker
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is no more.
After 16 years, most of it spent being one of the premier live stops on the international poker scene, PokerStars has opted to discontinue the event, according to reporting from PocketFives.
The relevant sentence comes at the bottom of the linked piece, in a quote from PokerStars Marketing Director Eric Hollreiser.
'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,” Hollreiser said. “As such, we will not be returning to Paradise Island in 2020.'
History of the PCA
PCA began as a partnership with the World Poker Tour, taking place on a cruise ship in 2004 and hosting a field of 221 players. Poker legend Gus Hansen would ship the inaugural event, then a $7,500 buy-in, for $455,780.
The next year the PCA moved to its famous home at Atlantis Resort, the sprawling and opulent set-up that occupies almost half of Paradise Island.
Over the years there, the series would eventually evolve into becoming part of PokerStars' European Poker Tour, with the buy-in goosed up to $10,300. It would eventually stand as one of just a few remaining $10K main events on the overall live schedule, although the buy-in was dropped to $5,300 for a couple of years, including the one year the event was rebranded as PokerStars Championship Bahamas in 2017.
The PCA peaked in terms of prizes awarded in 2009, when little-known Canadian Poorya Nazari won a monstrous official first-place of $3 million, although it was widely reported thata deal had been struck at some point before the finish. In terms of entries, the PCA Main Event peaked during the two following years when 1,529 and 1,560 turned up, respectively.
The Main Event was far from the only big draw at PCA. It also hosted some of the first and biggest $100K events in poker before that was just another tournament in the procession of high rollers. The $25K High Roller was also usually one of the most well-attended on the calendar.
Declining Attendance
While the PCA for years could count itself a premier live poker stop, it had fallen on somewhat hard times in recent years.
After attendance peaked in 2011, the lack of online satellites available to North American players contributed to a large attendance drop back to 1,072 in 2012 — about two-thirds of the previous year's total. As the poker environment became tougher and edges shrank, the attractiveness of an expensive stay on an island resort went down as well.
A further drop of about 20 percent — from 1,031 to 816 — in 2015 convinced PokerStars brass to try lowering the buy-in to the aforementioned $5,300. The move did little, as a bump of about 100 entries just meant the prize pool dropped massively, awarding its first winner's prize below seven figures since 2005.
Things only got worse the following year, and 2018's return to $10,300 saw attendance drop in the number of entries to 582, a level not seen since 2005 as well.
The PCA received a major shot in the arm in 2019 when the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold'em Championship was announced. While the landmark event would run alongside the PCA Main Event, the lure of the most lucrative $25K in history was enough to bring out plenty of grinders and push Main Event attendance back up to 865 for Chino Rheem's victory.
However, that always looked to be temporary fix given that the PSPC was thought to be a one-off and certainly looked unlikely to be repeated every year. With the news that the event will move to Barcelona for 2020, it was confirmed that there would be no similar life raft to keep the 2020 PCA afloat, and PokerStars opted to end the long-running event rather than risk continued decline.
Barring a reboot some time down the road, that means Rheem will go down as the final PCA Main Event champion, closing the books on one of poker's longest-running and most lucrative tournament series.
Tables of PCA Major Event Winners
Main Event
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Total Prize Pool | Winner | First Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | $7,500 | 221 | $1,657,500 | Gus Hansen | $455,780 |
| 2005 | $8,000 | 461 | $3,487,200 | John Gale | $890,600 |
| 2006 | $8,000 | 724 | $5,647,200 | Steve Paul-Ambrose | $1,388,600 |
| 2007 | $8,000 | 937 | $7,063,842 | Ryan Daut | $1,535,255 |
| 2008 | $8,000 | 1,136 | $8,562,976 | Bertrand Grospellier | $2,000,000 |
| 2009 | $10,000 | 1,347 | $12,674,000 | Poorya Nazari | $3,000,000 |
| 2010 | $10,300 | 1,529 | $14,831,300 | Harrison Gimbel | $2,200,000 |
| 2011 | $10,300 | 1,560 | $15,132,000 | Galen Hall | $2,300,000 |
| 2012 | $10,300 | 1,072 | $10,398,400 | John Dibella | $1,775,000 |
| 2013 | $10,300 | 987 | $9,573,900 | Dimitar Danchev | $1,859,000 |
| 2014 | $10,300 | 1,031 | $10,070,000 | Dominik Panka | $1,423,096 |
| 2015 | $10,300 | 816 | $7,915,200 | Kevin Schulz | $1,491,580 |
| 2016 | $5,300 | 928 | $4,500,800 | Mike Watson | $728,325 |
| 2017 | $5,000 | 738 | $3,376,712 | Christian Harder | $429,664 |
| 2018 | $10,300 | 582 | $5,645,400 | Maria Lampropulos | $1,081,100 |
| 2019 | $10,300 | 865 | $8,390,500 | Chino Rheem | $1,567,100 |
$100K Super High Roller
| Year | Entries | Total Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 38 | $3,743,000 | Eugene Katchalov | $1,500,000 |
| 2012 | 32 | $3,136,000 | Viktor Blom | $1,254,400 |
| 2013 | 55 | $5,724,180 | Scott Seiver | $2,003,480 |
| 2014 | 56 | $5,433,120 | Fabian Quoss | $1,629,940 |
| 2015 | 66 | $6,402,000 | Steve O'Dwyer | $1,872,580 |
| 2016 | 58 | $5,626,000 | Bryn Kenney | $1,687,800 |
| 2017 | 54 | $5,239,080 | Jason Koon | $1,650,300 |
| 2018 | 48 | $4,737,600 | Cary Katz | $1,492,340 |
| 2019 | 61 | $5,918,220 | Sam Greenwood | $1,775,460 |
$25K High Roller
| Year | Entries | Total Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 48 | $1,200,000 | Bertrand Grospellier | $433,500 |
| 2010 | 84 | $2,057,998 | William Reynolds | $576,240 |
| 2011 | 151 | $3,775,500 | Will Molson | $1,072,850 |
| 2012 | 148 | $3,626,000 | Alex Bilokur | $1,134,930 |
| 2013 | 204 | $4,998,000 | Vanessa Selbst | $1,424,420 |
| 2014 | 247 | $6,051,500 | Jake Schindler | $1,192,624 |
| 2015 | 269 | $6,456,000 | Ilkin Garibli | $1,105,040 |
| 2016 | 225 | $5,400,000 | Nick Maimone | $996,480 |
| 2017 | 159 | $3,895,500 | Luc Greenwood | $740,032 |
| 2018 | 142 | $3,484,800 | Chris Kruk | $836,350 |
| 2019 | 162 | $3,928,500 | Martin Zamani | $895,110 |
Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournaments 2019
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PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
PokerStars announced itslive events would be rebranded in 2017, beginning the schedule with the PokerStars Championship Bahamas, formerly known as the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
The series will begin this Thursday, and PokerStars will be sending over 250 poker players to the inaugural PokerStars Championship Bahamas main event at Atlantis Resort. More than half of those qualifiers won their way to Atlantis for just $10 by playing special Spin & Go satellites on PokerStars. The Spin & Go prize package included a Main Event seat and an additional $5,000 for travel and accommodations.
The qualifiers range from experienced players to rank amateurs. They embody poker’s ability to bring a diverse group of people together from across the globe.
As Edgar Stuchly, PokerStars’ Director of Live Events, said: “We’re very excited about the first PokerStars Championship stop. Our aim is to host an event that will be enjoyed by players of all kinds — from the world’s biggest high rollers to recreational players who have perhaps never played at a live event before.
“With over 90 tournaments on offer, this year’s schedule adopts a ‘something for everyone’ formula. So, for all our regulars, as well as newcomers, we extend a very warm welcome to the Bahamas and hope a great experience is enjoyed by all – both on and off the tables.”
Here’s a look at some of the more interesting players heading to the Bahamas after qualifying online at PokerStars.
Young and old at PCB
The youngest of the 250-plus qualifiers is a 19 year-old from Denmark who will be playing in his first live event. When he realized he had hit a Spin & Go jackpot and would be playing for the PokerStars Championship Bahamas package he said, “The adrenaline rushed through my body like crazy, I was shaking so much.”
On the other end of the age spectrum is Morris Dadoun, an 84-year old insurance broker and financial advisor from Canada who qualified via a charity tournament. Morris has been playing poker for over 40 years, but the PCB will also be his first live major tournament.
Dadoun took a shot at qualifying because he dreamed of participating in a big tournament after years of watching tournaments on TV. When asked what he’s most looking forward to, he said he wants to, “meet some champions and have the opportunity to play with them.”
Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2020
From PokerStars New Jersey…
There were a total of three qualifiers from PokerStars’ New Jersey site, including 55 year-old Wayne Geritchen, who won his way to the Bahamas through a freeroll. Remarkably, Geritchen also qualified for the inaugural PokerStars Festival New Jersey held at Resorts in September by way of a freeroll. He went on to cash in the main event for $2,300.
Geritchen’s son also plays poker, and happens to manage the pool hall across the street. That led to Geritchen, unbeknownst to him, having an impromptu rail for his big win.
“The minute I won the freeroll, my phone exploded because my son was immediately calling me telling me how everyone at the pool hall across the street was watching live online,”Geritchen said.
“He immediately demanded that I come over and celebrate (with the rail that was watching me, that I didn’t even know existed, as I was playing).
“The five minutes it took me to walk across the street I felt like I was floating on a cloud, and then when I walk through the door of the pool hall everybody was hugging me and shaking my hand and congratulating me like I had already won a championship.”
…to PokerStars players from the other side of the world
Several online qualifiers will be flying some 10,000 miles to play in the PCBs Main Event, as a small contingent of players from Australia won online satellites.
One player who will also be taking a very long flight to the Bahamas is Sacheen Ramchandani from India. Like so many qualifiers, he has never played in a live poker tournament.
Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournaments
Ramchandani is the only qualifier from India, but that will likely change in the coming years as India is in the midst of its own poker boom.
“Poker has picked up a lot in India,” Ramchandani said. “It’s like every third person you meet knows or plays poker.”
This could be a huge development for poker globally, considering India is the second most populous nation in the world with 1.25 billion (with a B) people.
Ramchandani’s path to the Bahamas began with a $27 Step satellite, and from there things took a bit of a Moneymaker-esque turn.
“The funny thing is I totally forgot about the next stage and I was almost asleep,” Ramchandani said. “I was like, hang on, I think I have a game where I qualified, let me check if it’s today or next week.”
It’s a good thing he checked, because the tournament was just two hours away. That meant an already tired Ramchandani would be staying up all night… which turned out to be worth it. Sacheen won his ticket to the Bahamas at 4 a.m.
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