PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
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The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is an annual televised poker tournament.
History
The event was first held in 2004 and was originally co-sponsored by PokerStars and the World Poker Tour. In 2008, the event moved from the WPT to the European Poker Tour. In 2010, the event was moved again and served as the inaugural event of the North American Poker Tour. In 2017 the tournament was the inaugural event of the new PokerStars Championship 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. For 15 years (from 2005 to 2019), the event took place at the Atlantis Paradise Island 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 running on PokerStars and at the event. The main event final table was aired live on ESPN2, featuring commentary by James Hartigan and Daniel Negreanu.
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 announced that the PCA would be discontinued in 2020.
In April 2022, PokerStars announces the return of the PCA and PSPC to the Bahamas in 2023 at a new location the Baha Mar Resort.
Main event winners
| Year | Buy-in | Winner | Prize | Entries | Total prize pool | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | $7,500 | Denmark Gus Hansen | $455,780 | 221 | $1,657,500 | |
| 2005 | $8,000 | United Kingdom John Gale | $890,600 | 461 | $3,487,200 | |
| 2006 | $7,800 | Canada Steve Paul-Ambrose | $1,388,600 | 724 | $5,647,200 | |
| 2007 | $8,000 | United States Ryan Daut | $1,535,255 | 937 | $7,063,842 | |
| 2008 | $8,000 | France Bertrand Grospellier | $2,000,000 | 1,136 | $8,562,976 | |
| 2009 | $10,000 | Canada Poorya Nazari | $3,000,000 | 1,347 | $12,674,000 | |
| 2010 | $10,300 | United States Harrison Gimbel | $2,200,000 | 1,529 | $14,831,300 | |
| 2011 | $10,300 | United States Galen Hall | $2,300,000 | 1,560 | $15,132,000 | |
| 2012 | $10,300 | United States John Dibella | $1,775,000 | 1,072 | $10,398,400 | |
| 2013 | $10,300 | Bulgaria Dimitar Danchev | $1,859,000 | 987 | $9,573,900 | |
| 2014 | $10,300 | Poland Dominik Pańka | $1,423,096 | 1,031 | $10,070,000 | |
| 2015 | $10,300 | United States Kevin Schulz | $1,491,580 | 816 | $7,915,200 | |
| 2016 | $5,300 | Canada Mike Watson | $728,325 | 928 | $4,500,800 | |
| 2017 | $5,000 | United States Christian Harder | $429,664 | 738 | $3,376,712 | |
| 2018 | $10,300 | Argentina Maria Lampropulos | $1,081,100 | 582 | $5,645,400 | |
| 2019 | $10,300 | United States David Rheem | $1,567,100 | 865 | $8,390,500 | |
| 2023 | $10,300 | Portugal Michel Dattani | $1,183,037 | 889 | $8,623,300 |
High Roller winners
| Year | Buy-in | Winner | Prize | Entries | Total prize pool | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $25,000 | France Bertrand Grospellier | $433,500 | 48 | $1,200,000 | |
| 2010 | $25,500 | United States William Reynolds | $576,240 | 84 | $2,058,000 | |
| 2011 | $25,500 | Canada Will Molson | $1,072,850 | 151 | $3,775,500 | |
| $10,200 | Russia Alexander Kostritsyn | $263,840 | 68 | $659,600 | ||
| 2012 | $25,500 | Russia Alex Bilokur | $1,134,930 | 141 + (7 Rebuys) | $3,626,000 | |
| $10,200 | Canada Shawn Buchanan | $202,360 | 87 | $843,900 | ||
| 2013 | $25,500 | United States Vanessa Selbst | $1,424,420 | 161 + (43 Rebuys) | $4,998,000 | |
| 2014 | $25,000 | United States Jake Schindler | $1,279,880 | 198 + (49 Rebuys) | $6,051,500 | |
| 2015 | $25,000 | Azerbaijan Ilkin Garibli | $1,105,040 | 200 + (69 Rebuys) | $6,456,000 | |
| 2016 | $50,000 | United States Steve O'Dwyer | $945,495 | 80 | $3,860,000 | |
| $25,000 | United States Nicholas Maimone | $996,480 | 173 + (52 Rebuys) | $5,400,000 | ||
| 2017 | $25,750 | Canada Luc Greenwood | $779,268 | 121 + (38 Rebuys) | $3,895,500 | |
| 2018 | $50,000 | United States Steve O'Dwyer | $769,500 | 46 | $2,263,200 | |
| $25,000 | Canada Christopher Kruk | $836,350 | 144 | $3,484,800 | ||
| 2019 | $25,000 | United States Martin Zamani | $895,110 | 115 + (47 Rebuys) | $3,849,930 | |
| 2023 | $25,000 | United States Dylan Smith | $364,440 | 32 + (12 Rebuys) | $1,056,440 | |
| $25,000 | Bulgaria Ognyan Dimov | $990,655 | 187 | $4,444,055 |
Super High Roller winners
| Year | Buy-in | Winner | Prize | Entries | Total prize pool | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $100,500 | Ukraine Eugene Katchalov | $1,500,000 | 38 | $3,743,000 | |
| 2012 | $100,000 | Sweden Viktor Blom | $1,254,400 | 30 + (2 Rebuys) | $3,136,000 | |
| 2013 | $100,000 | United States Scott Seiver | $2,003,480 | 43 + (12 Rebuys) | $5,724,180 | |
| 2014 | $100,000 | Germany Fabian Quoss | $1,629,940 | 46 + (10 Rebuys) | $5,433,120 | |
| 2015 | $100,000 | Republic of Ireland Steve O'Dwyer | $1,872,580 | 50 + (16 Rebuys) | $6,402,000 | |
| 2016 | $100,000 | United States Bryn Kenney | $1,687,800 | 44 + (14 Rebuys) | $5,626,000 | |
| 2017 | $100,000 | United States Jason Koon | $1,650,300 | 41 + (13 Rebuys) | $5,239,080 | |
| 2018 | $100,000 | United States Cary Katz | $1,492,340 | 36 + (12 Rebuys) | $4,737,600 | |
| 2019 | $100,000 | Canada Sam Greenwood | $1,775,460 | 43 + (18 Rebuys) | $5,918,220 | |
| 2023 | $100,000 | United States Isaac Haxton | $1,082,230 | 40 + (9 Rebuys) | $4,753,980 | |
| $250,000 | Canada Sam Greenwood | $3,276,760 | 30 + (9 Rebuys) | $9,498,060 |