2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure: Over 20 Confirmed for Super High Roller and Over 1,000 Registered for Main Event
In the 1989 American sports drama Field of Dreams, character Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, hears a whispering voice utter the words, "If you build it, he will come." Back in 2004, PokerStars built the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and every year, people have been coming out to what is so commonly referred to as the greatest tournament series outside of the World Series of Poker.
Yet again, the PCA is the talk of the town as the calendar turns a page and puts 2010 in the books. With a new year upon us, everyone's slate is clean, and there will be no better place to get a fresh start to a successful 2011 then in the Bahamas on Atlantis Paradise Island. In just a few days, the 2011 PCA will kick off another poker spectacle in the making.
To kick things off with a bang, a $100,000 Super High Roller event begins on January 6 at noon. There's no question, this is the largest buy-in tournament the world has ever seen, and only the most elite competitors will be on hand. For those of you wondering who on earth has the confidence and cash to pony up a six-figure buy-in, PokerNews is here to give you an inside look at some of the entrants already confirmed for the event.
As previously mentioned in a recent PCA article, Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Humberto Brenes and Jason Mercier are all scheduled to play. Along with them, multiple WSOP gold-bracelet winner Bill Chen and 2010 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge winner Dan Shak have been confirmed. That's old news, though, and just the tip of the iceberg.
Joining them will be a stout list of first-class, top-rate professionals. Recent first-time WSOP gold-bracelet winner and one of the best poker personalities around, Phil Laak is confirmed along with his best friend and two-time World Poker Tour champion Antonio Esfandiari. They aren’t the only good friends and champions who will be in the field. Both Eugene Katchalov and Nick Schulman have WPT titles and are confirmed. Schulman also holds one WSOP bracelet.
The list of confirmed entrants doesn’t stop there. Hoyt Corkins is another two-time WPT champion who is confirmed. He holds two WSOP bracelets and over $5.3 million in live-tournament winnings. Scott Seiver has a little less than half of those winnings to his name, one WSOP bracelet and numerous other accolades including a victory at the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic High Roller. He is another one of the confirmed names for the event.
Sorel Mizzi had himself one heck of a 2010. He won 2010 BLUFF Player of the Year and will be looking to keep his success rolling into 2011 right from the get go with this Super High Roller event. He racked up his best year on the felt with nearly $1.9 million in live-tournament winnings highlighted by a final table at the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event for $660,000, a win at the Borgata’s East Coast Poker Championship for $170,000, a sixth-place finish at the EPT Grand Final High Roller for $190,000, and a runner-up finish at the WPT Rendez-Vous à Paris 2010 High Roller for $160,000.
Justin Smith had six WSOP cashes last year, came in runner-up for nearly $600,000 in the WPT Bellagio Cup VI, and won the WPT London High Roller for $220,000. He’s confirmed to play, as well.
A few other names can be found if you pull up the corresponding online tournament lobby for the event where players can buy in using money in their PokerStars account. As it stands now, nine names are listed in the lobby, meaning they have bought in via the PokerStars client for the big event. Some of those players are Team PokerStars Pro and 2008 PCA Main Event champion Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, North American Poker Tour Venetian champion and 2010 Card Player Player of the Year Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese, WSOP $25,000 Six-Handed runner-up Shawn “buck21” Buchanan, 2009 EPT London High Roller champion Matt Glantz, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Ashton “theASHMAN103” Griffin, Vivek "psyduck101" Rajkumar and Bryn “BrynKenney” Kenney.
One may recognize those names as some of the top players in the world, but this large buy-in event has a few other players confirmed who may not be so well known to the common poker fan. Businessman Bill Perkins, founder and manager of Small Ventures USA, LP (SMV) is confirmed to play the event. He’s an amateur player who may be recognized for his appearances on the PokerStars.net Big Game where he tested his skills against the best in the world. Japanese businessman and common face to high-stakes poker events Masa Kagawa will be joining the field as will high-roller Bryan Colin.
If you don't fancy yourself firing off $100,000 for this event, there is a winner-take-all, single-table sit-n-go on the PokerStars client for $10,000 + $300 (ID: 345764324). It is a ten-handed satellite, and if it runs, the winner will surely be playing the most expensive tournament of his or her life.
Not only is the Super High Roller event starting to really heat up, the 2011 PCA Main Event has quite the massive list of players already. With still a few days to spare before action gets under way in the Main Event, there are well over 1,000 players registered. That itself is a remarkable feat not often attained by $10,000 buy-in events. Surely, hundreds more will be turning out to make it even bigger.
If you scroll the list of those names already signed up, almost every Team PokerStars Pro looks to be there including Theo Jorgensen, Vanessa Selbst, Liv Boeree, Dennis Phillips, Barry Greenstein, Chad Brown and David Williams. Along with them, Team PokerStars SportStars Boris Becker and Fatima Moreira de Melo are registered.
With well over 1,000 players already registered and the size of the event certain to soar past last year’s record-breaking field of 1,529 entrants, it’s not too late to get in on the action. If you happen to be on Atlantis Paradise Island during Day 1a of the Main Event, there will be a live super satellite taking place allowing you to win your seat for Day 1b. The $1,040 + $60 One-Rebuy Super Satellite to the Main Event takes place Saturday, January 8 at 6:00 p.m. local time.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for everything that goes on involving the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Our Live Reporting Team will be on hand for the four biggest events: the $100,000 Super High Roller, the $10,000 Main Event, the $25,000 High Roller and the $5,000 NAPT Bounty Shootout. Don’t miss out on any of the action!
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