2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Begins Sunday with $100,000 Super High Roller
The 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure begins Sunday at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The annual festival is the first stop on the tournament circuit every year, attracting many of the game's top talents while offering live-changing money and five-star amenities.
This year, the PCA begins in a big way with the $100,000 Super High Roller. What better way to kick off the New Year than with a six-figure buy-in, right? Dozens of pros are en route Paradise Island to compete in the prestigious event. One of those players is reigning World Series of Poker Main Event champion Ryan Riess, who will aim to keep his hot streak rolling and silence the detractors who took insult to Riess' claim that he's the "best player in the world."
One of those critics was Scott Seiver, who happens to be the defending champion of the PCA Super High Roller. Last year, Seiver bested a field of 59 entries to capture the biggest score of his career ($2,003,480). He defeated David "Doc" Sands heads-up when his pocket nines came from behind to topple Sands' pocket tens on the final hand.
Whether or not Seiver returns to defend his title this year, Riess will have plenty of competition when the tournament begins at Noon on Sunday. Rumor has it that more than 40 players are confirmed for the Super High Roller, including Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Dan Smith, Jonathan Duhamel, Sorel Mizzi, Vanessa Selbst, Steve O'Dwyer, Chris Klodnicki, Mike Watson, Matt Glantz, Igor Kurganov, Timothy Adams, and Jason Koon.
Selbst will be playing in the third six-figure buy-in event of her career and hopes to one-up her $25,000 High Roller win at the PCA last year. That victory, which came just days after she got engaged, made her the winningest female tournament player of all-time. Selbst is already searching for some extra run-good for this year's festival in the Bahamas.
Last yr on Jan 4th I got engaged for the PCA run-good. Now I'm married and fresh out of ideas to win another tourney. Help! SHR is Sunday!!!
— Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst)
Another high-profile person taking part in Sunday's event is Guy Laliberté. The Cirque Du Soleil founder, philanthropist and recreational poker player is considered by many to be "dead money" in these types of tournaments, but he held his own in the largest buy-in event ever in 2012. Laliberté finished fifth out of 40 players in the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop at the WSOP, donating all of his $1,834,666 in winnings to the One Drop Foundation.
The $100,000 Super High Roller is the first of 39 tournament taking place at the PCA through Jan. 13. In addition to the Super High Roller, PokerNews will be providing live updates for the $25,000 High Roller (Jan. 11-13) and the $10,000 Main Event (Jan. 7-13). The Main Event boasts a massive $10 million guarantee.
"This is the first time we’ve put a guarantee on the Main Event, and we’re hoping the $10 million purse will help smash last year’s field of 987 players," said David Carrion, Director of Live Operations for the PCA and Latin America. "But it wasn’t just about the Main Event in 2013 — the festival generated more than 6,000 total entries and more than $28 million in prize pools across all events, with over 200 runners in the $25,000 High Roller. With even more ways to win a PCA package this year in online and live qualifiers, we’re predicting the 2014 PCA to be one of the biggest and most accessible ever."
We'll see you right here on Sunday for the start of the 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure!
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