Yesterday The Stars Group, the ownershipbehind the monolithic PokerStars in the online poker world, announced some ofthe changes in their 2020 PokerStars Players’ Championship (PSPC) that willcome up next August in Barcelona. Buried in the depths of that interview,PokerStars has announced that, after a 15-year run, that the PokerStarsCaribbean Adventure will not be contested in 2020 and, effectively, is done asa tournament stop.

1. Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2018 Tournament
2. Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2018 Results
3. Atlantis Bahamas Poker Room

Bovada is the number-one US-friendly online casino. Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2018 Owned and operated by the renowned Bodog Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2018 brand, Bovada is famous for its fair play certified iGaming titles and robust sportsbook and racebook options. ABOUT POKERSTARS CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE 2018 The iconic PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) returns to the Atlantis Resort, The Bahamas with the illustrious live poker festival running January 6-14, 2018. This year's PCA features 31 tournaments across nine days of intense poker action.

End of an Era – And of the “Golden Age” ofPoker

Inan interview with Lance Bradley of PocketFives that concentrated on thePSPC, The Stars Group spokesman Eric Hollreiser’s real announcement was buriedat the end. In that story, Hollreiser is quoted as saying “It’s no secret that after 15 successfulyears, the PCA has been losing momentum and there’s been increasing playercriticism of the location,” Hollreiser said. “As such, we will not be returningto Paradise Island in 2020.”

“PokerStarsand our players have had some great success at the Atlantis Resort & Casinoin the Bahamas over a strong 13-year run, and we have very many fond memoriesof ringing in the New Year with our PCA,” Hollreiser continued. “Our research,alongside player feedback, has shown, however, that it is time for a change tokeep things fresh and give our players what they are asking for.”

Thedecision from The Stars Group is stunning in that the PCA has, essentiallysince the inception of PokerStars itself, been THE tournament that the companywas known for. Originally contested aboard a cruise ship in 2004 and a part ofthe World Poker Tour, in 2005 the PCA found its home at the Atlantis Resort onParadise Island in the Bahamas. The January play date for the tournamentprovided the poker world – and we do mean the WORLD – with a way for peoplefrom around the globe to trek to the Bahamas to “get away” from the winterdoldrums for the first major poker tournament to kick off the year.

Over morethan a decade, the PCA gained notoriety for large prize pools and challengingtournaments. In many peoples’ views, it was a part of the “Grand Slam” oftournament poker, consisting of the PCA and the World Series of PokerChampionship Event, the World Poker Tour’s World Championship (now a defuncttournament), the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final (ditto) and the Aussie Millions.The buy in for the tournament would fluctuate over the years, vacillatingbetween a $5000 and a $10,000 buy in for its history.

While thepoker community loved the PCA, the tournament was affected by the realities ofthe political world. The 2006 passing of the UIGEA, and the decision byPokerStars to continue to serve the U. S. market, saw the PCA become even morepopular. But the 2011 indictment of the founders and executives of PokerStarsand the resulting pullout from the U. S. market had a significant impact on fieldsizes in subsequent years. After peaking at 1560 players in January 2011, the2019 version of the tournament “only” saw 835 entries.

PokerStars’Reasoning?

Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2018 Tournament

To be honest, the demise of the PCA has been rumored for years. It actually did end in 2017 as, looking to promote their “PokerStars Championships” circuit (their “replacement” for the EPT), the tournament was rebranded as the “PokerStars Championship Bahamas.” Neither that move, nor the decision to end the EPT (which came back in 2018), was received well by the poker community and the PCA came back in 2018 also.

With thedemise of online poker in the U. S., however, the justifications for The StarsGroup to continue to promote an event in the North American arena weredifficult to find. Even though they were able to return to the New Jersey onlinepoker market in 2016, The Stars Group has never been able to reestablish afoothold in the U. S., making marketing big time tournaments to U. S. customersa waste of time. Even with the potential to expand into Pennsylvania – The StarsGroup is licensed to offer online poker in Pennsylvania but hasn’t opened upshop yet – there’s just not enough reason for The Stars Group to continue withthe PCA.

There’salso the “new kid in town” that is the shiny new toy of The Stars Group and itis something they – not the original owners in Isai Scheinberg and his family –have created. The PSPC, after a stunning debut in 2019 at the PCA, seems to bethe vehicle that The Stars Group wants to ride in the future. With a remarkable1039 players taking part in a $25,000 buy in tournament – the largest $25K tournamentin the history of poker – The Stars Group sees the potential in the newtournament and, with the dwindling numbers of the PCA, needs to cut some weightsomewhere and put the marketing and promotional monies toward the PSPC.

The move of the PSPC to the EPT stop in Barcelona in 2020 was perhaps the first “bell toll” for the death of the PCA. The success of the 2019 tournament schedule at the Casino Barcelona made it an easy decision for the execs at The Stars Group. With online gaming still a burgeoning market in Europe, Asia and Africa, it made it an easy choice to leave the Western Hemisphere and go back to the Old Continent.

It is often said that good times never last, but the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure had a helluva run! Perhaps another tournament will be set in the climes of the Atlantis (oddly enough, the only time of the year that poker was offered in the Atlantis’ casino was during the PCA), but it would have to be a major tour such as the World Poker Tour or another circuit looking to make a name. For now, all we will have is the memories of those luxurious January days – and nights – and the warm Caribbean breezes as we bid farewell to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

It may have seemed like a lifetime ago, but the tournament poker world has only been on hiatus for about two weeks. That slight respite from play has left hundreds of players itching to get back to the felt and the only thing that will scratch that itch is one of poker’s major tournaments. That’s right…the 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is set to open play today, with a plethora of action available.

Once again back in its home at the Atlantis Resort Spa on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, the 2018 PCA is back in full swing after a one-year “dream” as the PokerStars Championship Bahamas. The PCA has traditionally been the “kickoff” for tournament poker in the New Year and 2018 isn’t breaking that tradition. In fact, the 2018 PCA is wasting no time in getting the eyes of the poker world focused on it.

Saturday will mark the start of the $100,000 Super High Roller event, which is expected to draw defending champion Jason Koon and a host of the biggest names in poker. Bryn Kenney, who made these High Roller events his specialty in 2017 (and led many Player of the Year races before being passed in December by Adrian Mateos), is already on the grounds in the Bahamas and looking to make another run at a High Roller championship (he won a $50,000 High Roller tournament at the 2017 running of this event). You can also expect to see players like Koray Aldemir, Daniel Dvoress and others picking up chips for this tournament.

Although poker may be the reason for everyone being on the island, officials with PokerStars are not making the same mistake as last year. Instead of facing a 90+ tournament schedule as they did in 2017, the 2018 PCA is a scaled back affair with 31 tournaments on the roster. That will allow for Team PokerStars Pros such as Daniel Negreanu, Jake Cody, Fatima Moreira de Melo, Igor Kurganov and Liv Boeree and celebrity Team PokerStars members comedian Kevin Hart and eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt to take part is some of the non-poker outlets at Atlantis.

As far as the Main Event, more than 300 players have already earned their seats online to be a part of the action when it begins on Wednesday. For this year, the PCA Main Event will go back to its $10,000 buy in (it had been dropped to $5000 for last year’s tournament) and, in a refreshing change for a major championship, the tournament does not allow for re-entry. Once the final players come in from the online arena and the number of tournament poker professionals come into the tournament room, it promises to be a strong turnout (estimation is difficult because of the change in buy-in; in 2017, 738 runners came to the line but, in year’s past, the numbers have been bigger).

Atlantis Bahamas Poker Tournament 2018 Results

In 2017, the then-PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event final table was one for the ages. The table featured a historic run by John Dibella, who won the PCA back in 2014 and was looking to repeat. While Dibella ran out of gas in eighth place, former “November Niner” Cliff Josephy ran through the table to reach heads up action against another top pro, Christian Harder. In what turned out to be a frenetic fight Harder, who despite a lengthy poker resume had never taken a major poker title, was able to vanquish the veteran Josephy to capture the championship and the $429,664 payday.

Atlantis Bahamas Poker Room

For a look at the full schedule for the 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure – including the other High Roller tournaments and side events – visit their dedicated website. There will also be a list of those tournaments that will be live streamed over PokerStars TV. After a couple of weeks of slumber, the tournament poker world is coming back to life with the start of the 2018 PCA.