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PCA Main Event 2009

By Simon Hopper

14th January 2009

In all, 1,347 players coughed up the entry fee to create a prize pool of a staggering $12,674,000

Over 1,300 players cough up $10,000 to make the Main Event one of the worlds largest ever poker tournaments....

Judging from the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure you would be hard pressed to know that we are in the middle of a global recession.

Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Atlantis on Paradise Island, Stars bumped up the buy-in for this year’s Main Event from $8,000 to $10,000 – and somehow managed to attract 211 more runners in the process.

In all, 1,347 players coughed up the entry fee to create a prize pool of a staggering $12,674,000 – making it one of the world’s single largest poker tournaments. The final table was predictably packed with talent but it was the unknown face of Canadian Poorya Nazari who eventually stole a march on his rivals and walked away with a cool $3million as well as an automatic entry into the Monte Carlo Grand Final. Given that his biggest live cash before this event was $29,000 you get an idea of how much of a life-changing experience this must be (& provide WSOP Main Event-esque hope for amateurs everywhere).

Other notable players to make the final nine were the online legends Dustin Dirksen (6th, $400,000) & Kevin Saul (8th, $234,000), as well as WSOP bracelet winner and now Stars Pro Alexandre Gomes (4th, $750,000).

In fact, given that a PokerStars pro (ElkY) won the $25k High Roller Event & the increase in popularity this year, it seems that Gomes not going on to take the ME was the only glitch in an almost flawless tournament for the world’s biggest site.
Next up on the EPT tour is the Deauville leg, starting on 20th January – it will be interesting to see how many players this one attracts as it is back on the roster for the first time since Season 1 back in 2005.