POKERSTARS CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE 2016 WILL BE “BIGGEST POKERSTARS FESTIVAL EVER”
Massive schedule features 104 events over nine days
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – August 28, 2015 – The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) will return in January 2016 and promises to be the biggest PokerStars festival ever held. The massive 104-event schedule, which kicks off at the stunning Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in The Bahamas on January 6, will ensure that all kinds of players have the chance to participate in more events than ever before, PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. (TSX: AYA, Nasdaq: AYA) brand, announced today.
The most notable new developments for January 2016 are a lower PCA Main Event buy-in of $5,300, which is in line with European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Events, and a tripling of the total number of events from 35 poker tournaments in 2015 to 104 poker tournaments in 2016. The buy-in for the LAPT Bahamas event, which made its highly successful debut last January, has also been reduced and will now cost $2,200. It is expected that these changes, on top of a ‘can’t miss’ schedule of events, will translate into a huge increase in qualifiers to the Festival, as well as attracting more recreational players to the PCA experience than ever before. Hundreds of satellites will be running on PokerStars over the coming months, giving players the chance to win their way to the Caribbean for as little as $1.10.
The PCA 2016 schedule follows a “something for everyone” formula that has proved a massive success on the PokerStars European circuit, where players enjoy festivals featuring dozens of different events, fun and exciting variants and a wide range of buy-in levels that give everyone a chance to participate.
Edgar Stuchly, Director of PokerStars Live Events said: “We have seen extraordinary growth in our live events in Europe and we’re excited about emulating this success at the PCA. EPT Barcelona, which is running right now, is breaking records on a daily basis and our aim is to give PCA players the same kind of experience. We will do this by tripling the number of tournaments and offering a wider variety of buy-in levels to suit every player.
“People come from all over the world to compete in the Bahamas and enjoy the Caribbean climate, in the middle of winter for the Northern Hemisphere. However, what our players really relish is the chance to play lots of poker. So this coming January, that’s exactly what we’ll be offering!”
The packed schedule features a ton of fun and exciting variants including Win the Button and Deuces Wild, H.O.S.E., PLO and bounty tournaments. For high stakes players, there will be plenty of prestigious events to tempt them off the beaches. The flagship $100k Super High Roller will start off the nine-day festival in style, with $50k and $25k High Roller events also on the schedule later on.
The popular Refer a Friend promotion will also return in 2016. If players refer a friend who hasn’t played the PCA in the last two years - and both the referrer and their friend play the Main Event - the referrer will receive $500 for each friend they introduce. This represents a huge discount to play in the event for one friend, and a player would effectively receive a free entry if they refer 11 friends.
Traditionally, the PCA has always had a wealth of additional player activities on offer away from the tables including daily Q&A sessions with Team PokerStars Pros and lots of fun competitions taking place on the live webcast. 2016 will be no exception with even more activity planned for the players to enjoy.
Satellites for PCA 2016 are starting in September on PokerStars. There will be more ways to qualify than ever before and players can qualify for as little as $1.10.
For full details of the exciting 2016 schedule, please visit: www.pokerstarscaribbeanadventure.com
About the European Poker Tour
The European Poker Tour (EPT) is the world’s richest and most popular poker tour. Since 2004, the EPT has paid out over €730 million in tournament prize pools and hosted successful festivals across Europe. The EPT also visits the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), which takes place every January in the Bahamas, one of the richest poker festivals in the world.
Season 12 of the EPT builds on the success of more than a decade of world-class live poker events, and major poker festivals are being held in Barcelona, Malta, Prague, and Dublin. The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final will be held in Monaco.
The EPT is owned by Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA). Further information on the EPT is available online at http://www.ept.com/.