The Stars Group Calls it a Day on Their PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 09/23/2019

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Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.

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PCA Comes to an End After 15 Years, Photo by PokerStars.com

After 15 years in existence, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, one of the leading live events on the global poker scene, will be discontinued. Fondly known as PCA, the longest-running live poker festival operated by the online poker site, The Stars Group, is closing its doors because of a decrease in the number of players participating in the tournament.

Successful Beginning

Seven years prior to Black Friday, Caribbean Adventure debuted in 2004 aboard a cruise liner as part of the World Poker Tour. In 2005, the competition shifted base to the Bahamas and was hosted at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, which became its base since then.

Players were given a chance to secure a seat at the esteemed festival via online satellites, which gave competitors a chance to try out their skills against the international elite.

In its initial years, American players took an active part in global online poker and so a trip to an exotic Caribbean destination, which wasn’t too far off, provided the perfect get-away.

Forward wind to 2011, the same year when Black Friday occurred, players flocked to the competition in droves. It was the last time the PokerStars showpiece would see such a high turnout.

Factors that Contributed to PCA’s Demise

Post the removal of the online satellites in the U.S. market, there was a considerable decline in the number of players because many of them relied on these satellites to take part.

Adding fuel to the fire, there was a growing discontentment with the venue coupled with travel arrangements to the facility, which together contributed to a decline in interest.

Efforts to Keep PCA Alive

By 2016, following a significant reduction of representation from the U.S, the PCA sign-ups dwindled gradually, which in turn resulted in the poker operator reducing the buy-in from $10,300 to $5,300 for two editions.

However, this move didn’t do much to help with the turnout as the numbers continued their downward spiral forcing several operators to resort to different avenues to keep the event alive. These tactics included:

• Adding the PCA to the European Poker Tour (EPT) – for a limited period, even though it was hosted on the other side of the pond.
• Rebranding the competition as PokerStars Championship Bahamas – a more recent move, which lasted all of a year in 2017.
• Adding the $25k PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) to the PCA event – in 2018, which was the result of a 2-year marketing campaign. With an amount of $1 million in add-ons and 320 Platinum Passes, the turnout did improve for a while but it was short-lived.

The Official Verdict

Eric Hollreiser, PokerStars Marketing Director had this to say,

It’s no secret that after 15 successful years, the PCA has been losing momentum and there’s been increasing player criticism of the location. As such, we will not be returning to Paradise Island in 2020.

He went on to add that the company and patrons of the event have had some fantastic success at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas, which hosted the festival for 13 years.

Hollreiser concluded that their research and player feedback has proven that it is time for a change to

keep things fresh and give our players what they are asking for.

What the Future Has in Store

Though the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will cease to be, the PSPC has gained traction, becoming a festival in its own right, which is scheduled for the second run in Barcelona, Spain in August 2020.

Patrons of the PCA can only hope that with gambling restrictions being lifted across various states recently, American poker will be revived down the line. If it does, it just might give the Stars Group the impetus they need to revive their PCA event sometime in the future.