PokerStars.com proved itself to be the Poseidon of online poker rooms when, together with the Atlantis Resort Casino, it hosted the fourth-annual
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure - the largest "live" online championship to date. Nearly 900 qualifiers and their guests, along with dozens of entrants who paid the $8,000 entry fee, flew or sailed their way to Paradise Island, Bahamas, for the event. The 937-player starting field set a
World Poker Tour record.
The Atlantis, living up to its mythological name, offers everything under the Bahamas sun. Together with PokerStars, it hosted a spectacular welcome banquet the night before the championship. With thousands of miles between them and their snowplows, winter vacationers enjoyed dining and dancing on the hotel's Royal Deck as the sun set over the ocean and a tropical breeze put weary travelers' minds at ease. But the clock was ticking as PokerStars organizers, tournament staff, and Bahamas gaming operatives made last-minute preparations for a once-forbidden island pastime - poker.
The
PCA is unlike most major tournaments, in that a majority of very young enthusiasts who aren't yet old enough to play in casinos populate it. But don't let their age fool you. These well-read, highly competitive, and interactive young players have comprehended enough poker material to merit a degree in literary achievement and have played millions of online poker hands. And although it's most likely their first time competing in a live event of such magnitude, we certainly haven't seen the last of them. As a matter of fact, we're more than likely looking at the faces of future champions.
Flights One and Two
Many first-time live-tournament participants were awestruck by the celebrity players, revering them as young masters might revere sages in a J.R.R. Tolkien novel. And to give one an idea of what the average age of the 937 participants was, Joe Sebok was referred to as a "veteran."
The size of the field required two "day ones." At the end of the first day one, Owen Crowe came out of nowhere to pull a rabbit out of a hat, winning a last-minute three-way pot and rocketing his way into the lead with more than $200,000. When the whistle blew, 18-year-old Jimmy Fricke and newcomer Isaac Haxton also were at the top of the chip leader board.
On the second day one, the tournament reached capacity before the cutoff time, with the crush of last-minute entrants creating an alternate list and making for some interesting seat assignments. Michael Mizrachi, J.C. Tran, Barry Greenstein, and Nam Le ended up at one table, while David Williams, Tom McEvoy, Cliff Josephy, Isabelle Mercier, and Humberto Brenes were at another.
A total of 444 players from both days of action advanced to day two.
Day Two
Completing the first six levels and returning on day two had players exercising goal prioritization. The consensus had gone from wanting to make it past day one to just getting paid. The prize pool totaled a whopping $7,063,842, with 180 players making the money. The number of famous faces dwindled, as many notable players had been eliminated, while those who'd exchanged handles throughout the event seemed to relax around their familiar competition.
When the tournament was down to 183 players, hand-for-hand play commenced; 30 minutes later, Max Green went out on the bubble in 181st place. It was finally payday.
"Congratulations," said Tourn-ament Director Mike Ward, "you've made the money." It took a moment for the news to sink in, and then slowly, a few at a time, players and fans began to applaud.
With nearly 60 other eliminations, day two ended with Bellagio
Five-Diamond World Poker Classic "wunderkind" Justin Bonomo the chip leader, but 2006
PCA defending champion Steve Paul-Ambrose was right on his heels. Haxton and Fricke had slid into 13th and 14th place, respectively.
Day Three - From 13 Tables to Two
Day three had started with 121 players, and 28 were eliminated within the first hour.
Isaac Haxton, who'd qualified in a PokerStars $175 "shootout," was steadily climbing back up the leader board, and then an all-in heads-up win against Canadian Nenad Medic shot him past the $300,000 mark and into first position.
Jimmy Fricke doubled through Paul-Ambrose, crippling him. Paul-Ambrose couldn't recover and eventually went out in 20th place. Players, fans, and tournament staff members applauded him for going deep into a second
PCA.
After the redraw, an insane rush of all ins wiped out three players, and just as quickly as they'd taken their seats and stacked their chips, 16 of them were racking them back up in preparation for day four.
Day Four - From 16 Players to Six
In early action, Haxton's pocket aces trumped Joe Marcal's A-K, separating him from the rest of the pack with more than $500,000.
Ten minutes later, Eric Riise and Mario Silvestri went head-to-head. They'd both paired tens, but Silvestri's better kicker sent Riise out in 15th place. Right behind him were Luis Chan, Frank Parisi, and Mario Silvestri in 14th through 12th place, respectively.
With only minutes left in the first round of the day, and more action preflop than usually seen in an entire orbit, day three's chip leader Justin Bonomo raised and Haxton reraised. Bonomo fired back and Haxton pushed all in. Bonomo went into the tank and finally called with pocket kings, but Haxton, with yet another pair of aces, sent Bonomo out in 11th place. Haxton racked up his nearly $8 million in chips and joined the other nine players at the final table.
Ryan Daut eliminated Paul Lu in 10th place, and then Haxton collected another "cool million" when he sent Jon Friedberg out in ninth place. Friedberg headed for the press center. "I just got knocked out by Jamie Gold," he said to one of the reporters, who looked at him puzzlingly. Friedberg explained, "You know, the guy with all the chips," comparing Haxton to the
World Series of Poker champion, who was famous for sailing through the final table with a massive chip advantage.
Scott Clements went out in eighth place, and then Robert Ford took down Antonio Ribeiro, making Ribeiro the last elimination of the day.
The Final Six
Seat No.1: 21-year-old Isaac Haxton, with $9,216,000. Earlier, the Brown University student appeared to be lost in thought as he sat quietly, out of sight, on a foyer bench. This was his first final table. A passerby asked him, "Are you nervous?"
He looked at her, startled, and said, "No, not really." Then, in typical Haxton fashion, he pulled a knee up to his chin and wrapped his arms around his leg. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. It was an hour until showtime.
Seat No. 2: Jonathan Little, with $2,366,000. Pondering over the
WPT release form, he turned to his friend on the rail. "What are my hobbies?" he asked.
"Dude, you don't have any hobbies," said a scruffy young man in Hollister clothing. "How do you think you got here?"
Seat No. 3: Robert Ford, with $2,324,000. The 22-year-old Ford with notably the same name as the man who killed Jesse James in 1882 for a $10,000 reward, had won three times that amount over his short tournament career. This would be his third final table.
Seat No. 4: 22-year-old Ryan Daut, with $2,300,000. Daut, a young graduate student working on a Ph.D. in math, and protégé of high-stakes online player Taylor "GreenPlastic" Caby, described himself as a full-time poker pro. Daut brought the loudest fans to the final table.
Seat No. 5: Robert Mizrachi, with $1,450,000. One of three Mizrachi-born professional poker players, he called his brothers the night before the final table as they sailed back home to Florida. If Michael, Eric, and little brother Donny backtracked, they'd make it just in time for the televised event. Robert had a feeling about this tournament, even though, going to the final table, he was short-stacked. His strategy? "I'll let the chip leaders knock around the other guys," he said, "and then pick a spot to make my move."
Seat No. 6: Frank Rusnak, with $1,166,000. The 24-year-old prep sports stringer for the Chicago Sun-Times got hooked on the game two years ago while in college. In 2006, he won two online entries into the World Series of Poker. At this final table, he was sitting on the second-shortest stack.
Determining a Champion
To begin the final table, the blinds were reset to $15,000-$30,000 with a $3,000 ante.
During the first 23 hands, the average raise was $85,000, and, as predicted, Haxton was using his monster chip lead to bully the table. Rusnak's and Mizrachi's stacks were being whittled away.
It was an hour later, after the blinds reached $25,000-$50,000 with a $5,000 ante, that the audience witnessed its first all in of the day.
Little butted heads with Ford when, in a series of bets, raises, and reraises, the two ended up all in with straight draws. Both players got there on the river to chop the pot.
Halfway through the $40,000-$80,000 blinds, $10,000 ante level, Ford performed the first elimination. He spiked an ace on the river to best Rusnak's pocket kings and send him home in sixth place with $247,234.
The remainder of that level offered a series of flops and folds, a few turns, and a lot of checking down to the river. But, when the price of poker went up to $60,000-$120,000 blinds with a $15,000 ante, so did the action.
Ford committed nearly $400,000 to the pot when Daut moved all in from the cutoff seat. Ford thought for a moment, then kissed a couple of stacks goodbye.
Four hands later, Mizrachi crippled Little when his A
K
spiked an ace on the river to beat Little's pocket jacks (J
J
). On the very next hand, Little went all in and was called by Daut. Little had the A
Q
and Daut turned over the K
6
. The board came A
Q
6
10
6
, giving Daut trip sixes to eliminate Little in fifth place with $317,673.
On the very next hand, Haxton made it $400,000 to go, and Mizrachi called. The flop came 10
3
3
and both players checked. The J
fell on the turn and Mizrachi bet $400,000. Haxton called. The river was the 8
. Mizrachi checked, and Haxton moved all in. With a pot worth more than $2 million, Mizrachi called. Haxton had made a straight with Q-9. Realizing he'd been beat, Mizrachi threw his cards into the muck and took home $409,703 for his fourth-place finish.
Haxton had more than twice the amount of chips of Ford and Daut combined going to the next hand. He later put a substantial dent in Ford's stack after pairing a king on the flop. And before the end of the level, Daut crippled Ford when he slow-played a pair of kings. Ford was forced to play the next hand - which had gone up to $100,000-$200,000 blinds and a $20,000 ante - with less than a minimum bet, as he posted $65,000. Haxton, with two pair, sent him to the rail in third place with $550,980.
Haxton went into heads-up action with close to $14 million. Daut had nearly $5 million. After a few hands of trading blinds and antes, Daut took a chunk from Haxton's stack when he won a $1 million pot. Maintaining his momentum, Daut turned on the heat, winning the next few hands. He later doubled through Haxton, turning the tables. It had been two days since the tournament had seen another chip leader. Four hands later, the two players were close to even after Haxton bluffed Daut out of a $2 million pot. But on the very next hand, Daut came back to more than even the score.
Haxton raised to $500,000 and Daut reraised to $1,800,000. Haxton called, and the flop came A
Q
7
. Daut bet $2,100,000 and Haxton matched it. The turn was the 8
and both players checked to see the J
on the river. Daut checked to Haxton, who wouldn't bite, and Daut turned over pocket jacks (J
J
) for a set. Haxton mucked his cards.
The chip count was now Ryan Daut, $13 million, and Isaac Haxton, $6 million.
Haxton made every attempt to pressure Daut during the remainder of the level, but Daut refused to relinquish his lead.
The blinds went up to $150,000-$300,000 with a $30,000 ante, and the level went from 60 minutes to 30 minutes.
With Haxton on a ledge, Daut moved all in on the first hand of the level. Haxton called with the Q
8
. Daut turned over the A
10
. The board came J
9
6
5
5
. The tournament was over, and the crowd went wild.
Haxton reached across the table to shake Daut's hand, and then joined him on the other side. Facing the audience, Haxton bowed his head, while Daut, who'd been quiet for most of the event, began pacing excitedly.
Haxton would go home with second-place prize money of $861,789.
Ryan Daut was crowned the new
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure champion, good for $1,535,255. He'll also go on to compete in the $25,000
WPT Championship at Bellagio in the spring.
During his final-table interview, Daut expressed his confidence going in, but admitted a weakness when it came to playing against ladies. After describing an incident with Vanessa Rousso that might have cost him the tournament in earlier rounds, he stated, "Women are bad for poker. They distract you and make you do stupid things."
But Daut didn't have to worry about being distracted at the final table - until he caught
WPT hostess Sabina Gadecki's eye as she leaned forward to join him in a celebratory toast. In an attempt to clink his Budweiser bottle with hers, Daut nearly collided with commentator Mike Sexton. Luckily, he caught his balance and bowed his head to Sabina, never quite taking his eyes off her.
