Tales From The 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

Have you ever gotten a gift that is so amazing that it is hard to comprehend that you could be so lucky to receive such a gift? Well I got one on Christmas Day! The surprise started with an email from Ryan Laplante that said, “Congratulations on getting a Plat Pass! See you there.”

I fired back an email that said, “Was this message meant for me? I have no idea what you are talking about.” Ryan replied that I should go look on Twitter and I would see the details.

A search of my account on Twitter brought up this post from PokerStars. “While Santa was busy delivering presents, our department heads were busy nominating who we should send a gift to. For everything they do for the game and the industry, we decided to put a platinum pass under the tree for @Kevmath (Kevin Mathers is a great source of information for the poker world and works tirelessly answering poker questions and promoting our industry) and @firstladypoker (me). Merry Christmas.

I looked up Platinum Pass on Google and was thrilled to discover that a platinum pass is a package valued at $30,000 that included six nights at the Atlantis in Nassau, $2,000 for travel expenses, and a $25,000 buy-in to the PSPC (PokerStars Players Championship), which is part of the annual Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure. I was even more excited when I found out that the dates of the event (Jan. 6-10) didn’t conflict with my travel schedule so I could actually accept this generous gift from PokerStars.

I invited my best friend, Jan Fisher, to go with me since I was allowed to bring a guest. With only 11 days before I needed to leave for the event, I quickly got to work booking our airfare, completing the required paperwork, and reading everything I could about the PSPC. I joined the online forum just for Platinum Pass winners; reading stories about the other winners helped my excitement grow.

I learned that PokerStars had pledged to give away a minimum of 320 Platinum Passes that would create an $8 million prize pool. In addition, PokerStars was adding another $1 million dollars to the winner. Platinum passes were earned by players around the world who had accomplished certain feats such as winning designated tournaments both online and in brick and mortar cardrooms, being picked for drawings, and winning other fun promotions. Many of the Platinum Pass winners would be recreational players so that was bound to encourage many pros to buy-in. This event was going to be BIG!!!!

I continued to read the Platinum Pass winners Facebook group forum and saw how this extravaganza was making dreams come true for people all over the world. There was lots of national pride and players posted photos of their team members with hashtags such as #teamindia, #teamchina, etc.

PokerStars took extra special care of the Platinum Pass winners and treated us all like VIPs. We were given free transfers from the airport to the Atlantis. There was both a welcome party and a farewell party with free drinks and food. The PokerStars Ambassadors and Team PokerStars Pros mingled and posed for pictures with the players. The entire PokerStars key staff was there to meet and greet and provide great customer service to the players. They also provided a complimentary comedy show for all players and their guests. They didn’t charge any rake on the $25,000 buy-in event and they had one evening of no-rake sit-and-go’s for the Platinum Pass winners.

The Platinum Pass winners were a fun group. I saw lots of posts inviting everyone to come hang out and get to know each other. There were excursions to go sailing, to swim with the pigs, and to snorkel with the turtles. There was a lot of camaraderie and lifelong friendships were formed.

I started my own hashtag team…#teammedicare. There weren’t many players eligible for my team. When I got to my starting table, I probably brought the average age up at least five years. I felt like such a dinosaur. Jan laughed at me because everyone else at the table was on their phones and I was taking notes on a pad of paper. She said I was probably the only player there who even owned a pen! Guess I need to get with the times.

I was interviewed on day one and was asked what I would do with the money if I cashed in the event. Because I had been gifted the $30,000 package, I answered that I would give away any prize money I won to friends in need as well as to some worthy charities. I would also give part of my prize money to my good friend Matt Savage who had originally nominated me as “an industry person deserving of winning a Plat Pass.”

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as I went out toward the end of day two with about 280 players remaining from a field of 1,039. 181 places were paid, with the bottom spots earning just over $25,000. There was more than $26 million in the prize pool. Congratulations to Platinum Pass winner Ramon Colillas who won the first-place prize money of $5.1 million.

I was in a good mood after being knocked out of the PSPC. I felt that I had played really well, but didn’t get any lucky breaks. Once out of the tourney, I focused on enjoying all that the Atlantis had to offer. I saw the aquarium, spend an afternoon on the lazy river, and took some walks through the marina to ogle the huge yachts docked there. I will be eternally grateful to PokerStars for awarding me such a generous gift and hope the Platinum Pass program continues next year as it was definitely life-changing for most of the participants. ♠

Linda is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. She is available to host poker seminars, corporate poker events, and charity tournaments when she is not hosting for Card Player Cruises.. You can contact her through her at [email protected].