Day 1A of the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event attracted a starting grid of 668 entrants. The official number from the world’s largest online poker site was passed down around 3:30pm local time in the Bahamas.
The $10,000 buy-in tournament, a stop on the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), saw a field of 1,347 runners take to the felts in 2009. Therefore, a total of 679 players will need to turn out on Day 1B on Wednesday in order to match last year’s total. Among those in the field on Tuesday was Wayne Bentley, who doubled up within the first few minutes of the tournament after picking up pocket aces and sending a player to the rails who held pocket kings. The flop fell queen-high and Fernando Issas saw his 2010 PCA title hopes dashed soon after the opening gong.
One table in the outer reaches of the playing area featured a blockbuster lineup that included former EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final champion Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel, and Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith. Coverage found on the official website of the PCA candidly assessed the group: “That’s a tough one.”
2006 PCA champion Steven Paul-Ambrose put in a healthy bet of 3,800 on the river holding A-Q on a board of A-Q-10-J-7 for top two pair. However, his opponent called and flipped up a wired pair of jacks for a set, cutting Ambrose’s stack to around 29,300. Shortly thereafter, Marcel Luske flopped a set of fours on an 8-3-4 board to push his tally in the 2010 PCA to 32,000.
By 5:30pm, word of a private sit and go in the depths of the Atlantis Resort and Casino in Nassau was brewing. It featured the cast of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” which wrapped up following Christmas with Mike Kosowski, a 9/11 first responder, defeating Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu to earn $1 million. Kosowski did not play in the sit and go, which saw Brian Barboza claim a $10,000 seat in the PCA Main Event tomorrow. Barboza won $100,000 on the poker game show and was one of four players who vied for the chance to face Negreanu heads-up for $1 million.
Daniel Negreanu made waves near the midpoint of Day 1A. First, he sent Belgium PokerStars qualifier Pierre Neuville to the rails after the Euro ran pocket sevens into Negreanu’s pocket kings. That hand pushed Negreanu’s chip stack to 90,000, or three times the starting total. Then, Negreanu put in a raise on a board reading A-10-2-A-5. An opponent nearly showed his hand thinking that Negreanu had just called, but upon realizing that Negreanu had raised, put in a raise of his own.
Negreanu claimed he saw his opponent’s hand, which he thought was A-5 or A-4, resulting in a call to the PCA’s floor staff. In the end, PCA coverage details the result of the controversial hand: “The floor man made the ruling that although there would be no penalty for Lucatelli exposing his cards, the re-raise didn’t stand. Lucatelli could only call.” The Italian turned over A-10, while Negreanu held 3-4 for a straight.
At the time of writing, here were several of the chip stacks of Team PokerStars Pro members in the 2010 PCA Main Event on Day 1A:
Daniel Negreanu – 89,000
Barry Greenstein – 60,000
Dario Minieri – 55,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg – 53,000
George Danzer – 50,600
Steve Paul-Ambrose – 50,000
Dennis Phillips – 47,000
Blinds were 200-400 with a 50-chip ante in Level 6.
