Live poker tournaments are a constant, from Las Vegas, Nevada to Atlantic City, New Jersey; Macau, China to Melbourne, Australia. But every once in awhile, there comes a live poker tournament worth waiting for; worth saving up for; worth fighting tooth and nail to bring home the ultimate prize.
The most popular live poker tournaments are, of course, the largest events with the most lucrative prize pools. Off the top of every poker fans head comes the World Series of Poker. The WSOP is by far the most prestigious of all live poker tournaments, occurring once each year and lasting about two months.
WSOP
The World Series of Poker is a fifty-seven event tournament, awarding fifty-seven bracelets to fifty-seven 1st place victors. Many of these events deliver a ridiculous wealth to the top finishers, but none so much as the WSOP Main Event.
In 2009, Joe Cada walked away with an incredible $8.5 million for taking down the WSOP Main Event Championship. Even James Akenhead, the first final tablist to be eliminated, pocketed over $1.2 million for his 9th place finish.
The World Series of Poker takes place each summer, from late May to mid July, followed by a 117 day hiatus that reconvenes in November to complete the final table of the Main Event.
Aussie Millions
The Crown Victoria Aussie Millions is another extremely popular live poker tournament, hosted every January in Melbourne, Australia. It is currently the sixth largest live poker tournament in the world, and hailed as the “richest live poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere”.
In January 2010, Tyron Krost became the Aussie Million Main Event, taking home the largest prize ever awarded in the live poker tournament of AUD-$2,000,000.
The Aussie Millions takes place annually, from mid to late January, at the Crown Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. It features 20 events overall, with #18 being the Aussie Millions Main Event.
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, hosted by the largest online poker room in the world, PokerStars, has gained more and more attention with each passing year. As the crowds grow, thus does the lucrative nature of each event in this luxurious live poker tournament.
To compete in such a massive live poker tournament is a thrill in itself, but to do so in one of the most beautiful, exotic paradise resorts in the world is simply an amazing experience. In January 2010, Harrison Gimbel took down the Main Event Championship for a life-altering $2.2 million prize.
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, or PCA for short, is the largest live poker tournament outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring more than 50 events. The PCA is officially listed as part of the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) and the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT).
The PCA schedule nearly coincides with that of the Aussie Millions, running from early to mid January, and finalizing just in time to hop a plane to Melbourne for the opening ceremonies of the Aussie Millions.
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