By
Dan
One of the live poker tournaments that online poker players look forward to the most is the UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic. On a sunny island in the middle of the Caribbean, the seventh Aruba Poker Classic will kick off, attracting some of the top tournament poker players UltimateBet has to offer plus brand name pros seeking out their share of thousands of dollars. Tomorrow, July 19th, UltimateBet will offer a 50-Seat Aruba Main Event Guarantee, which starts at 5:30pm ET. For a $500+30 buy-in, players will have a shot to cash in on one of the top titles in all of poker. The winner of the 2008 Aruba Poker Classic will take home at least one million dollars. Come grab your share of prize money in an island paradise.
The Aruba Poker Classic runs between September 27th and October 4th at the Radisson Aruba Resort and Casino. The Main Event begins on September 29th with Day 1-A kicking off at noon. This Saturday, a total of 50 prize packages will be given away on UltimateBet. Each package includes a $5,500 buy-in to the Aruba Poker Classic’s Main Event plus $3,000 to use for travel and hotel. There are several ways to land your spot in the 50-Seat Guarantee:
1. Buy in directly to Saturday’s tournament for $530.
2. Win a satellite into the 50-Seat Guarantee, which run every day on UltimateBet.
3. Participate in a leader board competition on UB, which is a race for a Main Event prize package.
UltimateBet Representative Pete Barovich talks about the uniqueness of the Aruba Poker Classic: “The Aruba Poker Classic is no ordinary multi million-dollar poker tournament on an island paradise. It’s an event designed to celebrate poker successes with fellow players while enjoying one of the best spots on earth. You can’t beat a week of poker and parties on a beach with Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, and lots of other pros and players from the best poker community on Earth.”
Let’s take a look at some of the results from previous Aruba Poker Classic tournaments. In the inaugural tournament in 2002, Juha Helppi defeated a field of 100 players. The tournament was a stop on the World Poker Tour in 2002 and the television world watched Helppi take down poker pro Phil Gordon heads up. In Season II of the World Poker Tour, the 2003 Classic was won by Erick Lindgren, who won half a million dollars for first place. The final table included CardPlayer owner Barry Shulman and Daniel Larsson, who Lindgren defeated heads up. Lindgren also took down the PartyPoker Million during the same WPT season.
In 2004, Eric Brenes won the Aruba Poker Classic, cashing for one million dollars. This time around, there were 646 entrants. In the end, the final six players represented a tough group that included Layne Flack, John Juanda, and Mike Matusow. Brenes was second in chips when play started. In 2005, Freddie Deeb took down the Aruba affair, also winning one million dollars.
In 2006, PocketFivers will remember Devon Miller’s heads up battle with Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy. The tournament attracted 512 players, with Miller emerging victorious and pocketing $774,960. Bax told PocketFives.com, "Coming from the World Series, where everything tastes the same and looks the same, going to an exotic location like Aruba is a great change of pace. The weather is great, the accommodations are great, and you can get a really good meal. The tournament is very well-run and I am certainly looking forward to it this year."
Last year, Travis Rice captured $800,000 for winning the Aruba Poker Classic. Barovich talks about his memories from the 2007 tournament: “The player crowd was pretty big, over 500 players strong, and even more played in the cash games and other tournaments going on. It was great to see all of the UB pros at the event, taking on crazy side bets and having fun. But, meeting the UB players, the guys whose usernames you see all the time at the tables and in the chat box, made it real.”
You may have noticed the UB Army in Las Vegas. After all, Phil Hellmuth entered the summer classic in style, sporting his UB Army attire. Barovich talks about the Army’s presence in Aruba: “We kicked off the UB Army at the World Series of Poker and our second conquest will be the Aruba Poker Classic. Players who win a seat through UltimateBet will automatically win their membership in the UB Army and can look forward to some pretty incredible benefits and experiences, including access to RAI$E hosts while they’re on the island, cash prizes, and Aruba adventures. But most of all, it’s about joining the best players and having an amazing time.”
Already entered into this year’s installment are Shawn westtexasman Rice, P0ker H0, JohnnyBax, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and Scott Ian. Every player starts with 10,000 chips. Each level is 90 minutes long, with blinds starting at 25-50. When the final table is determined, blind levels will decrease to one hour in length. The entire tournament is directed by Matt Savage, who is a veteran tournament manager and one of the best the industry has to offer.
So mark your calendars for tomorrow, July 19th at 5:30pm ET for the 50-Seat Guaranteed tournament for the Aruba Poker Classic. Visit UltimateBet for all of the details.