There's a palpable vibe as you shuffle through customs at Nassau International Airport in the Bahamas. A CD of the area's soothing rhythms echoes in the background, and the people standing in line are already shedding their winter clothes in favor of more summery fare. But can you blame them? It actually looks like January where most of them just came from.
But don't let the sunshine and beaches fool you. There is a group of over 700 players descending on the islands, with a prize pool of more than $7 million at stake. Even wearing Bermuda shorts, this bunch looks pretty serious. The moment these players, from the most high-profile pro to the rawest online satellite qualifier, lined up for the first day of competition in the Atlantis Resort & Casino Ballroom, the deafening sound of rustling chips was enough to make you forget that paradise was literally just outside the door.
Settled by English colonialists in the 1600s, Paradise Island, off the Bahamas' Northeast coast, was initially named for the countless wild hogs that inhabited it. By the time the island was bought in 1959 for $20 million by Huntington Hartford, heir to the formidable Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, Hog Island hadn't changed much. Less than 50 years and one major name change later, with three beautiful hotel towers and another on the way, Paradise Island is becoming one of the world's largest resort areas.
Between the beach and the incredible marine life displayed at the resort's countless aquariums, it's easy for even the tournament's most high-profile players to get a bit too comfortable. Fresh off his main event victory at the 2005 world series of Poker, Joe Hachem came here with his family ten days early so he could enjoy some downtime. That time (the Atlantic Casino doesn't have poker) is the longest he's gone without playing in recent memory. "I'm itching, I'm shaking," he jokes, enjoying what little family time he has since becoming poker's newest celebrity. "Obviously it's been a hectic time for me since the World Series. When arrived, I thought I'm going to lose at least one child. This is the first time I've been able to relax since the World Series."
"We love it here," says 2004 main event champ Greg Raymer, who even pulled his daughter out of school for a week for the Caribbean Adventure. "I'm going to have a great time in the tournament winning money or playing on the beach. It's too bad more of the events aren't like this."
With its formidable prize pool, many of the world's best players have made an appearance in the Bahamas: Ivey, Lindgren, Matusow, Moneymaker, Harman, Greenstein, Mizrachi, Cloutier, Ng, and Seidel, just to name a few. By the third day of the tournament, they're almost all eliminated. The last major names to leave the tournament are Hachem, who finishes a disappointing 67th, Hoyt Corkins, who finishes 61st, and Matt Matros, who finishes 22nd. By the time the final table is set against the scenic Caribbean backdrop, the lone recognizable face is poker pro David Singer, who goes in as the chip leader. He's got some youngsters to contend with in the form of 18-year-olds Aurangzeb Sheikh and Michael Higgins, as well as 22-year-old Stephen Paul-Ambrose, a student at Canada's University of Waterloo. Sheikh busts out on the table's first hand and wins $177,200 for his trouble. Paul-Ambrose, on the other hand, manages to zoom past Anders Henriksson, Higgins, and Singer before going head to head with Brooke Lyter, who qualified in a $33 re-buy tournament. But after catching plenty of draws on the river, Paul Ambrose took home the $1.3 million prize.
When it's over, you get the distinct impression that poker is leaving the island until next year, when it will again get a special government exemption to host games. But you can still find them, with Internet cafes across the Bahamas rumored to host secret poker events. So if you need to check your email for a few minutes while in paradise, poke your head in the back for some action. Or just wait until January for the next PokerStars event, assuming you can get past the youngsters.
