WPS equals fun and affordable poker tournaments in Costa Rica and St. Maarten
by Michael Rome
One of the best kept secrets on the tournament circuit is the World Poker Showdown. This is intentional on the part of the founder, Herb Van Dyke, who wanted to keep it a fun, relaxed environment. Herb is a poker pioneer who was largely responsible for bringing Texas Hold’em to Russia more than 15 years ago. More recently he saw a need for a different approach to international tournaments, and the WPS was born.
The WPS is for players who want to combine reasonably-priced poker with exotic destinations. WPS believes in giving tournament players maximum play for their buy in’s as evidenced by the large number of starting chips and long levels. The WPS tour includes stops in exciting destinations like St. Maarten, Costa Rica, and an annual Caribbean cruise. The championship events have buy in’s of $2,500. Online qualifiers are available through several poker sites that co-sponsor the events. (See www.worldpokershowdown.com for more information.) There are also plenty of $200 to $1,000 buy in tournaments, action-packed cash games, and live satellites leading up to the three-day championship event.
The daily tournament events always begin in the evening, which allows the players and their significant others to enjoy vacationing during the day. My wife usually joins me on these trips, and although she doesn’t play poker, she always has a great time. On this most recent Costa Rica Poker Showdown, we would make daytime visits to the rain forest or a volcano and return soon enough for the evening poker event.
I had not done well in the smaller tournaments or satellites in Costa Rica, so I bought my way into the main event. (At the Casino Europa I was able to use my Visa card to pay for the $2,500 entry fee.) It was a great structure with 5,000 in chips and 40 minute levels beginning at 25-25.
When playing at the WPS it is just as likely that you will be sitting next to a recreational player as it is that you will be next to a serious amateur or pro. The professionals in Costa Rica included Humberto Brenes, Alex Brenes, Arturo Morales, and Jose Rosenkrantz. Celebrity appearances were made by Cindy Margolis and Nicole Sullivan.
You might remember Nicole from Mad TV, The King of Queens, and as champion of Celebrity Poker. Nicole plays with the heart of a tiger, and I can see why she was the Celebrity Poker champion. Speaking of cats, she reminded me that her charity was for neutering feral cats, and that it was probably the largest contribution they ever received. (At this point they probably have to search the forests to find enough feral cats to neuter.)
In the main event there were 87 players and a prize pool of $210,975. I was lucky to survive day one after making a horrible play. (I recovered after hitting a couple of desperation draws.) On day two I squeaked by to make the final table as a short stack. I ultimately finished in eighth place, and won $10,550. In order to declare less than $10,000 at customs, I generously gave back $600 in a cash game…ok, it wasn’t intentional.
The first place winner was a young Swede living in Costa Rica named Henrik Alin. Although he was apparently already born with a poker nickname, he is actually called “Harry Potter” for his resemblance to the young wizard. He is part of a group of up and coming players who attended the Costa Rica WPS, including John ‘Jet’ Taylor from Satellite Beach, Florida, Jordan Devenport from Comox, British Columbia, and amateur player Andrew Koplan from Atlanta, Georgia.
I suggest that you personally experience the beauty of Costa Rica when combined with great poker. All the players I talked to loved the country and the very personal attention they received from the cardroom employees.
Next Tour Stop is the WPS St. Maarten Fall Poker Showdown, Nov. 4-18, 2006
| Date | Time | Tournament Event | Buy In |
| Sat, Nov. 4 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $150+$30 |
| Sun, Nov. 5 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $300-$30 |
| Mon, Nov. 6 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $500+$50 |
| Tues, Nov. 7 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $1000+$90 |
| Wed, Nov. 8 | 4:30 pm | Pot Limit Texas Hold'em | $300+$30 |
| Thurs, Nov. 9 | 4:30 pm | Limit Omaha Hi Lo | $300+$30 |
| Fri, Nov. 10 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $300+$30 |
| Sat, Nov. 11 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $500+$50 |
| Sun, Nov. 12 | 4:30 pm | Pot Limit Omaha (Rebuys) | $300+$30 |
| Mon, Nov. 13 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $500+$50 |
| Tues, Nov. 14 | 4:30 pm | Limit Hold'em | $300+$30 |
| Wed, Nov. 15 | 4:30 pm | Super Satellite | $270+$30 |
| Thurs, Nov. 16-18 | 4:30 pm | Main Event | $2500+$100 |
| Fri, Nov. 17 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $300+$30 |
| Sat, Nov. 18 | 4:30 pm | No Limit Texas Hold'em | $500+$50 |
Three daily online satellites for only $13 for complete St. Maarten poker vacation packages can be found on Americas Card Room, www.acrpoker.com. Special hotel rates for players available from official WPS travel agent found on website. Don’t forget to look for the next Costa Rica Poker Showdown coming in Feb, 2007.
Michael Rome is a traveling poker player/writer who enjoys playing poker in exotic Caribbean destinations. All details on WPS St. Maarten, Costa Rica and Poker Cruises can be found on www.worldpokershowdown.com.
