Sexton Speaks: “Oh, what a week!”

I can honestly say that the partypokerLIVE MILLIONS Caribbean Poker Party in Punta Cana Nov 17-25 was certainly one of the most fun poker events ever. And if you don’t believe me, just ask anyone who was there.

It’s so satisfying to hear such positive feedback from players. We received it regarding the Caribbean Poker Party (CPP). We’re trying hard to provide an experience where players can have a fun, memorable week regardless of whether they win money or not and that happened at this year’s CPP. Obviously, the $5m guaranteed prize pool with $1m to the winner was the draw, but the player parties and activities were extremely well attended and appreciated, perhaps more than at any tournament in history. The highlight for me was the night we took over 200 players to club Coco Bongo. What a fun night that was! It was a combination of a Vegas Cirque show with a Vegas nightclub atmosphere. Extremely fun and very entertaining!

Mike Sexton at the CPP player’s party

Normally, there’s a lot of bitching about one thing or another at any major convention type affair, especially major poker tournaments. We were far from perfect in terms of execution with regards to scheduling, but players understand the enormity of time/work/effort it takes to put on a tournament of this size, especially in such a far away location. And from the partypoker side, we sincerely appreciated that the players were so cooperative in working with us.

Mike Sexton during the CPP Main Event

At the CPP, you have to do everything – import tables (it was a 60 table room), chips, equipment, staff, dealers (who were unbelievably good), gift bags, etc., as well as bring a TEAM consisting of partypoker online executives and a partypokerLIVE staff to handle hotel check-in, online qualifier concerns, tournament registration, payouts, cash games, parties/activities, etc. It’s a tremendous undertaking of preparation and execution. As partypoker Chairman, allow me to give a HUGE “thank you” to the entire TEAM for doing such an incredible job at the CPP! And most importantly, thanks to all the players who attended. We sincerely appreciate your support.

As for our winners, let’s start with Canadian Sam Greenwood. I’m not sure anyone in history has ever had a better poker week than Sam had at this year’s CPP. He played in three events, finished third in the $10k buy-in (for $124k), second in the $25k buy-in (for $242k), and then WON the main event for $1m! It’s truly mind-boggling. We may never see another poker week like Sam’s performance again in our lifetime.

Mike Sexton contemplating his next move

Huge congrats to the other winners in events where a $1m prize pool was guaranteed – Rainer Kempe in the $1k ($200k), Preben Stokkan in the $10k ($275k), Chris Hunichen in the $25k ($400k), and Adrian Mateos in the $5k finale ($250k). Well done, guys!

Perfect weather certainly helped put everyone in a good mood throughout the week. (You have no idea how much all of us at partypoker were keeping our fingers crossed for that, especially since it rained every day while we were there a year ago.) And as great as this year’s event was, buckle up for a bigger and better one next year. Are you sitting down? Brace yourself. At next year’s CPP, we’re doubling the prize pool guarantee to $10m for the main event ($5k buy-in), where at least three players will win a million or more! That’s right, a $10m guaranteed prize pool where at least three players become millionaires!

To a poker player, the CPP is a (party)poker paradise combined with a luxurious vacation. My advice: try to win a package to next year’s CPP. Check out the numerous ways you can play satellite events and accumulate partypokerLIVE $$ on partypoker.com and now, you can use those winnings for whatever partypokerLIVE events you wish!

We hope to see you at next year’s CPP! Oh, what a week it’ll be.