Poker Tournaments Turn to Vacation Hot-spots to Boost Attendance

Over the past year and a half, with very few exceptions, major poker tournaments have born witness to declining attendance numbers. From the World Poker Tour (WPT) on down the line attendance has been on a steady decline, and poker insiders and players have pointed the finger at just about everything imaginable as the cause: From the declining economy, poker no longer being the flavor of the month, bad tournament structures, out of the way destinations, as well as a number of new poker tours competing against one another for business.

However, there are a few stops along the tournament trail that have been able to maintain, or even grow, their previous attendance totals: And what shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone is that most of these tournaments are taking place in some of the most popular vacation destinations around the world.

One example of this is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) tournament that takes place in the Bahamas -and is currently under way right now– and despite the downward trend in attendance, the PCA has been able to draw over 1,000 participants year-after-year. Even more impressive is the PCA’s ability to grow! With 1,146 entrants in 2008, 1,347 entrants in 2009, and with 2010 pulling in a whopping 1,500+ players, the PCA is one of the few major tournaments in the world that continues to see a solid increase in attendance -no doubt spurred on in part from the location!

The PCA is not simply an outlier; there are a few other stops with fantastic attendance numbers such as the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) stops in San Remo Italy, and Monte Carlo, which surpassed over 1,000 entrants in 2009: Both being sizeable increases from their 2008 numbers. With both tournaments yet to be played this EPT season; it will be interesting to see if they can continue to sustain their growth, or if they will fall into the current trend.

And other tournaments that are hosted in paradise-like locations, such as the UB Aruba Poker Classic and Aussie Millions have seen minimal drop off in attendance compared to some other major tournaments around the globe that are played at less desirable locales.

The one thing these tournaments all have common is that they are located in some of the world’s most beautiful vacation paradises. With the attendance drop-offs taking place at mainstay tournament locations like Atlantic City, London, and Paris -not exactly the most inviting locales, especially in the colder months– it will be interesting to see if the numerous poker tours start adding more Island getaways, cruises, and other vacation ideas to their schedules. After all, nothing helps take the sting out of getting busted like a tropical island, sun, and sipping on a few mixed drinks at the beach!