Your Cruise Your Way Cruise Blog

Carnival Cruise Line has taken gambling a sea to a whole new level. They partnered with PokerTek, Inc., the industry pioneer and worldwide leader in automated poker tables and related software, and held a fleet wide tournament. They just recently announced the successful completion of the inaugural Carnival(R) PokerPro(R) event. Over $250,000 in cash prizes were offered.

The tournament began with a series of No Limit Texas Hold’Em satellite tournaments aboard 20 ships in the Carnival fleet, and in select PokerPro land-based casinos, between January and June 2008. Each satellite winner received a cash prize, plus an entry into the Grand Final Event in October to compete for the over $70,000 cash prize pool.

For the Final Event, 10 PokerPro tables were installed in the Forum Lounge on the Carnival Fantasy specifically for the tournament, with an additional table located in the ship’s casino available for cash play.

From Sunday, October 5th through Wednesday, October 8th, as the Carnival Fantasy sailed from New Orleans to Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico, 168 players battled it out over 3 rounds. Matthew “Powder” Hutt of Quebec’s Casino du Lac-Leamy emerged victorious as the tournament champion walking
away with $45,000 and the first Carnival PokerPro Challenge winner’s bracelet. Second and third place winners, David LaRoche and Pierre-Luc Camille, won $15,000 and $5,000, respectively.

Renowned poker professional Clonie Gowen participated in the cruise and held a World Poker Tour(R) (WPT) Boot Camp in conjunction with the tournament. She also provided commentary for the final round and challenged players in other tournaments and cash games throughout the cruise.

“From the beginning, it was apparent the collaboration between Carnival Cruise Lines and PokerPro was the perfect foundation for a thriving, fully-automated poker tournament,” said Rodney Dofort, Vice President of Casino Operations for Carnival Corporation. “However, we never anticipated this
level of success on our very first PokerPro Challenge. Our goal was to add some poker excitement to our great cruise experience and, judging by the reaction of the guests, we did just that.”

“We are especially pleased with the consistent play throughout the cruise,” remarked PokerTek’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Halligan. “The PokerPro tables were always full with cash games before, during, and after the tournament. Carnival is a great partner for us and their guests have embraced PokerPro.” Technorati offers some great articles on gaming.

Carnival and PokerTek expect to announce details of the 2009 Carnival PokerPro Challenge later this year.

For more information on any Carnival cruise, contact me at 1-888-579-8706, email me, or visit my website at www.avctravel.com/greggeppleman.