Party Poker Million V-Cash In The Caribbean

What do you get when you mix over 500 poker players, over 100 Black Jack masters, 200 poker dealers, 600 decks of cards, 180,000 chips, the luscious Caribbean sun, two exotic ports of call and over $5 million of prize money?

The Party Poker Million V, the world's largest 'limit' Texas Hold'em Online Poker Tournament, which this year also includes the $250,000 World Blackjack Championships and a $50,000 slots tournament all staged aboard Holland America's ms Westerdam, departing from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, on 12 March and returns from the cruise in the Caribbean on 19th March 2006.

Drawing over 500 online players and top professionals, the $10,200-buy-in event is known as the place where online players go toe-to-toe with pros, and everyone goes home having had a great time. The Party Poker Million V will award in the region of $1 million to the first place finisher.

Among the players who will board in Ft. Lauderdale will be defending champion Michael Gracz, who claimed the first prize in 2005, and capped his rookie year by winning a World Series of Poker bracelet. He will be joined by Aaron Kanter, who finished fourth in the World Series of Poker main event after entering the tournament through a Party Poker satellite. Kanter, a former bank loan officer from Elk Grove, CA. converted a $50 investment into $2 million.

For all of the competitors, cruising to a victory is half the fun. Participants, including players and their guests, will enjoy the luxurious amenities of Holland America's ms Westerdam and the charms of the two tropical ports of call-Grand Cayman and Jamaica.

The ms Westerdam is one of the premium cruise ships in Holland America's elegant fleet. Guests experience a dazzling array of restaurants, nightclubs and entertainment options. The ship features a sun deck, a spa and salon, a fully-equipped fitness center, internet connectivity and spacious staterooms. Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure magazines have awarded it five stars.

The majority of players earned their spot in the The Party Poker Million V by going to Party Poker and competing in $33 buy-in preliminary tournaments. There were also sub-qualifying tournaments with buy-ins of $5+1 and $10+1. Winners who qualified in those preliminary satellite tournaments received a $13,500 package-that includes the $10,200 buy-in to the finals, a cruise for two and spending cash.

Players begin the tournament with $10,000.00 in chips and play until they lose or until they make the final table on the fifth day. Players closing in on the Party Poker Million V Championship will be sweating out bets and bluffs that risk hundreds of thousands per hand.

Gracz, a 24-year-old finance graduate of North Carolina State, quietly, yet masterfully wore down the field in last year's event and disembarked from the Party Poker Million IV a millionaire. Runner up was David Minto, of Alamogordo, NM.

In March 2004, Erick Lindgren vanquished the field and won $1 million. A construction worker from Olympia, WA, Chris Hinchcliffe, took third place for more than $400,000 in what he termed a "life changing" experience. Both players entered the tournament by winning Party Poker satellite tournaments.

Poker legend Howard Lederer, of Las Vegas, captured first prize in the Party Poker Million II and the year before, Kathy Liebert of Las Vegas, became the first woman ever to win $1 million in a single poker tournament by triumphing in the inaugural event.