There is an argument to be made that Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was a rockstar long before 2008. That argument goes something like, “In the world of Starcraft, people looked at ElkY like he was Elvis.” That may be so, but I will contend until my dying day that I saw the exact second ElkY turned from garage band hero until a true rock star.
It happened about ten minutes after he won the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Cameras flashed. Strangers rushed the stage to high-five him. Handlers grabbed him by the elbow and led him through the crowd. It was that very second, that moment when, if only for a second, he floated above the Atlantis resort carpet, too famous to even chart his own course to a private place where he could collect his thoughts. In my eyes, he hasn’t been the same since. He’s been bigger than even his name and reputation.
Since that day, ElkY has carried himself like a star. He’s gotten svelte. He’s stepped in the ring with fellow Team Pro Lex Veldhuis. He’s trained with Eugene Katchalov. And he’s won just about everything there is to win. While he’s won gold bracelets and millions of dollars, he still looks back on the 2008 as his most important win. The describes it all in the video below.
It’s now been nearly five years since that happened, and today ElkY remains one of the biggest rock stars in poker. He and hundreds of other rockstar hopefuls will all be headed to the Bahamas in January for the 10th PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).PokerStars is planning of the biggest PCAs in history with 40 events that could kick off your career as a rockstar.
Even if you don’t have an ElkY-sized bankroll, you have a chance to win a $16,000 PCA prize package that will pay for your buy-in, hotel, and travel money. Two weeks ago, PokerStars started a series of weekly $10 tournaments that guaranteed ten packages to the PCA. So far, 20 people have won seats to the PCA for mere pennies on the dollar. Here’s a list of everyone who has won so far.
You don’t have to wait until the $10 events run to take your shot at making it to the PCA. Just click on Events/PCA in the PokerStars lobby to find $33 rebuys, $215 satellites, $530 qualifiers, and the weekly $700 event. There are also regular FPP Mega Path tourneys, as well as $1 and 10-cent tournaments.
For more information, visit the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure homepage.
Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging.
