“Everything has changed for me since I won the Platinum Pass three years ago,” Jennifer Carter remarks while having a beer at the EPT London Player’s Lounge.
That Platinum Pass she is referring to? It’s her second time. Carter is one of a select few poker players who have twice won a Platinum Pass worth $30,000, placing him in exclusive company.
Jennifer Carter, competing in 2019 at the PSPC
Her first victory came in 2018. She obtained a Platinum Pass Freeroll ticket from a PokerStars chest, played the whole satellite on her smartphone while crocheting, and won the entire event. In January of 2019, she travelled to the Bahamas, had a wonderful vacation, and that was all.
Then, in October 2019, she received a second Platinum Pass, this time through the online Mega Path satellites, for the second edition of the PSPC, originally set for Barcelona in 2020. (but we all know what happened that year).
Now, three years have passed. And a great deal has changed.
“Lockdown was difficult for me,” admits Carter. “I’ve lost my career and my marriage, but poker has remained a constant. With the PSPC on the horizon like a beacon of hope… I’ve just been awaiting it.”
Carter relocated to a new apartment in Toronto during the epidemic, and when the whole nation of Canada was quarantined, she resorted to poker. “I just adore it,” she declares. “It’s been quite significant to me. I would watch Twitch, play online poker, and communicate with my buddies through Zoom calls. I was quite appreciative for the Twitch broadcasters who kept us engaged and helped to keep everyone calm.”
Carter even featured on Canada’s The Morning Show on Global News.
When she won her second Platinum Pass from PokerStars, she received a poker table for her apartment. When Ontario’s limitations were lifted, Carter started holding house games for her local friends. She would also participate more in the Home Games of her favorite streams. “Having that community when I was home alone was very pleasant,” she recalls.
The PSPC 2023 was then formally confirmed for the Bahamas in January 2023, after a lengthy delay. Carter has already visited the Caribbean island, but this time the event will being held in a new resort: the Baha Mar. And lately, she, like other Platinum Pass recipients, saw a documentary on the facility.
She says, “It is interesting.” “Honestly, I’m delighted it’s not in Barcelona because it would be quite a distance for me to go. The Bahamas are just a three-hour flight away for me. I am not concerned about jet lag or the time zone. Additionally, January? From Canada? Yes, I’m looking forward to going to the beach.
Carter anticipated meeting her favorite Twitch broadcasters, including Georgina “GJ Reggie” James, Lex Veldhuis, and Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, on her trip to the Bahamas.
She also wanted to meet the members of the group, with whom she had developed deep relationships online. They cannot all make it to the Bahamas. However, many are in London.
This community is a significant factor in Carter’s presence in London today. Multiple factors affected her choice to take the seven-hour journey for her maiden trip across the pond.
Initially, she won a regional concert ticket worth £1,100 in a Platinum Pass winners’ competition. Initially, she intended to use it to compete in an additional event at the PSPC in January.
“However, I saw that all Twitch broadcasters were traveling to London, and I wanted to meet everyone,” she explains.
Consequently, she booked her flights and hotel room (with the assistance of the PokerStars crew, particularly the famous Willie Elliot) and traveled to London to compete in the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Main Event. Carter assumed her position on Day 1A, but things did not go her way. Then, she participated in the Ladies Event and eliminated a few opponents until being eliminated herself during Level 3.
However, the fact that the poker game did not go as planned does not imply that she has not enjoyed her vacation. In fact, poker was virtually an afterthought for her.
“I’ve had a great time visiting London, strolling about, doing the bus tour, and seeing the attractions,” she adds, pointing to the gold bracelet on her wrist. And as a result, I haven’t had to pay for meals other than the full English breakfast!”
Despite the free food, she is most grateful for the new friends she’s met on the trip.
“Meeting members of the Twitch community has been fantastic,” she adds. “I saw “RichyRob”, “Raksha”, GJ Reggie, “Majin” [Tom Hayward]… When I learned he was coming, I thought, “Ah, another person I really want to meet,” which pushed the scales in favor of my decision to visit London. I am one of his moderators, a longtime subscriber, and a devoted admirer.”
Carter, a passionate knitter who once worked in a yarn store, even brought presents for the community members that she evidently values so much.
She crocheted a red dragon for Georgina “GJ Reggie” James (“one of her emotes”); an alpaca for Tom “Majin” Hayward; a card protector for David “New Dave” Gibson; a beer stein for Felix “xflixx” Schneiders; and Mixed Games Movement cubes for Mason “pyefacepoker” Pye and his moderator, Raksha.
She explains, “Three years is a long time, so I had plenty of time to prepare gifts for everyone.”
Three years is a lengthy period of time. We inquire as to how Carter has been preparing for the PSPC, which has been her beacon of hope during this period.
She states, “I’ll be honest, I haven’t really prepared.” “I’m not really hoping to win large. I’ve attended several training classes and continue to practice poker, but the game itself is secondary. After years of education, I will not travel there to take advantage of a possibility to earn millions of dollars. I intend to have fun there. There, I will enjoy the new resort. There, I will meet all the internet buddies I’ve made.
We will toast to it.
Source: www.pokerstarsblog.com
