By Sean Chaffin
It’s another relaxing night on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Jeff Blenkarn sways a bit in his hammock as a tropical breeze moves in off the ocean as clouds drift along a brilliant blue sky that seems to go on forever. Just outside his home atop a lush green mountain is a picturesque view of the ocean below. This is his version of a “poker room” and he clicks on his laptop, betting and raising as the hours go by.
It’s not a bad way to earn a living for this poker player originally from Canada. He’s lived in Costa Rica for five years now after a career in newspaper management consulting. His favorite hammock won’t give him any comfort in the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, however, but he’s made the best of the trip.
By the third break in Day 3, Blenkarn was among the chip leaders with his sixth WPT cash in hand and looking for more. What made him ditch life in the Great White North for playing poker in the tropics of Central America?
“Would you rather live in Canada or Costa Rica?” he responds. “It’s pretty nice.”
He admits, however, there were some adjustments. With so many outdoor activities available in the mountains, like hiking and hitting the beach, focusing on playing poker might not be the easiest choice for some players. But with a nice hammock on his veranda, Blenkarn has found a way to get the best of both worlds.
“It’s a different culture, a different way of living,” he says. “It’s pretty awesome.”
Costa Rica has a long history when it comes to poker. There are numerous casinos in the country and several online poker operators were based in the country in the 2000s. That history even includes the WPT, which held the $500 Costa Rica Classic rebuy event at Casino Europa in San Jose during Season I. Jose Rosenkrantz came out on top for $108,730.
Costa Rican player Eric Brenes, brother of well-known player Humberto Brenes, also won a WPT title in Season III at the Ultimate Poker Classic in Aruba for $1 million. That was his only WPT cash, but Humberto has several tour cashes of more than $1.7 million including two runners-up and one third-place finish.
For Blenkarn, the move allowed him to escape some tough Canadian winters and play poker for a living as a retiree. He has children that live in the U.S. and Canada, and also gets to travel occasionally to play some live tournaments. That has come with some nice results.
Those total $854,000 in live tournament winnings with the best coming in 2014 when he finished runner-up in a $1,000 event at the World Series of Poker for $250,815. In 2007 he won the $1,580 Mirage Poker Showdown for $115,416. He also appeared on the Ultimate Poker Challenge, an early televised poker series.
After growing up in Winnipeg, Blenkarn spent time in Toronto and Montreal before heading to his online poker life in Costa Rica. What made him choose the Hard Rock to leave his tropical paradise?
“It felt like a winning event to me, and it’s going well,” he says.
A final table appearance would make that trip back to his mountain abode even better.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.