Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, along with the World Series of Poker (WSOP), announced Thursday that this summer’s $1,000,000 buy-in WSOP event has added eight more entrants, increasing the field to a stout 30 players. The tournament, called the Big One for ONE DROP, is now on pace to feature the largest first prize in poker history.
In December, it was announced that 22 players had been confirmed for the event, just shy of half the 48-player maximum. Joining such poker luminaries as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan, Bobby Baldwin, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius are:
Bob Bright – CEO, Bright Trading
Cary Katz – CEO, College Loan Corporation
Arnaud Mimran – French businessman
Paul Newey – Co-founder, New Wave Ventures, LLP. (UK)
Paul Phua – Asian businessman
Erik Seidel – Poker pro
Justin Smith – Poker pro
Richard Yong – Asian businessman
With $111,111 of the $1,000,000 dollar buy-in going to ONE DROP, the 30-player field brings the total prize pool to $26,666,670. According to a payout structure table provided by the WSOP, the winner of the tournament at its current size will earn $12,266,668.20, or 46 percent of the prize pool. That would break the record for the largest prize ever awarded in a poker tournament, live or online. The current record is $12,000,000, won by Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event.
ONE DROP is a charitable organization which seeks to provide access to clean, drinkable water to people around the world. In a press release, Laliberté, who himself is participating in the tournament, said, “It is an exciting moment and it is wonderful to see the poker community’s generosity, where organizations, players and fans are all coming together to support ONE DROP. Whether entering the BIG ONE for ONE DROP, becoming a poker ambassador, making a donation, or simply changing their water consumption habits, everyone can get involved and everyone should be concerned, because a child dies every 20 seconds from a water related disease and that together we can beat the odds.”
As it stands now, over $3.33 million from the tournament is earmarked for ONE DROP. And while 30 players signing up for a $1 million buy-in event is phenomenal, WSOP officials expect the tournament to reach its cap of 48 players. Should that happen, the prize pool will hit $40,000,000, with $17,200,002.15 going to the winner.
The continued growth of the Big One for ONE DROP will be aided by live satellites scheduled to be held at casinos around the country. The next satellite will be at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. The direct buy-in for the “Main Event” satellite is $500 with 40 percent of the prize pool going to the winner. That first prize is guaranteed to include at least the $25,300 buy-in to the Official World Series of Poker the Big One Satellite on Saturday, June 30th in Las Vegas, where at least one $1,000,000 seat in the Big One will be awarded. Also included in the Canterbury Park prize packages is airfare and lodging. Qualifiers for the Canterbury Park $500 satellite will run May 7th through May 12th and will feature both $65 and $125 buy-ins.
