In the 43-year history of the World Series of Poker, there have been quite a few historical moments. Back-to-back WSOP Championship Event winners, the largest buy in tournaments on the largest stages and the achievements of legends that have placed them in the pantheon of the game. Sunday marks the start of another tournament which should take its place in the WSOP history books alongside these momentous occasions.
“The Big One For One Drop” will hit the tables this afternoon at 1:11PM (Pacific Time) for the largest buy in tournament in the history of poker. 48 men have taken the challenge of putting up $1 million for a shot at poker immortality and to raise awareness for One Drop, a charitable organization chaired by Cirque du Soleil founder/entrepreneur/poker player Guy Laliberte and dedicated to providing access to clean water worldwide. The official charity of the WSOP will receive $111,111 from every buy-in, raising over $5.5 million for this worthy cause.
Several businessmen have stepped up to take part in this tournament alongside some of the greatest names in the world of poker. Former World Champion Bobby Baldwin and Laliberte will straddle the fence between the two worlds, joined by such notable businessmen as Frederic Banjout (CEO, Eden Shoes), David Einhorn (hedge fund manager), Kuala Lumpur’s Richard Yong, Phil Ruffin (owner of Treasure Island) and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya. Poker will be represented by recent $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship victor Michael Mizrachi, last year’s WSOP Player of the Year Ben Lamb, former World Champion Jonathan Duhamel, Daniel Negreanu, eight-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey and a host of other competitors.
In the breakdown of the tables, there isn’t a soft spot anywhere (trust me; businessmen don’t like sinking a million bucks for nothing!). Mizrachi will have to face off with Mike Sexton, Negreanu and Palihapitiya on his patch of felt, while those who are more interested in the exploits of cash game players will have their own table to watch. Dan Shak, Phil Galfond, Roland De Wolfe, Eugene Katchalov and Tom “durrrr” Dwan will be in action here and it should prove to be an active table.
It seems there has been something set up for everyone. Duhamel will highlight a table that features some of the top players in their 20s, with Sam Trickett, Andrew Robl, Justin Smith and Brian Rast squaring off against businessmen Bill Perkins and Banjout. Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and Jason Mercier are a part of a table that only features Noah Schwartz, Yong and Einhorn as participants, while Laliberte will be entertaining Haralabos Voulgaris, Tobias Reinkemeier and Ruffin at his table.
In the sport of football (soccer to Americans), there is always what is called a “Group of Death” where the strong teams are located; this also applies to the “Big One,” only you might call it the “Table of Death.” Imagine if, after plunking down a million dollars, you stared at opponents such as Vivek Rajkumar, Tom Marchese, Antonio Esfandiari, Nick Schulman, Brandon Steven, Erik Seidel, Lamb and Ivey? This will be the most difficult table of the six set up for the tournament and should also prove to be one that will draw the attention of the railbirds.
Add onto one of these tables Gus Hansen, who was able to win yesterday’s $25,000 mega-satellite and will be a part of the field!
For the nine men who reach the final table of this truly monumental tournament, the reward is well worth the time spent. The ninth place finisher will basically get their buy in back ($1,109,333) and the prize ladder escalates up to what will be the biggest first place prize of any sporting event in history (outside of boxing):
1st – $18,346,673
2nd – $10,112,001
3rd – $4,352,000
4th – $2,645,333
5th – $1,834,666
6th – $1,621,333
7th – $1,408,000
8th – $1,237,333
9th – $1,109,333
The winner of this tournament will immediately take over first place on the all-time money winners list (currently headed by Seidel by slightly more than $300K over Ivey) and second place will be the third largest prize in sporting history and will put the finisher in the Top 20 on the all-time money list.
Picking a favorite out of this field is virtually impossible. While many have picked Ivey as the clear choice, there are those that feel he isn’t a virtual lock to take the One Drop title. Any of the pros in the event have the skills to earn the championship and, with the right run of luck in the short term, any of the businessmen would deserve a hard-earned victory.
The players will start with three million in chips and the blinds will begin at the miniscule amount of 3000/6000 with a 1000 ante (players will start with about 176BB). The tournament is scheduled over the next three days and, if it holds up to the hype that has surrounded it, should be another historical moment in the annals of the World Series of Poker.
