The Big One for One Drop $1m Tournament Returns in 2018
The world’s richest buy-in poker event will headline the 2018 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas in July next year.
The tournament, which raises money for the One Drop Foundation, will return to Las Vegas after a 2016 event in Monte Carlo raised questions about the organisation of the event despite raising $3.8 million.
News of the 2018 Big One for One Drop event was announced during the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) at the King’s Casino in Rozadov, the Czech Republic. The tournament begins on the 15th July and as always, entrants will have to stump up $1,000,000 to enter.
Since its inception in 2012, The Big One for One Drop has raised more than $20m and has hosted 10,412 unique entrants – most from spin-off events. Antonio Esfandiari won the first of the One Drop tournaments in 2012, claiming the $18.3m first place prize after beating the other 47 entrants. In 2014, Dan Colman won $15.3m for first place in the event from a field of 42 players, but in 2016, professional players were banned from the tournament and only 28 players entered. Elton Tsang won the event and claimed $11.1m before admitting that he had always been a professional poker player.
Canadian entrepreneur and founder of the non-profit One Drop Foundation, Guy Laliberté, is hoping that a return to Las Vegas can get his Big One For One Drop tournament back on track after the farce of last year.
Leon Tsoukernik has already become the first man to register for the tournament, but that in itself has sparked controversy. Tsoukernik is currently in the middle of two complaints that he reneged on millions of dollars in loans while playing against Elton Tsang and Matt Kirk, using the money to enter the tournament.
The One Drop Foundation seeks to provide unconditional access to safe drinking water in crisis areas. From the buy-in of £1m, $111,111 goes directly to his organisation.
