Who Wants to be a Multi-Millionaire?
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Good afternoon and welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for the 45th annual World Series of Poker. Today's a big one - thee BIG ONE, actually - as the $1 Million BIG ONE for ONE DROP is set to kick off at 1 p.m. in the Tan Section of the Amazon Room.
This seven-figure extravaganza debuted in 2012 with 48 hopefuls, and Antonio Esfandiari took it down, earning over $18 million. Joining him at the final table were fellow professionals Sam Trickett, Phil Hellmuth, and Brian Rast, poker legend Mike Sexton, and amateurs Guy Laliberté, David Einhorn, and Richard Yong.
Esfandiari is excited to defend his crown:
The day has come...the beginning of history in the making...One Drop take TWO. #Repeat #OneMORETime #PleaseFollow @MagicAntonio
Laliberté is the reason we are all here preparing to witness this electric event, and of each $1 million buy-in, $111,111 will be donated to the One Drop Foundation. One Drop strives to provide clean water to those in need, and players at the WSOP can donate in various different ways, not just by ponying up $1 million to play in this event.
Over $5.3 million was donated to One Drop thanks to the inaugural event in 2012, and if this tournament reaches the 56-player cap, another $6,222,216 will be sent to those in need.
It is unknown whether or not we will reach the limit of 56 players. On June 17, the WSOP reported that 41 players will confirmed, and two players, Connor Drinnan and Erick Lindgren, won a seat to the event in Saturday's $25,000 buy-in satellite.
Like all WSOP events, late registration will be open for six levels. By our math that will be around 10 p.m.
The cards will be in the air around 1 p.m. - there may be theatrics and such so don't hold us to that - but we will keep you abreast of any schedule changes.