Big One for One Drop
The Big One for One Drop is a $1,000,000 buy-in No Limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament hosted at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It became the highest buy-in poker tournament in history as well as the largest single payout offered. The event was hosted again in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Big One will return in 2023 and will be hosted by the World Poker Tour (WPT) during the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December 2023.
Sport | Poker, Texas Hold 'em |
---|---|
Founded | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (2012) |
Owner(s) | One Drop Foundation (2012–present) |
Most recent champion(s) | Justin Bonomo |
Official website | Official website |
The event is well known for its charitable contributions, with a percentage of each player's buy-in donated to the One Drop Foundation. The One Drop Foundation is an international non-profit organization, created by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, that works to ensure unconditional access to safe water and sanitation in regions facing the most extreme barriers worldwide[[1]].
History
Canadian entrepreneur Guy Laliberté started the Big One for One Drop in 2012[2] as a No-Limit Hold 'em event hosted at the World Series of Poker. The event was hosted again by WSOP in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and will by hosted by the WPT at Wynn Las Vegas in 2023. Big One for One Drop buy-ins are $1,000,000 or €1,000,000.
In 2012, Antonio Esfandiari won the first Big One for One Drop defeating Sam Trickett heads-up and earned $18,346,673.[3][4]
In 2014, the final table consisted of professional players such as Dan Colman, Daniel Negreanu, Christoph Vogelsang, Tobias Reinkemeier and Scott Seiver as well as recreational players Paul Newey, Cary Katz and Rick Salomon. Colman won the tournament defeating Negreanu heads up and earned $15,306,668.[5]
In 2016, the Big One for One Drop Extravaganza was held in Monte Carlo. The €1,000,000 buy-in tournament was open only to recreational players. Chinese Canadian businessman Elton Tsang won the event for €11,111,111, defeating Anatoliy Gurtovoy of Russia heads up.[6][7]
In 2018, the Big One returned to the World Series of Poker.[8] in Las Vegas. 27 players entered for a total prizepool of $24,840,000. $80,000 from each buy-in was donated to the One Drop Foundation for a total donation of $2,160,000.
In 2023 One Drop entered an agreement with the World Poker Tour to host a series of events. In December 2023, the upcoming WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas will see the Big One for One Drop return with the $1,000,000 buy-in.[9]
A smaller event, known during the WSOP partnership as the "High Roller for One Drop," (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), and known during the WPT partnership as "Alpha8 for One Drop" (2023), had a buy in of $111,111, of which $11,111 per player was donated to One Drop Foundation charity.[10]
In 2013, Anthony Gregg won the $111,111 buy-in High Roller event, defeating Chris Klodnicki heads up and earning $4,830,619.[11] Jonathan Duhamel (2015), Fedor Holz (2016) and Doug Polk (2107) we the subsequent winners of the High Roller for One Drop tournaments.[12][13][14]
In 2023, two Alpha8 for One Drop tournaments were held. Jonathan Jaffe won the first Alpha8 Las Vegas 45-player event winning $1,537,600.[15] The second tournament will be held in July 2023 in Jeju, South Korea.
Results
Year | Event name | Entrants | Winner | Prize (US$) | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 48 | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 | Sam Trickett |
2013 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 166 | Anthony Gregg | $4,830,619 | Chris Klodnicki |
2014 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 42 | Dan Colman | $15,306,668 | Daniel Negreanu |
2015 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 135 | Jonathan Duhamel | $3,989,985 | Bill Klein |
2016 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 183 | Fedor Holz | $4,981,775 | Dan Smith |
2016 * | €1,000,000 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza * | 28 | Elton Tsang | $12,248,912 | Anatoly Gurtovy |
2017 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 130 | Doug Polk | $3,686,865 | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier |
2018 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 27 | Justin Bonomo | $10,000,000 | Fedor Holz |
2019 - 2022 | not held | ||||
WPT Dec 2023 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2012 Big One for One Drop
- 3-Day Event: July 1–3[16]
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 48
- Total Prize Pool: $42,666,672
- Number of Payouts: 9
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 |
2nd | Sam Trickett | $10,112,001 |
3rd | David Einhorn | $4,352,000 |
4th | Phil Hellmuth | $2,645,333 |
5th | Guy Laliberté | $1,834,666 |
6th | Brian Rast | $1,621,333 |
7th | Bobby Baldwin | $1,408,000 |
8th | Richard Yong | $1,237,333 |
2013 High Roller for One Drop
- 4-Day Event: June 26–29[17]
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 166
- Total Prize Pool: $17,891,148
- Number of Payouts: 24
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Anthony Gregg | $4,830,619 |
2nd | Chris Klodnicki | $2,985,495 |
3rd | Bill Perkins | $1,965,163 |
4th | Antonio Esfandiari | $1,433,438 |
5th | Richard Fullerton | $1,066,491 |
6th | Martin Jacobson | $807,427 |
7th | Brandon Steven | $621,180 |
8th | Nick Schulman | $485,029 |
2014 Big One for One Drop
- 3-Day Event: June 29–July 1
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 42
- Total Prize Pool: $37,333,338
- Number of Payouts: 8
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Dan Colman | $15,306,668 |
2nd | Daniel Negreanu | $8,288,001 |
3rd | Christoph Vogelsang | $4,480,001 |
4th | Rick Salomon | $2,800,000 |
5th | Tobias Reinkemeier | $2,053,334 |
6th | Scott Seiver | $1,680,000 |
7th | Paul Newey | $1,418,667 |
8th | Cary Katz | $1,306,667 |
2015 High Roller for One Drop
- 2-Day Event: June 28–29
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 135
- Total Prize Pool: $14,249,925
- Number of Payouts: 16
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Jonathan Duhamel | $3,989,985 |
2nd | Bill Klein | $2,465,522 |
3rd | Dan Colman | $1,544,121 |
4th | Ben Sulsky | $1,118,049 |
5th | Dan Perper | $873,805 |
6th | Phil Hellmuth | $696,821 |
7th | Anthony Zinno | $565,864 |
8th | Sergey Lebedev | $466,970 |
2016 High Roller for One Drop
- 3-Day Event: July 8–10
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 183
- Total Prize Pool: $19,316,565
- Number of Payouts: 28
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Fedor Holz | $4,981,775 |
2nd | Dan Smith | $3,078,974 |
3rd | Koray Aldemir | $2,154,265 |
4th | Jack Salter | $1,536,666 |
5th | Brian Green | $1,117,923 |
6th | Joe McKeehen | $829,792 |
7th | Nick Petrangelo | $628,679 |
8th | Niall Farrell | $486,383 |
2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza
- 3-Day Event: October 14–16
- Buy-in: €1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 28 (2 rebuys)
- Total Prize Pool: $27,437,564
- Number of Payouts: 6
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize | Prize in EUR (€) |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Elton Tsang | $12,248,912 | €11,111,111 |
2nd | Anatoly Gurtovy | $5,983,597 | €5,427,781 |
3rd | Rick Salomon | $3,307,206 | €3,000,000 |
4th | James Bord | $2,315,044 | €2,100,000 |
5th | Cary Katz | $1,929,203 | €1,750,000 |
6th | Andrew Pantling | $1,653,603 | €1,500,000 |
2017 High Roller for One Drop
- 4-Day Event: June 2–5
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 130
- Total Prize Pool: $13,722,150
- Number of Payouts: 20
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Doug Polk | $3,686,865 |
2nd | Bertrand Grospellier | $2,278,657 |
3rd | Dario Sammartino | $1,608,295 |
4th | Haralabos Voulgaris | $1,158,883 |
5th | Chris Moore | $852,885 |
6th | Martin Jacobson | $641,382 |
7th | Rainer Kempe | $493,089 |
8th | Andrew Robl | $387,732 |
2018 Big One for One Drop
- 3-Day Event: July 15–17
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 27
- Total Prize Pool: $24,840,000
- Number of Payouts: 5
- Winning Hand:
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Justin Bonomo | $10,000,000 |
2nd | Fedor Holz | $6,000,000 |
3rd | Dan Smith | $4,000,000 |
4th | Rick Salomon | $2,840,000 |
5th | Byron Kaverman | $2,000,000 |
References
- "One Drop Foundation Mission". One Drop Foundation Mission. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- "What Ever Happened To Guy Laliberté?". Casino.org. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- Wise, Gary (2012-07-04). "Antonio Esfandiari wins One Drop, $18.3M". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Geller, Shari (2012-07-03). "Antonio Esfandiari Wins $18 Million at WSOP Big One for One Drop $1M Buy-in Poker Tournament". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Tuley, Dave (2014-07-02). "Daniel Colman wins One Drop for $15 million". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Kirschen, Robert (16 October 2016). "WSOP NEWS: ELTON TSANG WINS 2016 BIG ONE FOR ONE DROP". WSOP. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Wright, Nick (2016-10-16). "Elton Tsang Wins the Big One For One Drop Extravaganza for €11,111,111!". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Cross, Valerie (2017-11-06). "$1 Million Big One for One Drop Returning to 2018 World Series of Poker". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- "Million-dollar Buy-in Big One for One Drop is Back". World Poker Tour press release. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- Rodriguez, Julio (2013-06-29). "World Series of Poker -- Bill Perkins Leads One Drop High Roller Final Table". Card Player. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Pempus, Brian (2013-08-07). "Anthony Gregg Wins $4.8 Million In 'One Drop' High Roller Event At World Series Of Poker". Card Player. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Holloway, Chad (2015-06-30). "Jonathan Duhamel Wins $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP for $3,989,985". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Fast, Erik (2016-07-10). "Fedor Holz Wins 2016 World Series of Poker $111,111 High Roller For One Drop". Card Player. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- Fiorvanti, Tim (2017-06-06). "Doug Polk wins $3.69MM in WSOP One Drop High Roller". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- "Jonathan Jaffe wins WPT Alpha8 for One Drop". World Poker Tour official website. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- "Event #55: $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop". WSOP.com. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. July 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
- "Event #47: $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No Limit Hold'em". WSOP.com. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. June 29, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-29.