The World Series of Poker announced during the opening festivities of this year’s poker event that next year will see the debut of a new tournament with a $1 million buy in fee. The tournament, which will be appropriately named The Big One, is set to benefit the charity One Drop, which provides access to fresh water in poverty stricken areas around the world. The CEO of Caesars, Gary Loveman, said that his group was “proud to align the planet’s premier poker event with the foundation created by one of our generation’s most creative entrepreneurs, Guy Laliberte, to help make the world a healthier place.”
Laliberte, who is the chair of One Drop, is one of 15 participants who agreed to enter the event. Others who have committed to the tournament, which will take place next year, are top poker pros Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Guy Hansen. The owner of Treasure Island, Phil Russin, as well as the CEO of the City Center Group, Bobby Baldwin, have also agreed to play.
The prize pool of the event has the potential to reach millions of dollars and the prize will be flattened so that, instead of the usual 10% of the field being paid out, players will enjoy 20%. The event will be played out over three days and there are plans for ESPN to broadcast the game. WSOP said that if the event manages to attract over 21 players, it will also award a platinum bracelet to the winner. The One Drop foundation could earn literally millions of dollars from this tournament and is generating a lot of excitement in the poker world.
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