Caesars hosts return of $1 million buy-in poker tournament

As part of the 45th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, the ONE DROP organization announced the return of the $1 million buy-in No-Limit Hold’em charity poker tournament – The BIG ONE for ONE DROP – to the 2014 schedule.
The BIG ONE for ONE DROP will take place June 29 to July 1 with all play, until the televised final table, being hosted at Caesars Palace.
After the inaugural event sold out, organizers have added one additional table to the 2014 event, allowing for up to 56 philanthropists, business executives and poker sharps to take to the felt. (All tables are played 8-handed).
With the new 56 player cap, the first place prize has the potential to reach in excess of $20,000,000 if every seat is filled. Additionally, the odds of cashing are better than a typical poker tournament, with 16-20% of entrants receiving a portion of the prize pool, depending on the final number of entrants.
The event will be reserved on a first-come first-served basis, with those providing a deposit guaranting their seat. The winner will also receive a special edition WSOP platinum bracelet by famed jeweler Richard Mille. The event is open to anyone 21 years or older.
There are only 55 seats left up for grabs, as ONE DROP founder Guy Laliberté has already declared his intent to play. (He finished 5th in 2012, cashing for $1,834,666, after being knocked out by Antonio Esfandiari when his pair of Queens lost to Antonio’s Ace-King when a King came on the turn).
“It was a terrific inaugural event in 2012 with ONE DROP raising nearly $5.3 million from the BIG ONE event,” said Laliberté. “There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure access to water for all. I have no doubt that the poker community will once again live up to its reputation for generosity by helping to transform lives sustainably.”
The buy-in for The BIG ONE for ONE DROP at $1 million, remains the largest ever for a poker event. There will be no rake or house fees to operate the event, and $111,111 of each buy-in will be taken out as a charitable donation to ONE DROP. Thus, $888,889 goes directly into the prize pool.
In total, nearly $10 million from the inaugural $48 million paid in buy-ins, ended up in the hands of charities.
“This event quickly established itself as special and unique and for that reason we chose to make it an every other year affair,” said Mitch Garber, Caesars Interactive Entertainment’s chief executive officer. “But we can’t wait to host it again in 2014 and continue to use this vehicle to impact the planet through ONE DROP’s platform.”
The tournament brings together individuals in an unusual way for the cause of water for all. It is the belief of the organizers this event will again attract high-net-worth individuals from all over the globe and across a wide range of businesses and occupations.
Poker players, with a long, consistent and successful track record of supporting charitable causes via poker tournaments, will still have an opportunity to join the cause, as all 2014 WSOP tournaments will include the chance to compete for huge prize pools with money earners in the events being encouraged to donate 1% or more of their winnings to ONE DROP.
The schedule for the 45th annual World Series of Poker is currently being developed, with an expectation for a “Save the Dates” announcement in November.

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