[toc]The largest-ever buy-in poker tournament took place in Monte Carlo this week, with 26 players (and two re-entries) staking €1 million to play the Big One for One Drop Extravaganza.
Each buy-in saw €111,111 donated to the One Drop Foundation to assist in their bid in providing clean water to impoverished areas and developing countries.
About the Big One for One Drop Extravaganza
The three-day event was organised by Cirque du Soleil and One Drop founder Guy Laliberté.
It is the third major million-dollar event organised in aid of the charity, the previous two having taken place at the 2012 and 2014 World Series of Poker.
This time, Laliberté announced that the event would not be open to poker professionals. Despite the apparent ban on professionals, several high-profile poker names entered the event.
The final table included World Series of Poker Europe champion James Bord and Matchbook CEO, former online poker professional Andrew Pantling.
The final table standings
- Elton Tsang (€11,111,111)
- Anatoly Gurtovoy (€5,427,781)
- Rick Salomon (€3,000,000)
- James Bord (€2,100,000)
- Cary Katz (€1,750,000)
- Andrew Pantling (€1,500,000)
Previous One Drop charity tournaments
In addition to this event, two $1 million buy-in events and three $111,111 buy-in events have taken place in aid of One Drop. A total of $15.9 million has been raised for the charity through big buy-in poker tournaments.
The 2012 Big One for One Drop
The inaugural Big One for One Drop event at the 2012 World Series of Poker was contested by 48 players, with Antonio Esfandiari defeating Sam Trickett heads-up to win the largest first prize in the history of poker tournaments, a hefty $18.3 million.
The 2014 Big One for One Drop
In 2014, the Big One for One Drop returned to the WSOP. This time, 42 players entered the event and Daniel Colman bested Daniel Negreanu to win $15.3 million.
High Roller for One Drop events
In 2013, 2015 and 2016 a smaller event has taken place at the WSOP known as the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop.
In 2013, Tony Gregg won the inaugural event for $4.8 million; Jonathan Duhamel won the 2015 edition for $3.9 million and Fedor Holz won the most recent event this year for $4.9 million.
