WSOP 2012 to Feature Biggest Buy-In in a Live Tournament

Play Poker » WSOP 2012 to Feature Biggest Buy-In in a Live Tournament

January 24, 2012

World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2012 will feature an event that will have the biggest buy-in till date. The buy-in required to enter the event, which will be held in July, 2012, is $1 million. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, the organizers of the tournament, announced that One Drop, a foundation that fights poverty across the world, will benefit from the event. A key objective of One Drop is to increase world-wide awareness of the need for clean water in all countries, especially those that are impoverished.

Affluent Poker Professionals to Participate in WSOP Event

As the buy-in for the event is large, it is likely that the field will comprise of only some of the most affluent poker professionals. 22 players have registered for the event, which is also called Big One. Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, Patrik Antonius, Johnny Chan, Gus Hansen and Bertrand Grospellier are few of the poker professionals who have given their commitment to the event. There is a cap on the number of players who can enter the real money poker event. Not more than 48 can play. The remaining 26 players are expected to register in the coming weeks.

The champion of the WSOP 2010 main event, Jonathan Duhamel, stated that he is thrilled to be a part of the biggest event to take place in the history of poker. Though a million dollars is a huge sum of money to contribute to a poker event, Duhamel said that as a spokesperson for the charitable foundation, he is glad to be able to do that.

One Drop Aims to Get $100 Million as Donation in 25 Years to Fight Poverty

Big One will commence on the first of July and go on till the third of the month. It has been scheduled to take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas. The concept for the $1 million event, which will feature no-limit Hold’em, was developed by Guy Laliberte, the chairman of One Drop and founder of Cirque de Soleil. He has made a pledge to ensure that the organization receives $100 million as donation in the 25 years following its establishment.

Started in 2007 in Canada, One Drop has raised over $40 million. With 11.1% of the $1 million that is expected to go in from the event, One Drop will be one step closer to helping countries deal with poverty.