THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER ANNOUNCES A $1 MILLION
BUY-IN TOURNAMENT and ONE OF THE most significant charity initiativeS in poker
history,
to benefit ONE DROP
Las Vegas, June 2, 2011 –
The World Series of Poker® (WSOP) announced today that it is adding a new $1
million buy-in poker tournament as part of the 43rd Annual World
Series of Poker on July 1, 2012 to benefit ONE DROP, a non-governmental
organization aiming to fight poverty worldwide by supporting access to water
and raising each and every one’s awareness of water-related issues.
The BIG ONE for ONE DROPTM
tournament is expected to generate one of the largest prize-pools in tournament
poker outside the WSOP Main Event and award the winner millions of dollars and
a specially-designed WSOP platinum bracelet.
ONE DROP has received
commitments from 15 participants thus far. They are: Guy
Laliberté, Chair of ONE DROP and Founder of Cirque
du Soleil; Bobby Baldwin, four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and President
& CEO City Center Group; Phil Ruffin, Owner, Treasure Island Resort, Las
Vegas; poker professionals Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny
Chan, Tom Dwan and Tony Guoga. Quebec’s
Casinos and a European group intends to offer satellites as well, plus a prominent
businessmen will also join, in addition to Andy Beal.
Caesars also intends to offer
two additional entries. One will go to the winner of a Mega Satellite, while
the other will come from a yet to be determined promotion.
"We are proud to align the planet's
premiere poker event with the foundation created by one of our generation's
most creative entrepreneurs, Guy Laliberté, to help make the world a healthier
place," said Gary Loveman, Caesars Entertainment Corporation's chairman,
president and chief executive officer.
“We agree with ONE DROP that water is one of the most important issues
of this century and this tournament was created to take advantage of our
infrastructure and resources to help ONE DROP fulfill its important mandate,”
said Mitch Garber, CEO of Caesars Interactive Entertainment. “With The BIG ONE for ONE DROP, we hope to
attract public figures and recognized business community leaders, who will join
our efforts and participate in a historic event while supporting ONE DROP’s
activities.”
“Since giving back to the community is a key part of Quebec’s Casinos’
philosophy of social commitment, we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity of
partnering with ONE DROP for this grand charity event. We often organize
benefit tournaments, but this tournament definitely stands out. Our team is
‘all in’, without hesitation,” said Claude Poisson, President of Quebec’s
Casinos.
“I'm very happy to participate in this event. As a
partner and friend to Guy, I have always admired his commitment to ONE DROP,” said
Phil Ruffin, Owner, Treasure Island
Resort, Las Vegas.
“A
million dollar buy-in seems crazy, and well, it is, but when you factor in a
great cause like ONE DROP getting a percentage of the prize pool, all of a
sudden it seems like a fantastic idea, and a great way to raise money for
charity,” said Canadian poker pro Daniel Negreanu. “Count me in.”
“I'm
very excited to play this tournament because I think ONE DROP is a great
charity organization and this will be the biggest tournament with part of
the prize pool used for a good purpose,” added professional poker player Patrik
Antonius. “It will be a lot of fun!”
“ONE
DROP is an extremely intelligent, important charity organization and I'm
honored to play a part in giving back,” said businessman and poker pro Tony
Guoga. “This is a perfect partnership for the WSOP and for poker in general.
“I
am buying in,” exclaimed young poker professional Tom Dwan. “$1 million has a
nice ring to it. It’s so sick, and for such a good cause, now I just gotta
win.”
“Supporting Chris Ferguson’s charity I spent 4 weeks in Africa last year, and I
came to realize what a precious resource water is—therefore it is a pleasure to
enter the biggest poker tournament ever and at the same time support the ONE
DROP organization,” said recent WSOP gold bracelet winner Gus Hansen.
The tournament is expected to take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel
& Casino in Las Vegas on July 1, 2012 and intends to be structured as a
three-day tournament. The event intends to take a maximum of 48 players. Final funds are expected to be due 14 days
prior to the event commencing. Subject to the rules of the tournament, anyone
age 21 or older is eligible as long as they have the $1 million entry fee. 11.1% of the tournament buy-in intends to be
donated to ONE DROP, with $889,889 going towards the prize pool.
“Since its creation, ONE DROP has reached out to millions of people to support access to water and raise each and
every one’s awareness of water-related issues. And today, knowing that
one person dies from a water-borne disease every 20 seconds, I urge everyone to
do even more,” said Guy Laliberté. “We are looking forward to The BIG ONE for
ONE DROP as a creative and innovative solution to fund ONE DROP projects that help
fight poverty by supporting access
to water worldwide.”
U.S. television network ESPN intends
to televise this event as part of its coverage of the 43rd Annual
World Series of Poker in 2012. A specially-designed WSOP platinum bracelet will
be awarded to the winner, as long as at least 22 participants are entered in
the event. (Doyle Brunson defeated a
field of 22 players for his first of back-to-back WSOP Main Event titles in
1976).
The tournament is expected to pay out
a record 20% of the field—double the typical poker tournament payout structure.
For example, if 20 players enter, four will cash. If 30 players enter, six will
cash, etc.
The tournament will bring together individuals
in an unusual way for the cause of water for all. It is the belief of the
organizers that this event will attract high-net-worth individuals from all
over the globe and across a wide range of businesses and occupations.
The BIG ONE for ONE DROP is an
unprecedented effort to raise awareness of water-related issues amongst the
poker community and to raise funds to allow ONE DROP to continue to
deliver on its important mandate. Funds will be directed to ONE DROP
projects around the world, where the team is hard at work dealing with the
local water crisis.
About ONE DROP
ONE DROP—an initiative of Guy Laliberté,
Founder of Cirque du Soleil—is a non-governmental organization established
in Montreal, Canada and active worldwide. ONE
DROP’s mission is to fight poverty by supporting access to water and raising
each and every one’s awareness of water-related issues through its distinctive
approach based on social arts and popular education. In the U.S., ONE DROP
is a public charity that undertakes innovative activities in which water plays
a central role as a creative force to generate positive, sustainable change
worldwide. ONE DROP continues to reach out to the world to realize its
dream of safe water for all, today and tomorrow. To learn more about
ONE DROP, visit ONEDROP.org.
About the World Series of
Poker
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most
prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize
money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top
prize. Featuring a comprehensive
slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s
longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2010, the event attracted 72,966 entrants from 117 different countries to
the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in
Las Vegas and awarded over $187 million in prize money. The
WSOP, in December 2008, was named the seventh most admired sports brand in
North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more
established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In
addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting,
digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the
brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker
EuropeSM. To learn more about the World Series of Poker, visit WSOP.com.