The WPT Big One for One Drop Kicks Off at 2PM Today

Phil Ivey

The WPT World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas is nearing the business end of the series in Sin City and all eyes are set on The WPT Big One for One Drop, which is set to take place from December 18 to 20, 2023. With a staggering buy-in of $1,000,000, some of the biggest names in poker are expected to showcase their skills alongside businessmen in the biggest buy-in of the international poker scene.

Back in 2012, the event drew a total of 48 runners and Antonio Esfandiari defeated Sam Trickett in heads-up to claim the top prize of $18,346,673. Two years later, Daniel Negreanu came up shy of victory in the duel against Daniel Colman, who walked away with a top prize of $15,306,668. The European edition in Monte-Carlo came with a €1 million buy-in and Elton Tsang claimed one of the biggest cash prizes in live poker for €11,111,111 out of a field of 28 entries.

In 2018, the seven-figure buy-in took place the last time and attracted a field of 27 entries. German wunderkind Fedor Holz earned $6 million for his runner-up finish and Justin Bonomo earned the title as well as top prize of $10 million. Both Holz and Bonomo were among those to enter the fray but the participation of Holz is currently in question, as he is still in the $25,000 High Roller at the Encore Ballroom.

Artur Martirosian and Orpen Kisacikoglu were also among those likely to enter, but the former was second in chips for Day 4 of the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas while Kisacikoglo topped the leaderboard for the $25,000 High Roller.

WPT ambassador Phil Ivey was the first player to confirm his participation and he was followed by David Einhorn, Jason Koon, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Chris Brewer, Talal Shakerchi, Dan Cates, Rick Salomon, Nick Petrangelo and recent WSOP Europe bracelet winner Santhosh Suvarna.

Ivey came up short of the money in the inaugural cooperation of the WPT with the One Drop Foundation during the 2023 Wynn Summer Classic. With a modest buy-in of $10,500, the WPT EveryOne for One Drop attracted a massive field of 1,676 entries and Bin Weng earned the biggest cash prize of his poker career so far worth $2,227,054. 

It remains to be seen which other players can pony up the seven-figure buy-in and join the action as of 2 p.m. local time. Day 1a gets underway then and a total of nine levels of 60 minutes each are scheduled. The late registration remains open until the start of level five and the end of that level, the players will be on a 75-minute dinner break.

Stay tuned for all of the high-stakes action right here on WPT.com in the next three days to find out who becomes the fifth Big One for One Drop champion.