€1M One Drop Tournament For Recreational Players Only

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Thursday, August 18th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

All around the world, there are affluent men and women who enjoy poker but cannot be considered professionals at the game. These individuals may enjoy playing for high stakes but would have a great deal of difficulty holding their own when faced with professional competitors. Now, there is a tournament that is hoping to attract these strictly recreational players, called the Big One for One Drop, and what’s more it’s for a worthy cause–helping people around the world enjoy safer, cleaner water.

About Big One for One Drop

The One Drop charity has organized a number of tournaments over the years, although only two have commanded a one million dollar/Euro buy-in, both of which were won by top professional players. This includes the 2012 Big One for One Drop which was won by Antonio Esfandiari for $18,346,673, and in 2014 the €1 million version won by Daniel Colman for $15,306,668.

This year, the Big One for One Drop Invitational will be a three-day high-stakes poker tournament that will be held during a five-day poker festival held from October 13 to 17 at the Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco. The buy-in for the event is 1 million Euros, but the event is by invitation only, with the guest list including celebrities, prominent executives and well-known philanthropists.

Poker Pros Not Invited

While pros may find themselves on the guest list to attend the extravaganza, they will not be invited to participate in the tournament this year, keeping those at the tables strictly recreational players. Commenting on the development, Matthew Parvis from PokerNews explained:

“According to the Cirque du Soleil and One Drop founder, poker pros are welcome to coach others in the event, participate in the cash games, and play some of the side events. This alone should satiate the pros looking to get some action, as surely gambling and high-stakes poker will be a top priority with all in attendance.”

The Founder’s Perspective

Guy Laliberte, the mastermind behind Cirque de Soleil, was responsible for founding the Big Drop for One Drop. A recreational poker player himself, Laliberte explained to reporters that when he went back to look at who had participated in the event in previous years, the participants had been split evenly between recreational and professional players in the early years. In the years that followed, fewer and fewer recreational players subsequently participated in the event.

It became clear to Laliberte that even those who would be willing to buy in and contribute to the charity were reluctant to face off against professional players. The atmosphere was likely too competitive, and felt like less fun to those amateur players who were expected to face-off against the pros. Consequently, this year Laliberte hopes that banning pros from competing will help raise the attraction of the event, and ultimately draw an illustrious crowd of poker enthusiasts. While pros are not able to compete, recreational players are allowed to use professionals as coaches to increase their chances of walking away winners.

The Dan Colman Effect

At some of the world’s most prestigious casinos, wealthy businessmen have often enjoyed competing in high-stakes games against professional players in order to experience the thrill of matching wits against the best players in the world. Examples include Chinese billionaires playing in the Macau “Big Game”, where pots often exceed millions of dollars.

One feature of these high-stakes games, however, is that it is the businessmen who chose which poker pros can play with them, with a stipulation being that the pro should be entertaining, and not too tight. Similarly, when Antonio Esfandiari won the 2012 “Big One” tournament, the pro was hailed for shinning a positive light on the game. Dan Colman’s victory in 2014, on the other hand, was in sharp contract with the young player expressing “no interest in promoting poker”, and disappearing from the venue soon after winning, later stating that poker was a “very dark game.” In all likelihood, this may also have influenced Guy Laliberté’s decision to stop pros entering this year’s “Big One”, and as he explains:

“Our priority is of course to raise as much money as we can for One Drop. That’s the number one goal, but we also want to create a fun and comfortable poker environment for recreational players where they are not under the threat of being bled out by the pros.”

A Worthy Cause

Laliberte hopes that the festival and the Big One for One Drop Invitational will draw a crowd of 200 to 400 players and even more fans who simply want to watch the action and drama unfold. He anticipates players coming from major cities in the United States like Los Angeles and New York City, as well as from London, Moscow and other corners of the world. For the invitational, Laliberte hopes to have a total of 48 players.

And what do participants stand to win? Well, €111,111 of each buy-in will be donated to One Drop, meaning the charity could stand to make upwards of €5 million from the event. The rest will go into the prize pool, meaning that cash prizes could potentially exceed €42 million.