Remko Rinkema talks to Jason Mercier, Tony Greg, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Galfond, Guy Laliberté Igor Kurganov & Noah Schwartz just before the start of the 2014 World Series of Poker Big One for One Drop.
![[user196676]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Guy Laliberté spoke briefly before handing the microphone off to reigning champion Antonio Esfandiari. Esfandiari announced "Shuffle up and deal," and the cards are officially in the air for The $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop!
Level: 1
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 1,000
Players have taken their seats following the seat draw ceremony. A grand total of 37 players are currently seated to start today's event. A full seating chart can be found below.
German online pro Christoph "Tight-Man1" Vogelsang is playing in the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop. We caught up with him just before the start of play to find out what he did to prepare.
| Table | Seat | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 347 | 1 | Brian Rast |
| 347 | 2 | Jean-Robert Bellande |
| 347 | 3 | John Juanda |
| 347 | 4 | --Empty-- |
| 347 | 5 | Philipp Gruissem |
| 347 | 6 | Talal Shakerchi |
| 347 | 7 | Tom Hall |
| 347 | 8 | --Empty-- |
| 349 | 1 | Antonio Esfandiari |
| 349 | 2 | --Empty-- |
| 349 | 3 | Scott Seiver |
| 349 | 4 | --Empty-- |
| 349 | 5 | Connor Drinan |
| 349 | 6 | Dan Smith |
| 349 | 7 | Brandon Steven |
| 349 | 8 | Greg Merson |
| 351 | 1 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 2 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 3 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 4 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 5 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 6 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 7 | --Empty-- |
| 351 | 8 | --Empty-- |
| 353 | 1 | Phil Galfond |
| 353 | 2 | --Empty-- |
| 353 | 3 | Phil Ivey |
| 353 | 4 | --Empty-- |
| 353 | 5 | Stanley Choi |
| 353 | 6 | Cary Katz |
| 353 | 7 | Daniel Negreanu |
| 353 | 8 | Erick Lindgren |
| 354 | 1 | Max Altergott |
| 354 | 2 | --Empty-- |
| 354 | 3 | John Morgan |
| 354 | 4 | Paul Newey |
| 354 | 5 | Vanessa Selbst |
| 354 | 6 | Sam Trickett |
| 354 | 7 | David Einhorn |
| 354 | 8 | --Empty-- |
| 356 | 1 | Daniel Cates |
| 356 | 2 | Tony Gregg |
| 356 | 3 | Jason Mercier |
| 356 | 4 | Doug Polk |
| 356 | 5 | Daniel Colman |
| 356 | 6 | Guy Laliberté |
| 356 | 7 | Tobias Reinkemeier |
| 356 | 8 | --Empty-- |
| 357 | 1 | Christoph Volgelsang |
| 357 | 2 | --Empty-- |
| 357 | 3 | Bill Klein |
| 357 | 4 | Igor Kurganov |
| 357 | 5 | Niklas Heinecker |
| 357 | 6 | Noah Schwartz |
| 357 | 7 | Isaac Haxton |
| 357 | 8 | --Empty-- |
Seats 2, 4, and 8 are in the well
It is 1:15 p.m., and spoken word artist In-Q just did a rendition in the Mothership. The plan is for all of the players to be introduced for the television production, and then there will be a live seat draw.
We will bring the draw to you as fast as we can, so stay tuned!
Good afternoon and welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for the 45th annual World Series of Poker. Today's a big one - thee BIG ONE, actually - as the $1 Million BIG ONE for ONE DROP is set to kick off at 1 p.m. in the Tan Section of the Amazon Room.
This seven-figure extravaganza debuted in 2012 with 48 hopefuls, and Antonio Esfandiari took it down, earning over $18 million. Joining him at the final table were fellow professionals Sam Trickett, Phil Hellmuth, and Brian Rast, poker legend Mike Sexton, and amateurs Guy Laliberté, David Einhorn, and Richard Yong.
Esfandiari is excited to defend his crown:
The day has come...the beginning of history in the making...One Drop take TWO. #Repeat #OneMORETime #PleaseFollow @MagicAntonio
Laliberté is the reason we are all here preparing to witness this electric event, and of each $1 million buy-in, $111,111 will be donated to the One Drop Foundation. One Drop strives to provide clean water to those in need, and players at the WSOP can donate in various different ways, not just by ponying up $1 million to play in this event.
Over $5.3 million was donated to One Drop thanks to the inaugural event in 2012, and if this tournament reaches the 56-player cap, another $6,222,216 will be sent to those in need.
It is unknown whether or not we will reach the limit of 56 players. On June 17, the WSOP reported that 41 players will confirmed, and two players, Connor Drinnan and Erick Lindgren, won a seat to the event in Saturday's $25,000 buy-in satellite.
Like all WSOP events, late registration will be open for six levels. By our math that will be around 10 p.m.
The cards will be in the air around 1 p.m. - there may be theatrics and such so don't hold us to that - but we will keep you abreast of any schedule changes.
Event #57: The $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop
Day 1 Started
