WPT EveryOne for One Drop $10K

This event was played from July 9-14 at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas and featured a buy-in of $10,500. A total of 1,676 entries created a prize pool of $16.2 million, far exceeding the $10 million guarantee.

Among the notable players who finished in the money were: Isaac Haxton (198th), Erik Seidel (197th), Joe McKeehen (192nd), Andrew Moreno (186th), Chris Moneymaker (141st), Ethan “Rampage” Yau (127th ), Dan Smith (115th), Jeremy Ausmus (79th), 2022 WPT World Championship champion Eliot Hudon (66th), Adrián Mateos (57th), WPT Prime Championship winner Stephen Song (39th), 4-time WPT champion Darren Elias (19th) and Stephen Chidwick (16th), among others.

The winner of the tournament was Bin Weng, who collected the biggest prize of his career: $2.2 million. Weng is in the midst of his best year ever, having already made two final tables in WPT Main Events — placing fourth at the WPT Choctaw for $143K and winning the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $1.1 million. With these results he leads the WPT Player of the Year rankings, and has passed the $7 million mark for career live tournament earnings.

Bin Weng Wins the WPT EveryOne for One Drop ($2,227,054)
Photo Credit : WPT#onedrop #wpt #wynnlasvegas #everyoneforonedrop #poker4water pic.twitter.com/BYMSrwPQTP

— All In For ONE DROP (@allinforonedrop) July 15, 2023

The final table consisted of a half dozen crushers, each of whom happily padded their bank accounts:

1. Bin Weng –  $2,227,054
2. Scott Baumstein  –  $1,503,988
3. Niko Koop  –  $1,872,438
4. Freddy Heller –  $956,000
5. Dominik Nitsche   –  $700,100
6. Tom Cannuli  –  $524,500

WPT Alpha 8 For One Drop $111K

After several years of absence, the exclusive Alpha 8-branded tournament returned and was played from July 14-16 at the Wynn Casino. With 45 entrants paying $111K each for seats at the tables, the total prize pool was $4.6 million, and it was split among the final seven players.

The lion’s share went to Jonathan Jaffe, who collected the biggest prize of his career: over $1.5 million. Jonathan is a regular player on the World Poker Tour, where he boasts 14 cashes, 4 final tables and 1 title (WPT Montreal in 2014). With his Alpha 8 win, he boosted his live tournament earnings to $9 million.

Here’s how the final table played out among those who made the money:

1. Jonathan Jaffe –  $1,537,600
2. Taylor von Kriegenbergh –  $1,042,100
3. Dan Smith –  $701,700
4. Aleksejs Ponakovs –  $485,200
5. Michael Lim –  $350,100
6. Iaron Lightbourne –  $273,200
7. Isaac Haxton –  $222,600

Congratulations Jonathan Jaffe, Winner of the $111,000 @WPT Alpha 8 For One Drop Event. Jonathan battled his way to victory through a star studded field, taking home $1,537,600! pic.twitter.com/BGVNylpKxX

— Wynn Poker Room (@WynnPoker) July 17, 2023

WPT Big One For One Drop $1M

The crown jewel of the WPT-One Drop Foundation trifecta will be the return of the “Big One For One Drop,” which will feature a whopping $1 million price tag to enter, and which will be played from December 18-20 as part of the 2023 WPT World Championship. It will be the fifth edition of this event after previous installments of the tournament held in 2012 (winner: Antonio Esfandiari – $18.3M), 2014 (winner: Dan Colman – $15.3M), 2016 (winner: Elton Tsang – $12.2M) and 2018 (winner: Justin Bonomo – $10M).

How many entries will the new edition have? Who is most likely to emerge atop as a newly-minted multi-millionare among millionaires? Learn more in this article.

It’s coming. #TheBigOne @onedrop @allinforonedrop @WynnLasVegas @WynnPoker pic.twitter.com/0dpunxnMBV

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) July 12, 2023

The full 2023 WPT World Championship schedule will soon be announced, with even higher numbers expected than last year, and the returning Big One For One Drop on top of it all. This will signal a perfect end to 2023, a year where live poker has broken numerous records, with more likely to fall at the Wynn in December.

“We are beyond excited to be announcing the resurgence of our most iconic charity event,” said Alexandre Meunier, One Drop Foundation’s Chief Marketing and Events Officer. He added, “It is an incredible feeling to be able to have the support of WPT and the Wynn to run our fifth edition of the Big One. There is always a palpable buzz in the air during the lead-up to the one-million-dollar affair. The magnitude of the buy-in, of the prize pool, and also of the funds that are directed to the crucial cause of access to safe water makes the Big One the event of all superlatives.”

As part of the new partnership, there will be three charity events taking place over the coming months that will raise funds for the One Drop Foundation:

The WPT World Championship at the Wynn Casino will be a spectacular setting for the return of the Big One For One Drop, which will distribute millions of dollars in prizes and raise money so that areas most in need can have sustainable access to water.

“The Big One for One Drop is such an iconic tournament in the world of poker. We are honored to put on this incredible event in conjunction with the One Drop Foundation and Wynn Las Vegas,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The $1 million buy-in is a testament to the heights this industry can reach and the continuous evolution of the World Poker Tour.”

The Story of the Big One For One Drop

The million-dollar event made its debut in 2012 during the WSOP. That year 48 people took part, creating a prize pool of $42.6M. The nine finalists were awarded and among them were Mike Sexton (ninth), Brian Rast (sixth), Phil Hellmuth (fourth) and Sam Trickett (second).

The champion was Antonio Esfandiari, achieving the highest prize for a poker player up to that moment: $18.3M. Antonio celebrated by standing on top of the table and them jumping off directly on to his rail cheering him on. After that, he hugged his father with tears in his eyes and gave him the newly-won bracelet.

In 2014 the tournament returned. This time there were 42 players, with a prize pool of $37.3M. Daniel Colman defeated Canadian Daniel Negreanu in the heads-up final to become champion, earning $15.3M. The Canadian had to settle for an $8.2M for second place prize.

During that tournament an incredible bad beat happened where two pairs of aces met pre-flop and Cary Katz hit a flush eliminating Connor Drinan from the tournament. You can see the hand here:

In 2016 the Big One for One Drop left the United States and was instead played in Monte Carlo, with 28 people paying the €1M buy-in and playing for a €24.8M prize pool. Elton Tsang from Hong Kong was the winner and accepted a huge prize of €11.1M ($12.2M).

The last edition of the Big One for One Drop was held in 2018 during the WSOP in Las Vegas. It garnered 27 players, distributing $24.8M in prizes. Justin Bonomo was having the best year of his career and confirmed it by winning this tournament, earning $10M. Fedor Holz placed second and Dan Smith finished on the podium in third.

In December we will learn whether the new venue of the Wynn and the framework of the World Poker Tour World Championship will result in the largest field yet of Big One For One Drop players. Will we have a new record prize in poker history? We can’t wait to find out.

But then I got to thinking… perhaps there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Maybe the news is an indication that much like the World Poker Tour has upped its overall game over the last year, charitable fundraising could really be taken to the next level as part of this partnership, too.

The likelihood of this was confirmed when I reached out for comment from WPT CEO Adam Pliska, who said “We think when all is said and done, the poker community will be very excited by what this partnership leads to and ultimately that will lead to even more funds being raised for One Drop’s mission of ensuring access to safe water for people across the globe.”

The wheels in my head have been spinning for a little while and I’ve come up with a list of a few things that would really be great for the poker world to see result from this new partnership.

1. Return of the Big One for One Drop

This is a no brainer. Getting players to pony up $1 million apiece for a seat in a poker tournament is just as amazing a feat in 2023 as it was when the Big One for One Drop first debuted in 2012. The event has been staged eight times, with four of those featuring a $1 million buy-in and the other four featuring a $111,111 buy-in. It would stand to reason that the World Poker Tour would aim to bring back this special event at the higher $1 million price point.

As for what else would make this event’s return super special, the potential entry of all-time poker greats such as WPT ambassadors Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey, coupled with the reemergence of One Drop Foundation founder Guy Laliberte to the poker world alone makes such an event that much more headline-grabbing.

Top it all off with the WPT’s state-of-the-art production and storytelling flair, and you’ll have an event that won’t just be excellently staged in real time, but that will live on as a visual on-screen spectacle for ages.

2. Return of the Little One for One Drop

Another no brainer, staging a $1,111 event allows folks with more modest bankrolls to also partake in the charitable poker giving. To further enhance the event’s prestige, perhaps the WPT could consider producing a final table broadcast for this one, too.

Beyond the inherent added value of having $111 of each buy-in donated to a very worthy cause, the players could also receive some added value if all those players who’d make the (televised or live streamed) final table would also be rewarded with seats to…

3. All-New $11,111 High Roller for One Drop

Here’s an idea for the WPT and One Drop Foundation to chew on. A 5-figure buy-in level has thus far been absent as a special event in the One Drop repertoire.

Plenty of folks from poker’s high roller circuit would likely jump into this one without having the stress of risking (or putting together a staking package for) a 6-figure sum.

Collecting $1,111 for charity from each entrant naturally would add far more than just another drop in the proverbial bucket to the joint WPT-One Drop Foundation fundraising efforts.

While we’re shining the spotlighting on this partnership, let’s also be sure that the final table of this event gets TV/broadcast treatment, too.

And if it’s possible for there to be a seat added for the event’s winner to the Big One for One Drop, well then that would just be brilliant.

4. One Drop in the MUG

Much ado was rightfully made of the incredible, one-of-a-kind WPT Premier Meet Up Game (MUG) that kicked off last year’s WPT World Championship festivities.

Surely reproducing it would be awesome, but how do you top it? Maybe by adding a charity component.

I would love to see the Wynn get on board with this initiative by agreeing, just during the WPT Premier MUG, to (the admittedly tongue-in-cheek) “No Drop for the House” and having the cash game rake donated to the One Drop Foundation. This would be a beautiful gesture that’s by definition a win for all parties involved, including the players.

And for the value adds? What could be more appropriate than awarding to participants randomly drawn special prizes of a 1% piece of a WPT ambassador’s action to any One Drop tournaments they compete in?

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that pretty much anything done in the poker world that would help increase charitable fundraising is by definition a good thing. The World Poker Tour has proven time and again that when it puts its full organizational weight and effort into an idea, amazing things can happen.

Further per Pliska, “The WPT Foundation has been a tremendous success for WPT charitable initiatives and by partnering with the One Drop Foundation, we think we have demonstrated a commitment to working with them to continue their great work and elevate charity poker.”

Whether it’s via any of the ideas I came up with, or something else unexpected out of left field, it will be great to see the WPT propel charitable fundraising for the One Drop Foundation to the next level in the coming years.