Pokernews One Drop

Coverage of the $1,000,000 buy-in The Big One for One Drop is brought to you by Global Poker.

The final event of the 2018 World Series of Poker has attracted some of the biggest names in poker, which comes as no surprise with a price tag of $1,000,000 for The Big One for One Drop. A total of 24 players ponied up the seven-figure buy-in and 19 of them bagged up chips after 10 levels of one hour each.

Rick Salomon ended up at the top of the counts with a stack of 11,445,000, and the American already has two final table appearances in this very event to his name. In 2014, Salomon finished fourth for $2,800,000 right here in Las Vegas, and he followed that up with a third-place finish for €3,000,000 in The Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza in 2016.

• One Drop has been proudly supported by the World Series of Poker through this decade, and the strong bond is highlighted by the $1,111 Little One for One Drop bracelet event which debuted in 2013.
• Guoliang Wei has captured the fourth Chinese WSOP gold bracelet by winning Event #68: $1,000+111 The Little One for One Drop. Wei defeated Francois Tosques of France heads-up after a fairytale.

Poker superstar and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey follows in second place with 10,365,000 and all-time money leader Daniel Negreanu bagged up the third-most chips with 8,100,000.

In a field filled with the who's who of poker, other notables such as Dan Smith (7,735,000), Erik Seidel (6,835,000), Talal Shakerchi (6,745,000), Dominik Nitsche (6,550,000), Jason Koon (6,540,000), Christoph Vogelsang (5,680,000), Nick Petrangelo (5,300,000), Justin Bonomo (4,715,000), Stephen Chidwick (4,550,000), Fedor Holz (3,220,000), and Adrian Mateos (3,100,000) all advanced to Day 2.

The registration remains open until the cards get back in the air on Monday, July 16, 2018, at noon local time, and the action recommences with blinds of 50,000/100,000 and a big blind ante of 100,000. All new additions to the field will receive 50 big blinds and the penultimate day is scheduled to play 10 levels or down to the final six, whichever comes first.

The WSOP and the One Drop organization put on an absolutely spectacular event that won't be matched anytime in the near future.

Big One for One Drop Winners

Action of Day 1

Pokernews One Drops

The cards were barely underway when a four-million-chip pot emerged and the early action continued to provide plenty of entertainment for the nearby rail in the Rio All Suite & Casino. Daniel Negreanu won a big pot off 2014 Big One for One Drop champion Antonio Esfandiari and David Peters became the first elimination of the day after his flopped top two pair ended up second-best to the turned flush of Adrian Mateos.

In the fifth level of the day, Esfandiari got his stack in with ace-king and Jason Koon had him dominated with pocket kings. The six-high board provided no help for Esfandiari and he joined the rail without anything to show for the day.

After the dinner break, Isaac Haxton clashed twice with Cary Katz and ended up second-best with king-queen against the ace-queen of Katz to become the third casualty of the tournament. Phil Ivey then switched gears and sent Bryn Kenney and Jake Schindler to the rail in quick succession to jump over 11 million in chips.

One table over, Justin Bonomo was involved in plenty of big pots and his stack took a roller coaster ride after doubling Erik Seidel. In the final level of the night, Bonomo ended up all in and at risk with queen-ten suited against the ace-king of Nick Petrangelo and a ten in the window kept Bonomo in the running.

Adrian Mateos also avoided an upset just before bagging and tagging. The Spaniard was the first to double up his stack, but the early rungood soon turned into a nightmare and the youngest-ever three-time WSOP bracelet winner was suddenly among the shortest stacks. Mateos ended up all in with king-queen against the ace-jack of Talal Shakerchi and spiked a straight on the river.

The remaining 19 players will return at noon local time and some other big names are expected to join the action before the cards get back in the air. Make sure to tune back in as the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all you need to know in the most-expensive poker tournament of the year.

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Coverage of the $1,000,000 buy-in The Big One for One Drop is brought to you by Global Poker.

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  WSOPWorld Series of PokerAdrian MateosAntonio EsfandiariBig One For One DropBryn KenneyCary KatzChristoph VogelsangDan SmithDaniel NegreanuDavid PetersDominik NitscheErik SeidelFedor HolzIsaac HaxtonJake SchindlerJason Koon

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  Daniel NegreanuErik SeidelIsaac HaxtonDominik NitscheAntonio EsfandiariBryn Kenney

Year-round, sharp poker players seek the best action by evaluating the rake and various fees, trying to maximize the return on their investment.

But if anything has worked in the poker community in the last decade, it's the spirit for helping a good cause. At that moment, the penny-pinching calculations are often sidelined.

Many charity initiatives that have been established around the globe have been adopted by the gaming industry, and the One Drop Foundation has held one of the strongest connections with the poker world.

One Drop has been proudly supported by the World Series of Poker through this decade, and the strong bond is highlighted by the $1,111 Little One for One Drop bracelet event which debuted in 2013. Today, the seventh edition of this tournament kicks off in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino facilities.

Players have two options when registering into the Little One. They will receive 20,000 in chips for the $1,000 buy-in and they can double their stack with a $111 donation which goes directly to One Drop.

Each of the previous editions drew fields of more than 4,000 entries, and with both moral and strategic incentives in place, it would be short-sighted to expect anything other than a giant turnout again. With that being said, some handsome prizes will be awarded for the top finishers. The previous winners have all walked away with more than $500,000.

The path to finding a new bracelet owner will lead through six days of play (July 6-11, 2019), including three starting flights. The first of them, Day 1a, starts today at noon with 10 one-hour levels scheduled for the day. Late registration will be open through Day 1 and the first two levels of Day 2, so there is plenty of time to join for those whose Main Event run will have been halted. Unlimited re-entries are allowed through the registration period.

PokerNews will be on the ground, providing live updates from all starting flights through to the moment when a new champion emerges, so watch this space for continuous information about the tournament progress.

Little One for One Drop history: