The World Series of Poker has announced the return of the $1m buy-in Big One For One Drop and the first person to deposit his million is someone accused of reneging on millions in poker debts.
Is it me?
Have the many years of sitting behind a computer screen writing about millions of dollars passed around as confetti turned me sour? Has someone within the marketing department of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) gone rogue, or is this poker?
The $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop returns to its rightful place in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip after a mess of an event in Monte Carlo last year.
The news that the largest-buy-in event in the world will headline the 2018 WSOP in Las Vegas was made by WSOP officials during the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in the King’s Casino, Rozvadov.
The 2018 $1m One Drop event returns on July 15. WSOP Officials announced the concept had raised more than $20m since its inception in 2012 thanks to 10,412 unique entrants across the One Drop branded events.
The first event emerged from the blackboard and the chalk of the WSOP War Room in 2012 with Antonio Esfandiari winning the $18.3m first prize, topping a field of 48 entrants.
Two years later, and Dan Colman beat out 42 players to win $15.3m before explaining his press shutout as a stance against a game that destroys the lives of so many people.
And then a good thing became a very confusing thing when in 2016 Guy Laliberte, the One Drop Founder, made the decision to move the event to Monte Carlo and banned professional poker players from competing because they are too serious and boring.
Only 28 people entered the event, an unbelievable own goal when you consider the primary purpose of the game is to provide clean water for people who are dying and not to provide a ‘bit of fun’ for some of the wealthiest amateur poker players on the planet. Then, Elton Tsang won the event for €11.1m and admitted he had always been a professional poker player!
So the madness has ended.
Not quite.
Yes, the event that makes every other look like a crushed grape at the bottom of a fruit bowl is back in Vegas. The 48-player cap means the pros return, but the grand announcement came armed with the news that the first player to register for the event is Leon Tsoukernik.
Hang on.
The man who is currently in the midst of two seemingly bona fide complaints that he reneged on millions of dollars in loans while playing against Elton Tsang and Matt Kirk uses one of those millions to compete in a poker tournament.
Like I said.
Is it me?
