According to a report from ESPN, the 2012 World Series of Poker will boast a tournament with a $1,000,000 buy-in. Seth Palansky, a spokesman for the WSOP, confirmed that 22 players have committed to putting up the cash. This, he says, provides a playing pool large enough to make it an official bracelet event. And unlike the series’ other winners, the victory in this event will be awarded with a platinum bracelet.
“At 22 players,” an AP article reads, “the top prize is $8.89 million, $173,000 more than German player Pius Heinz won for winning the main event last month. If the tournament’s top prize passes the amount generated at the 2006 main event, its winner likely will shoot instantly to the top of the series’ all-time money list.”
Known as the “Big One for One Drop,” this tournament will also provide a large sum of cash for the ONE DROP charity. $111,111 from each and every buy-in will go to help provide worldwide access to clean water. Guy Laliberté, the founder of both the the charitable organization and Cirque du Soleil, will be among those participating in the event.
In order to bring the money up to all-time record levels, at least seven more players would need to enlist. That would boost the prize pool past the $12 million captured by Main Event Champion Jamie Gold in 2006. Some of the 22 already registered have decided to remain anonymous until further details are unveiled. Courtesy of PokerNews, here’s a list of some of the players already entered into the event:
Guy Laliberté
Bobby Baldwin
Phil Ruffin
Andy Beal
Patrik Antonius
Gus Hansen
Daniel Negreanu
Johnny Chan
Tom Dwan
Tony Guoga
Jonathan Duhamel
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
Sean O’Donnell
Dan Shak
No matter who the participants are, this is sure to be one of the most highly watched events in the history of tournament poker. With so much money on the table, look for more names to enter into the fray.