Home / Poker News April 2012 / $1 Million Buy-in WSOP Event Generating Buzz
$1 Million Buy-in WSOP Event Generating Buzz
Posted by: James Carter. - Sat, 2012-04-14 09:56
The Big One for One Drop will be the WSOP event with the largest ever buy-in this year. Costing a massive $1 million to enter, the
poker tournament may rightfully create some jitters for the organizers, after all, there aren’t that many people in the world who can afford to play in an event like that. It would appear however that when it comes to the WSOP, nothing is measured with an everyday device though: despite the steep costs, around 30 players have apparently already confirmed that they would participate. Capped at 48 participants, the event has thus almost filled up already, and the majority of participants will not be poker pros as one may expect either. They will be wealthy amateurs like Phil Ruffin, Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, Andy Beal, Richard Young, Arnaud Mimran, Bob Bright and Cary Katz.
The pros will be pretty well represented too though: Patrik Antonius will play, together with Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Erik Seidel, Tom Dwan, Jonathan Duhamel, Justin Smith and Johnny Chan. Given the quality of that starting field, the amateurs should really have a thing or two to worry about when the action kicks off.
In order to fill up the remaining Big One for One Drop places, the WSOP has launched a qualifying system which allows players to earn a seat for as little as $65. Dropping a few financially less capable but extremely hungry players into the above described mix is definitely a move the organizers will not grow to regret.
In other news: the small island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has been at odds with the US over the issue of online gambling and
online poker since the 2006 UIGEA was first passed. With the above said online gaming industries making up a large part of its economy, the island nation has argued that US laws against offshore gaming operators were protectionist. The fight for what Antigua and Barbuda considers its rights continues.
