The rich playground of Monaco and the Monte Carlo Casino will see the start of this year’s major charity poker event today (Friday) when invitation-only players take their seats for the million dollar buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament.
The third iteration of One Drop includes unlimited re-entries at a million dollars a pop for the players, with professional players excluded this time.
Previous One Drop tournaments have been held in Las Vegas in 2012 (won by Antonio Esfandiari who took home $18 million) and 2014 (Dan Colman collected $10 million for his victory) and represent the biggest poker competitions in terms of winnings and excitement.
At the same time, a healthy percentage of the buy-ins goes to the One Drop charity, which initiates clean water projects in struggling third world nations.
Industry observers are interested in seeing how the changes this year pan out – switching the venue to Monte Carlo and excluding professional players is expected to have a significant impact.