Big One for One Drop Returns As Part of WPT World Championship Series

The million-dollar buy-in Big One for One Drop has a new home for 2023. This year, the high-stakes charity event will be held from Dec. 18-20 as part of the 2023 World Poker Tour World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The

“The Big One for One Drop is such an iconic tournament in the world of poker. We are honored to put on this incredible event in conjunction with the One Drop Foundation and Wynn Las Vegas,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska.

The tournament will again cost $1,000,000 to enter, with six percent of each buy-in going to the One Drop Foundation and its quest for sustainable access to safe water around the globe.

“We are beyond excited to be announcing the resurgence of our most iconic charity event,” said One Drop Foundation’s Chief Marketing and Events Officer Alexandre Meunier in the press release announcing the event. “It is an incredible feeling to be able to have the support of WPT and Wynn to run our fifth edition of the Big One. There is always a palpable buzz in the air during the lead-up to the one-million-dollar affair. The magnitude of the buy-in, of the prize pool, but also of the funds that are directed to the crucial cause of access to safe water makes the Big One the event of all superlatives.”

As Meunier pointed out, the million-dollar version of this event has been held four times since debuting at the World Series of Poker in 2012. That year saw Antonio Esfandiari beat a field of 48 entries to earn his second of three bracelets and the single-largest payday ever awarded at the WSOP: $18,346,673. The ‘Big One’ was held every other year from 2012 through 2018, with Dan Colman earning $15,306,668 as the 2014 champion, Elton Tsang cashing in for $12,248,912 in 2016, and Justin Bonomo securing $10,000,000 in 2018. The event has not been held since then.

“Wynn is proud to host one of the largest events in poker history, included as part of the second annual WPT World Championship festival,” said Ryan Beauregard, Executive Director of Poker Operations at Wynn Las Vegas. “We look forward to sharing this one-of-a-kind experience with players and fans from across the globe.”

The lineup for the tournament is expected to be announced in the lead-up to the event. One Drop announced a partnership with WPT earlier this year, with two other huge charity events scheduled in addition to the ‘Big One’.

The first will be a $10 million guaranteed $10,500 buy-in event running from July 9-14, with the second being a $111,000 buy-in super high roller that will mark the return of the WPT Alpha8 high-stakes tournament imprint.

Check out the World Poker Tour’s official website for more info on these high-stakes events.