Big One for One Drop: Day 1 Action
Day 1 of the million dollar buy-in Big One for One Drop began today with 48 players being reduced to 37. We saw multi-million chip pots, big names going bust, businessmen booming and an open fold of quads!
Perhaps the most anticipated poker event of 2012 began in Las Vegas yesterday as 48 players sat down, having each put up a $1,000,000 buy-in to compete in Event #55 of the 2012 World Series of Poker - the Big One for One Drop.
Of each buy-in, $111,111 went directly to Guy Laliberté's One Drop Foundation, which aims to provide clean drinking water in impoverished countries. This means that a total of over $5 million has been raised for the charity.
In addition to that, the prize pool is a staggering $42,666,672 with a record-breaking first prize of $18,346,673.
Highlights from Day 1
A million dollar day
Of the 48 players who competed in this event, 37 survived to Day 2. This means that several people spent a million dollars on less than a whole day of poker. Somewhat surprisingly, it was the big names who lost out for the most part.
Justin Smith was the first player to hit the rail after just a couple of hours, running a straight into a flush. Andrew Robl followed him out of the door with Jens 'jenskyllonen' Kyllonen, Jonathan Duhamel, Erik Seidel, "ElkY" and Eugene Katchalov all departing on Day 1.
You folded what?!
 |
| Mikhail Smirnov's fold steals the show. |
One of the most dramatic moments in the day came, as many dramatic moments do, after Tom Dwan opened a pot. Mikhail Smirnov called with 
and saw a 
flop with Dwan and Daniel Morgan. Dwan check-folded to Smirov's bet but Morgan called.
The turn was the 
, giving Smirnov quads. He bet, and Morgan reportedly called very quickly and appeared excited about the hand. On the 
river, Smirnov overbet the pot but Morgan raised all-in for almost five times the bet. Smirnov tank-folded his quads, which caused an eruption at the table.
Big stacks, small stacks
The chip leader heading into Day 2 is Brian Rast, who won both his career bracelets in 2011 including a win over Phil Hellmuth in the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship. His nemesis is right behind him though, as Hellmuth is second in chips.
Other players who built big stacks include the likes of Gus Hansen, Sam Trickett and the brains behind the event, Guy Laliberté. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Phil Galfond and Daniel Negreanu are stuck at the bottom of the pile when Day 2 begins.
WSOP 2012 Event #55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop
End of Day 1 Chip Counts |
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| Place | Name | Chips | ||
| 1 | Brian Rast | 10,710,000 | ||
| 2 | Phil Hellmuth | 8,395,000 | ||
| 3 | Frederique Banjout | 7,070,000 | ||
| 4 | Antonio Esfandiari | 6,880,000 | ||
| 5 | Gus Hansen | 6,800,000 | ||
| 6 | Sam Trickett | 6,700,000 | ||
| 7 | Guy Laliberté | 6,555,000 | ||
| 8 | Ben Lamb | 5,770,000 | ||
| 9 | Mike Sexton | 5,740,000 | ||
| 10 | Tom Dwan | 4,810,000 | ||
| 14 | Jason Mercier | 4,210,000 | ||
| 18 | Tom Marchese | 3,740,000 | ||
| 26 | Phil Ivey | 2,840,000 | ||
| 33 | Tobias 'pokernoob' Reinkemeier | 1,220,000 | ||
| 36 | Daniel Negreanu | 470,000 | ||
| 37 | Phil Galfond | 445,000 | ||
|
Players: 37 (48) | Prize Pool: $42,666,672 Average Chips: 3,892,000 | Blinds: 20,000/40,000 |
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