The player cap for the most expensive poker tournament ever, the WSOP $1,000,000 Big One has been set to 48 players. It seems more and more certain that this cap will be reached, which can mean a $15,000,000 prize for the winner alone.
The WSOP $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop tournament will be held on 1-3 July. The charity event will support Cirque Du Soleil owner Guy Laliberté’s One Drop foundation with 11.11% of the total prize pool. In order for the event to be an official part of the WSOP 2012 schedule, a minimum of 22 entrants are necessary to register. The Big One achieved that as early as December, 2011.
30 applications have been registered by early April and the number keeps going; although no exact details are currently available, it is considered a distinct possibility that the event will reach the cap of 48 players. What is more, Laliberté is increasingly criticised for not removing, or at least raising, the original cap.
“It’s every show producer’s dream to always leave at least one person at the door, unable to buy a ticket. That’s how you know you have a really great show. It’s a fundamental principle of marketing. I remember when a special edition Ferrari came out. They calculated that there were 350 people in the world who would buy it, which is why they only made 349,” Laliberté told CardPlayer.com.
“I actually believe we will hit the cap at this point. There’s a lot of activity of players trying to find their way in,” WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said.
Laliberté has expressed that it is not very likely they would modify the cap, as was suggested by online MTT legend Cliff ‘JohnnyBax’ Josephy, among others. He said it would not be fair towards earlier entrants as the number of millionaire businessmen is relatively high in the field and more pros would be likely to join later, which would mean the field getting more difficult to beat.
Sam Trickett and Andrew Robl were the latest to register to the tournament, but a number of other pros, including, for example, Fabrice Soulier, have also expressed their interest.
If the field does reach – or at least nears – the 48 players cap, the first prize will be around $15,000,000. In case one of the pros finishes on the top, they will most likely become the absolute leaders of the all time money list. The position is currently occupied by Erik Seidel with $16,900,000; of course, he is also among the entrants and in case he wins, he can easily rest assured his position will be secure for a long period to come.
Neither Laliberté nor Stewart were able to tell, for now, if the Big One will be a single time event or a regular tournament to be held in upcoming WSOPs as well.