The third iteration of the Big One for One Drop charity poker tournament, held as an invitational event in Monte Carlo last month (see previous reports) raised Euro 3,491,000 for the water charity, which aids people in undeveloped nations to access clean water.
Twenty-six recreational poker players took to the felt in the largest buy-in poker tournament ever held – Euro 1 million – and ultimately it was Hong Kong entrepreneur Elton Tsang who took home the main prize of Euro 11,111,111 and the Richard Mille-designed bracelet for winning the event.
One Drop, Group Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer and Caesars Interactive Entertainment joined forces at the The Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco to put on the five-day extravaganza featuring philanthropy, poker and performances.
One Drop founder and poker fan, Guy Laliberté, said in a statement Monday:
“It is so gratifying for me to see so much support for this event. From Prince Albert himself, to all the players who made the trip and the entire teams of Monte-Carlo SBM and WSOP, it is amazing what great things can be done for charity when we all work together towards a cause. Thank you for everyone who made this possible.”
Pascal Camia, director of the Casinos de Monaco, added that he hoped his company would have the pleasure of hosting future One Drop tournaments.
The One Drop statement reveals that since 2012, when Caesar’s World Series of Poker started working with the charity, US$18.5 million has been donated to One Drop; this year alone the summer World Series of Poker in Las Vegas raised $1,206,478, and the multiple poker-focused projects raised US$5,011,478.
“It is a pleasure for us to use the platform of poker to do such great things for charity,” said World Series of Poker executive director Ty Stewart. “While it felt like we were on the set of a James Bond movie all week, the real credit goes to the team at SBM and One Drop who really did all the heavy-lifting to ensure this event was such a success.”