Final Table Set In The Big One for One Drop; Esfandiari Leads
David Einhorn has pledged to donate whatever he wins, even if he takes down the entire tournament, to charity. That alone is worth a whole heap of run-good in my eyes.
The $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop poker tournament has reached the official final table after the 37 players who made it through Day 1 were reduced to just eight over the course of the second day of play. Leading the way when play resumes later today is Antonio Esfandiari with 39,925,000 chips.
Esfandiari, who is close friends with out very own John Tabatabai, is in pole position in this fantastic tournament and is now the favourite to go on and win the massive $18,364,673 first place prize. But it will not be an easy task for the man who they affectionately call "The Magican," it will be anything but that thanks to the number of big-name stars who have made it through to the finale.
Hot on the heels of Esfandiari is none other than the British pro Sam Trickett with exactly 37,000,000 chips. Trickett is used to playing for ridiculously high sums of money in th Macau cash games but even he must be quite nervous about playing for an $18 million pay day! Next in line is the founder of the One Drop charity, multi-billionaire Guy Laliberte on 21,700,000 chips. Many of the high stakes cash game regulars see Laliberte as a mark at the table, a fish if you will, but he has certainly been holding his own in this crowd and what an amazing feat it would be if he went on to win his very own tournament!
Making up the final eight are Brian Rast (11,350,000), Phil Hellmuth (10,925,000), David Einhorn (8,375,000), Richard Yong (7,475,000) and Bobby Baldwin (7,150,000) To give you some idea to how deep or shallow your favourite player is when play resumes the blinds and antes will be 150,000/300,000/50,000a and the average sized stack 18,000,000.
Each of the eight surviving players have now locked up at least $1,237,333 for the efforts and this increases rather shallowly for places eight through to five but then the jumps in payouts are substantial to say the least. Fourth place walks away with $2,645,333 whilst third place is worth $4,352,000. The eventual runner-up will have to find room for $10,112,001 whilst our champion is going to find themselves with the very welcome problem of having to try and spend $18,346,673!
Although we are meant to try and stay impartial in these matters, I personally will be rooting for David Einhorn, the Founder and President of Greenlight Capital. Why? Because he has pledged to donate whatever he wins, even if he takes down the entire tournament, to charity. That alone is worth a whole heap of run-good in my eyes.
Big One For One Drop Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Guy Laliberte - 21,700,000 chips
Seat 2: Brian Rast - 11,350,000
Seat 3: Phil Hellmuth - 10,925,000
Seat 4: Antonio Esfandiari - 39,925,000
Seat 5: Bobby Baldwin - 7,150,000
Seat 6: Sam Trickett - 37,000,000
Seat 7: Richard Yong - 7,475,000
Seat 8: David Einhorn - 8,375,000
Prices quoted in copy are correct at time of publication but liable to change.
