Poker Forum

Who cares? The real concern is the online poker industry. All this tournament does is show off how much some of these high stakes players are willing to throw around. This isn't a real poker game, it's a publicity stunt. If it wasn't for the philanthropy aspect i'd say this is beyond idiotic.

And if these FTP Red Pro's can throw $1MM into a game, they can help pay back U.S. players...ASAP.

Like Venessa Selbst's comment. Finally, someone in the poker world who identifies with average people. I wonder how high these buy-in events can go? Do they think we're tired of the existing high-roller events?

MAN WHO GIVE THE F about other region of the world and this BS ONE DROP try to SCAM poker playerS.
I bet they will keep 75% of the donation and help with 25% for clean water.
I mean in this world there isn't any nice organization out there that help for free, unless it's benefit themselves.
HURRY FULL TILT JOKER PAY MINE MONEYYYYYYYYY ! ! !

I'm not a fan of this buy in either, who can afford to play? Selbst is dead on in regards to only the top 1% being able to play....there must be a better way to raise money for this very worthy cause but 1 million?

@TEEA. It's fucking Guy Laliberte he is a billionaire a couple of million is what he wipes his ass with. But I think It's a good idea but the buy-in is WAY TO HIGH thou.

I think this is a great idea since the money in the rake is going to charity and the WSOP has already said it will make it's facilities and dealers available at no charge. The "pros" complaining in the article are just whiners like Vanessa Selbst. She made $3M in 1 year playing tournaments WOW the whole world should stop because you went on a massive heater. Congratulations on successfully playing through a heater now we don't want to see your bitchyness on TV. I would rather watch the Good For TV players like Tom Dwan, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey et al. These guys make good action for TV and are fun to watch. Newsflash to Vanessa: The players aren't going to think if Phil Ruffin wins the $1M bracelet that he is the best player in the world just like how people don't think Jerry Yang, Jamie Gold, or Chris Moneymaker are the best players in the world.

while charity is always a good thing of course , I can understand a pro like Vanessa and others saying it will ruin stats , so I think the tournament should just be disregarded for stat purposes .... then everybody wins , so to speak :-)

This is a typical fast-buck charity operation, very high stakes, & the pretentious "platinum bracelet". Will it help the Poker Movement? No. Will it bring publicity to poker? Absolutely. So just for the publicity value, why not.

For a MUCH BETTER IDEA for Guy Laliberte is a global "one drop" satellite structure that is held in every country in the world qualifying people from every country in the world by population and need for fresh water. You then end up with a hew hundred qualifiers and already a ton of money being raised ... with a superior visibility across the world. These people play in the tournament and if someone want to buy in, make it expensive as hell, sure, but half the field should be able to satellite in. Think of it ... a field of 300 or 400 players drawn internationally with maybe a $100,000 buy-in.

Poker as a sport loses when you exclude a "way in" for the average player ... remember that the poker boom was ignited by satellites so let's not extinguish it by being a sport for the few rich enough to play.

Honestly Vanessa complaining how it's unfair and so called ridiculous, I think you forget that not cashing = felting off $1MM. Not only are you a huge whiner, but your attitude reminds me of why you are the worst kind of poker player.

why are people even complaining about this tournament? so what if it's the same people playing the bigger buy-in tournies? who cares about how affects the stats? this tourny is NOT about you. It's for the greater cause of helping those in need.......not everyone is as blessed/fortunate as some of us. Just because you dont see it on the news everyday doesn't mean it's not happening, poverty is real! So get your head out of your asses and think about someone other then yourself for once.

Wtf is she complaining? She thinks players like me can afford to play the existing high rollers of 25k? Or play high stakes cashgames for 200-400k buy in? I dont care, shes just richer.. just like the people that play 1mil are richer then her. Thats how it works with everything. I dont care if they play for 10million.. Should be fun to watch people loose 1 mil.

Stupidest most self-serving charity event in history...if you want to give to charity, give to charity, don't make a dumb spectacle of it. Anyone who thinks this is about the charity is sadly mistaken its about selfish publicity. Just another excuse for rich people to give each other money... what a joke.

Thank You november04. Vanessa Selbst missing every aspect of this story. If we backed time a few years she would hate and talk the exact same way about the first $25K HR. Now she won some cash and can afford $25K HR but can´t play the $1M. What a joke as a person and all she does is making the so much needed girls in poker to look stupid. She win some and right away starts to make comments all over the poker world. Don´t forget that she is pissing on low stake players and have no feelings towards here own background. LOL on here.

Totally agree with november04. If the best players in the world wanna play for 1 mill, they should. And that theyre donating the rake to charity is great. So players like Selbst should stop fckin whining just because shes not one of the top 20-30 players who can afford this. And so what if sucsessfull businessmen want to play aswell? Fish is good for the game.

It now seems Vanessa and Liv Boeree had not heard about the One Drop Million buy in tournament and was asked about a one mirrion tournament without being told of its charitable nature nor details. From Lov Boeree's twitter.

I think Selbst and Liv Boeree should STFU. Who cares about stats? Poker is about money. The only people who care about stats are attention whores like Hellmuth. Besides, a great deal of this money is going to charity....so let it be. And WTF is Liv Boeree talking about, you don't have to be good to win?...She binks one tournament in a huge field and is now a sponsored pro because of her looks. Give me a break. These two women are ludicrous in their statements.

This is a Festival of Opulence and a bad idea. I have met Guy Laliberte and find him to be a very nice person - and of course a devoted humanitarian and philanthropist. But for a person to justify buying in to this tournament, they would literally have to be a Hundred Millionaire, if not a Billionaire.

But that's not the point. Today, America is $14.5 trillion dollars in debt, nearly a third of homeowners across the U.S. owe more on their house than what it's worth, and there are no clear signs of a turnaround in the U.S. economy anytime soon. So what can be gained from showcasing opulence, at a time when millions are struggling just to pay rent and bills, and keep their families fed?

This tournament would have been a GRAND event a few years ago, or maybe it can be a few years from now. But this event (if it actually comes to life for 2012), will be remembered more for being one Billionaires awkward, PR misstep, than for clean water access for people that don't already have it. It may be a great cause, but it's bad timing, and I hope Guy reconsiders.

Sure let it go ahead. BUT do not include this tornament in player statistics when quoting the players history wsop wise. YES u can say they won the 1million buyin BUT do not include it in their lifetime winnings. because thats going to throw stats out the door.
Id rather much see a 10k event with 8thousand players as opposed to a 1million event with 40 people. Players who final table deserve it more. much more in big events.

also in response to SFkeelhauled and his statement about liv binking one tornament.
She is newer to the poker industry than most. So give her some time, shes managed to make some good online cashes too. eg one of the major sundays she took down for $147,781 along with a $100 rebuy and a $100 freezeout each containing 258-4710 players in 2011 alone.
poker ultimatley has two types of dedicated players. Competitive and those who think about profit and adrenaline.
To each their own. arguing that its only about money definitly is not true.