$111,111 High Roller for One Drop Action Gets Underway at 3 p.m.!
The biggest event of the 2017 World Series of Poker is about to get underway. At 3 p.m. this afternoon, the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop kicks off and the crème de la crème of the poker world will be in attendance to battle for the ultimate WSOP glory.
The event was initially scheduled towards the end of the series, running July 7-9. With the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl in Aria right before the start of the Series, the WSOP decided to swap the $111,111 One Drop with the $10,000 Seven Card Stud so the two biggest events of the summer lined up a bit better.
Players signing up for this event get 500,000 in chips with blinds starting at 1,000/2,000. The tournament will run 60-minute levels throughout and registration remains open till the start of play on Day 2. There are 10 levels on the schedule for Day 1 with a 15-minute break after every two levels and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 6 (around 9:30).
The inaugural event back in 2012 saw 48 players compete in the $1,000,000 buy-in event. Antonio Esfandiari took down the event, winning the largest first-place prize in the history of the game. The following year, the buy-in was scaled back to $111,111 and Anthony "wwwBTHEREcom" Gregg reigned supreme. In 2014, the buy-in was back to $1,000,000 and Daniel Negreanu famously battled Daniel Colman heads up for the title. The latter won, taking down $15,306,668.
For the last two years, the buy-in has remained steady at $111,111. WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel took down the event in 2015 for a career second-best score of almost $4 million. Last year, Fedor Holz capped off an amazing poker season by crowning himself the champion for almost $5 million before announcing his "retirement."
| Year | Buy In | Entries | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | $1,000,000 | 48 | $42,666,672 | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 |
| 2013 | $111,111 | 166 | $17,891,148 | Anthony Gregg | $4,830,619 |
| 2014 | $1,000,000 | 42 | $37,333,338 | Daniel Colman | $15,306,668 |
| 2015 | $111,111 | 135 | $14,249,925 | Jonathan Duhamel | $3,989,985 |
| 2016 | $111,111 | 183 | $19,316,565 | Fedor Holz | $4,981,775 |
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 | 2,000 | |
| 2 | 1,500 | 3,000 | |
| 3 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 500 |
| 4 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 500 |
| 5 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 500 |
| 6 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 500 |
| 7 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| 9 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 2,000 |
| 10 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 2,000 |