- The Big One for One Drop is down to nine players for its final day.
- Businessman Rick Salomon leads the field, but Daniel Negreanu remains in contention and absolutely determined to win the bracelet.
- $15m goes to the winner, and only one player from today will go home empty handed.
Play went on into the early hours to get to the target eight players for the final table—but nine continued to survive.
The 42 players who put up $1 million each to play have generated more than $4 million for the One Drop charity—now only one of the final nine will go home empty handed.
First prize pays over $15 million, and nine players remain in contention (see table, below).
Chip leader Rick Salomon has a “colorful past”—girlfriends have included BayWatch’s Pamela Andersen and Paris Hilton.
Tom Hall, who runs the Asia Poker Tour, and Cary Katz, who founded one of the largest student loan companies in the US, are businessmen rather than professional poker players.
Daniel Colman has run hot this year, winning the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final €100,000 Super High Roller for $1.5 million.
Daniel Negreanu might just possibly be the only man in the field for whom the bracelet is at this moment as important as the $15 million prize money.
Antonio Esfandiari was the last player to bust out before the end of the day’s play, ending his dream of back to back wins in this remarkable event.
| Rick Salomon | 23.5 million |
| Tobias Reinkemeier | 22.8 million |
| Daniel Colman | 22.7 million |
| Daniel Negreanu | 20.7 million |
| Cary Katz | 9.2 million |
| Scott Seiver | 8.2 million |
| Tom Hall | 7.8 million |
| Christoph Vogelsang | 6.8 million |
| Paul Newey | 4 million |
Gabe Kaplan Beats Galfond and Ivey
TV personality Gabe Kaplan put in a great performance, eventually finishing in 12th place, one spot ahead of Phil Galfond and two ahead of Phil Ivey.
Day 1 chip leader Sam Trickett went out in 15th, after the bitter experience of seeing a huge early lead disappear.
Connor Drinan’s Poker Pain
David Einhorn’s exit after 45 minutes yesterday was a bad beat to savour, but Connor Drinan suffered even more when he lost at the hands of Cary Katz.
All the chips went in with both players showing A-A. Katz rivered the flush and an absolutely stunned Drinnan was out of the One Drop.
