Ladies and gentlemen, the waiting is finally over. After months of fevered expectation, the Triton Million For Charity is now a reality after Triton co-founders Richard Yong, Paul Phua (pictured above) and tournament director Luca Vivaldi set the ball rolling at 1pm today on the biggest buy-in poker tournament ever played.
In case you missed the crucial details: this is a poker tournament like no other. It costs £1.05 million to enter, more than it has ever cost to sit down in a poker tournament before, and with 54 players registered, the winner is guaranteed to be presented with the biggest first prize of any tournament player.
All projections put that first prize at £19 million, close to $25.5 million. That will be confirmed 100 percent very soon.
This is an extraordinary event and the atmosphere here at the Hilton Park Lane, London, is like nothing we have ever encountered at a poker tournament before. Not only is the field a phenomenally intense concentration of the very best and the very richest, these players are all on time, some are dressed in shirts and jackets and they all desperately want to win this one. They all are all evidently delighted to have secured an invitation. It was far from a formality, with only those on an exclusive guest list able to sit down.
“When considering creating the richest buy-in the world has ever seen, our challenge was always generating a big field,” Phua said during his introductory speech. “I feel an immense sense of pride and honour that we did it.”
He added: “I want to thank all the players here, without whom this event will not happen…Thanks for turning my dream into a reality.”
Phua pointed to the £2.7 million the event has raised for charity thanks to Triton waiving the normal entry fee for the event. Instead of a rake, the £50,000 each player is paying that is not going into the prize pool is instead going directly to charitable causes.
“The priority is always the charity aspect of this event,” Phua said. “Poker is more than just a game to me. It unites people from all walks of life and we have proven that.”
Phua also acknowledged that there were more applicants for the event than could be accommodated and said: “I want to apologise to the players who wanted to play but could not get a seat.”
He then handed the mic to Vivaldi to go through the technical formalities, before Party Poker’s Rob Yong then instructed the dealers to shuffle up and deal.
“Let’s have fun and good luck guys,” Phua said as he took his seat. Cards are now in the air.
Triton Million for Charity
Dates: August 1-3, 2019
Buy-in: £1.05 million
Players: 54
Prize-pool: £54 million
1 – £19 million
2 – £11.67 million
3 – £7.2 million
4 – £4.41 million
5 – £3 million
6 – £2.2 million
7 – £1.72 million
8 – £1.4 million
9 – £1.2 million
10 – £1.1 million
11 – £1.1 million
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Photography by Joe Giron/PokerPhotoArchive