| Event 78: $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop No Limit Hold'em |
| Winner | Justin Bonomo |
| Runners | 27 |
| Paid | 5 |
| Final Table | 9 |
| Player | Position | Points |
| Justin Bonomo | 1 | 25 |
| Fedor Holz | 2 | 18 |
| Dan Smith | 3 | 15 |
| Selector | Points | | Selector | Points |
| Justin | 58 | | Luca 2 | 25 |
| Jon | 40 | | Nathan | 25 |
| Stuart | 40 | | Nic 2 | 25 |
| Brian | 25 | | Rob | 25 |
| Carl 1 | 25 | | Simon B | 25 |
| Debbie | 25 | | Stephen 1 | 25 |
| Del | 25 | | Suzanne | 25 |
| Derek | 25 | | Vince 1 | 25 |
| Gareth | 25 | | Vince 2 | 18 |
| Glenn 1 | 25 | | Carl 2 | 15 |
| Jordan | 25 | | Chris K | 15 |
| Luca 1 | 25 | | | |
After an exciting finish, Bonomo brought it home to make Barrie our champion for the second year is a row. Holz had a big lead over Smith and Bonomo when it was three-handed and extended it but, eventually, Bonomo fought his way back and Smith was eliminated, which was all Barrie need to see off Carl's challenge. The Heads-Up still mattered, though, as Jordan needed Bonomo to win to jump up to 3rd place.
It seems that this may be the last $1m event, as interest has waned and only 27 players showed up in the end, despite a few other promises (and $50k deposits forfeited). Even Guy Laliberte didn't play his own tournament.
So why aren't fewer players taking part? Firstly, Laliberte had a major falling-out with the Macau players when he refused to cover $4m lost by a player he introduced to their game, so they didn't come.
Some of the squillionaire businessmen who played before didn't take kindly to how they were treated. They know they are at a skill disadvantage but some of the professionals barely disguised that they saw them as donators. The professionals are all staked for most of the buy-in and, worst of all, they are all swapping percentages with each other "to reduce variance". The amateurs found themselves playing against a team, who were highly skilled anyway, so a lot of them didn't bother to come back. Laliberte apparently didn't tap up his mates or play himself for this reason.
And the pro players were down too, perhaps partly because the amateurs were fewer, but it seems some of them couldn't raise the staking. Most of them aren't so wealthy that they can toss in $1m on their own account.
Those professionals who did play were largely passing the money around. Sure, there is an amount being taken out of the prize-pool, but there was no rake on the tournament and they expect one of themselves to win, and others to fill most of the prize places, so they'll get it back and bump up their lifetime records etc in an artificial game. Ending Day 2 on the bubble made the situation worse, as there can't be any doubt that more business was done between the team and others before Day 3.
When the final three went on a break, the microphones picked them up discussing a deal before they were clear of the tournament area, and they concluded it quickly. It is believed they just went with ICM, giving $7.6m to Holz, $7.1m to Bonomo and $5.3m to Smith, leaving no cash to be played for - just the bracelet and the phony record. And then the cash was redistributed again, depending on their individual arrangements.
Ooh, got a bit carried away there. In short, don't expect another.
Justin posted the highest score ever achieved by a selector in a single tournament, having the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places covered. He's obviously part of the conspiracy.
