WSOP $1 Million One Drop: Anatomy Of A Final Table

Two days after 28 poker pros and 20 wealthy businessmen forked out $1 million a piece to enter the richest tournament in poker history, the final table of eight has been set.
Making it all the way for a shot at the $18,346,673 first place prize are four card pros and four businessmen, with the players lined up as follows:
Antonio Esfandiari (39.925m)
Sam Trickett (37m)
Guy Laliberté (21.7m)
Brian Rast (11.35m)
Phil Hellmuth (10.95m)
David Einhorn (8.375m)
Richard Yong (7.475m)
Bobby Baldwin (7.15m)
Here is some background information on ‘The Big One For One Drop’ finalists:
1: Antonio Esfandiari, 33, is one of the most recognisable faces on the poker circuit and is dubbed ‘The Magician’ on account of his elaborate chip tricks. The California poker pro boasts 1 WSOP bracelet and 2 WPT titles and has $4,899,155 in live tournament winnings to his name.
2: Sam Trickett, 26, is a UK cash specialists who regularly plays the biggest games on the planet including the nose bleed Macau Big Game. In addition, Trickett is the highest earning tournament player in the UK with $6,359,096 in winnings since his first cash in 2007.
3: Guy Laliberté, 52, is a Canadian billionaire philanthropist and founder of the Cirque du Soleil. Laliberté also organized ‘The Big One for One Drop’ and enjoys playing poker having regularly appeared on TV series High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark. Guy Laliberté has cashed in 4 live tournaments for $773,320, his biggest win coming in 2007 at the $25k WPT Championship, where he finished 4th for $696,220.
4: Brian “tsarrast” Rast, 30, is a US cash game specialists who has made millions playing at the nose bleed stakes. In addition, recently Rast decided to get more involved in tournament poker and now has $2,875,709 in winnings to his name. Most of that sum is accounted for by a magnificent 2011 WSOP in which he won two bracelets, including the $1,500 PLO event for $227,232, and the $50k Poker Player’s Championship for $1,720,328.
5: Phil Hellmuth, 47, is a US tournament No Limit Hold’em specialist who won the Main Event in 1989. Since then Hellmuth has gone on to capture a total of 12 WSOP bracelets, more than any other player in history, while racking up $13,473,969 in career earnings. Noted for his philanthropy, as well as his outbursts at the table, Phil Hellmuth is one of the most colourful players in the game.
6: David Einhorn, 43, is a US hedge fund manager and founder of Greenlight Capital. The billionaire philanthropist entered the 2006 WSOP Main Event and famously finished 18th out of 8,773 players for $659,730 before immediately donating the money to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, of which he is a board member. Einhorn has said that if he wins One Drop he will also donate the money to a charity called City Year.
7: Richard Yong is a billionaire entrepreneur who was born in Malaysia before later moving to Hong Kong. Yong’s many businesses worldwide include IT and mining companies, but he also developed an interest in poker while in Macau.
8: Bobby Baldwin, 62, is a US poker pro who turned casino executive back in the 1980’s. President of the Golden Nugget, Bellagio and Mirage, Bobby “The Owl” Baldwin won the 1978 WSOP Main Event and currently has 4 WSOP bracelets to his credit. In addition, he has $911,679 in tournament winnings, equivalent to $2,533,767 when inflation adjusted, and was immortalised into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2003.
The eclectic mix of poker pros and businessmen return to the Rio at 12:00 PM PT today where they will play down to an eventual winner. The final table payouts will be as follows:
1st: $18,346,673
2nd: $10,112,001
3rd: $4,352,000
4th: $2,645,333
5th: $1,834,666
6th: $1,621,333
7th: $1,408,000
8th: $1,237,333
9th: Mike Sexton ($1,109,333)