In 2012 Guy Laliberté and the WSOP are taking tournament poker to astronomical new heights with the world’s first $1 million buy-in event.

So far 22 players have committed to playing, which begs the question, “Who in their right mind would spend a million dollars on a poker tournament?”

Well, we’re here to answer that question, along with everything else you might be wondering about this super-mega-ultra high roller WSOP bracelet event.

We’re going to go through the list of confirmed players, updating it as more people jump on board, and we’ll be using our network of insider contacts to make a few educated guesses about who else might be able to afford the most ballingest buy-in in poker history.

In addition to player bios we’ll be looking at the projected prize pool and the event’s One Drop charity component.

Tournament Stats

• $1 million buy-in
• 10% of buy-in automatically donated to One Drop
• 48 player maximum
• 3 million starting chips

Confirmed Players for the $1 Million 2012 WSOP Big One

Guy Laliberté

• Who he is: Founder of Cirque de Soleil, Guy Laliberté got his start busking on the streets of Montreal. Since then he’s grown his circus into a worldwide phenomenon that's been seen by more than 90 million people, been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and taken a vacation into space.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: As Canada’s 11^th wealthiest man, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, Laliberte is one of the few players in this event that can eat a $1 million loss without breaking a sweat.
• Fun Fact: Even if Laliberte wins this tournament it won’t fully make up for his online poker losses.

Bobby Baldwin

• Who he is: The Owl, the 1978 world champion of poker, President of the Golden Nugget, Bellagio and Mirage. These are just a few of the things Bobby Baldwin has been called. A casino industry fixture for the last 30 years, there’s a reason the biggest cash game in Las Vegas is played in “Bobby’s Room”.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: According to the Casino Journal the average gaming CEO made $750,000 in 2007 and Baldwin has been a top-level executive since the 80s. And just think, he’s probably getting comps to the Bellagio buffet 365 days a year.
• Fun Fact: Despite having limited presence at live poker tournaments, Baldwin is the proud owner of four WSOP bracelets, including the world championship in ’78.

Phil Ruffin

• Who he is: An American businessman with interests in casinos, oil production, convenience stores and real estate, Phil Ruffin is best known as the owner of the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: In 2008 Ruffin was named the 215^th wealthiest man in the US, with a net worth of $2.1 billion. Even though the casino industry’s had some tough times we’re pretty sure he’s got a spare million lying around somewhere.
• Fun Fact: At 72 years old Ruffin married 26 year old Oleksandra Nikolayenko, his fourth wife and 2004's Miss Ukraine. Even more impressive? They just had their first child together.

Andy Beal

• Who he is: Andy Beal started with nothing and built a banking and real estate empire. Noteworthy to us for playing some of the highest-stakes cash games in history against the absolute best in the world, Beal has little to no public presence, meaning we'll be doing our best to get an interview this summer.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: The 39^th wealthiest person in the US, Beal has an estimated net worth of $7 billion. $1 million is inconsequential to him.
• Fun Fact: Beal, who fancies himself something of a math geek, put up a $100,000 prize for anyone who can prove or disprove “Beal’s Conjecture”, a generalization of Fermat’s famous last theorem.

Patrik Antonius

• Who he is: Partrik Antonius holds a unique position in the poker world. Equal parts demi-god and superhuman, Antonius has proved that his good looks are matched only by his ability to win at poker.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Antonius has over $3.3 million in live earnings which represents one of the smallest parts of his net worth. Antonius has consistently been among the biggest winners online, profiting almost $12 million over the last five years. He was also one of the main faces of Full Tilt Poker.
• Fun Fact: Antonius was on the winning end of the biggest pot in online poker history, a $1.35 million behemoth against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.

Gus Hansen

• Who he is: Gus Hansen, the Great Dane, old-school Euro tournament crusher and pioneer of the super-LAG style that’s now old news. Gus Hansen was a big part of poker’s growth in Europe, and one of the big names that helps fight the stereotype of the slobby, malcontent grinder.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: A full patch member of Team Full Tilt, Hansen was likely compensated well for his endorsement. Hansen has won over $9.3 million playing live tournament poker but he’s down roughly $3.2 million playing cash poker online. It’s unlikely Hansen is truly rolled for this event.
• Fun Fact: Hansen was voted one of the 50 sexiest men alive in 2004 by People Magazine. We think People needs to get its eyes checked.

Daniel Negreanu

• Who he is: Arguably the most recognizable face in poker, Daniel Negreanu has been among the winningest tournament players in the world for more than ten years.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: With $14.65 million in live tournament earnings Negreanu is number two on the all-time live money list. He’s also the flagship of Team PokerStars Pro, a position which has probably been as lucrative for him as every hand of poker he’s ever played.
• Fun Fact: Negreanu is no stranger to dropping money in poker tournaments. At the 2006 WSOP he reloaded a record 48 times in the $1k rebuy event.

Johnny Chan

• Who he is: Back to back world champion Johnny Chan has ten WSOP bracelets and legend-status in the poker world. Chan was immortalized in Rounders, which is basically the poker player’s bible, if the bible was a movie from the 90s with Matt Damon.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Chan has made more than $8.5 million playing live tournament poker but if the rumors are true, that’s just the tip of the iceberg compared to what he makes playing high-stakes cash in Macau. Despite his earnings, dumping $1 million with nothing to show for it will sting.
• Fun Fact: Despite being born in China, and having a legitimate Chinese name, Johnny Chan is often referred to as “Chen Qiangni”, a transliteration of his adopted English name.

Tom Dwan

• Who he is: In many ways Tom Dwan defined what it is to be an uber-successful, fearless, talented and young online poker professional. He’s part of a very small group looked upon as the absolute best of their generation.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Estimating Dwan’s net worth isn’t easy but considering he was willing to put $1 million up on two separate occasions for the durrrr Challenge, it should come as no surprise that Dwan was one of the first to commit to the Big One.
• Fun Fact: Dwan doesn’t just play on the internet. He won the biggest pot ever played on GSN’s High Stakes Poker, a $919,600 monster he took from Barry Greenstein in Season 5.

Tony Guoga

• Who he is: Poker media magnate, tilt-inducing ego-maniac, Lithuanian child Rubik’s Cube champion. Real name Antanas Guoga, Tony G has a long list of tournament scores and a Trump-esque air of business acumen.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: A businessman who describes himself as being “from the street”, Tony G is nothing if not involved. Pokernews.com is the flagship of his media network, but it’s probably just the tip of the G’s corporate iceberg.
• Fun Fact: Tony G is a major sponsor of Lithuania’s national basketball team and reportedly paid a large part of the €500,000 entry fee to get them into the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Jonathan Duhamel

• Who he is: 2010 world champion of poker, Montreal poker poster boy, new BFF of Guy Laliberte. Jon Duhamel played a comfortable and hospitable poker ambassador during his tenure as world champ, and looks to have a staying power not shared by main event winners of late.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Duhamel snatched nearly $9 million for winning the 2010 Main Event, and he also secured a PokerStars endorsement deal that is still in place today. Despite having close to $10 million in tournament earnings it’s extremely unlikely he’ll have 100% of himself in the Big One.
• Fun Fact: Duhamel donated $100,000 to the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation when he won the main event.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier

• Who he is: Rock star in Korea, recreational kickboxer, Guiness World Record Holder. Real name Bertrand Grospellier, ElkY has been one of the winningest players in poker since 2008.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: ElkY has $8.6 million in live tournament earnings and over $1.1 million online. In addition to a bloated bankroll he has the confidence of every potential staker in the world. It will not be hard for ElkY to sell action for the Big One.
• Fun Fact:  He got kicked in the head by Lex Veldhuis just a few weeks ago.

Justin “BoostedJ” Smith

• Who he is: From wheelchair to wealthy, BoostedJ has been winning at poker since an injury put him out of work at age 17. Since then he’s been a reserved but omnipresent part of the poker world. He’s a well-rounded, high-stakes veteran who plays many games and succeeds in both tournaments and cash games, online and live.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Smith has only been playing live tournament poker since late 2008 but already he’s earned more than $2 million. He’s definitely not afraid to play high. He took fourth in the $100,000 buy-in High Roller event at the 2011 Five Diamond in Las Vegas.
• Fun Fact: It appears Smith was involved in the 2011 horror movie Detention as an executive producer. The movie “starred” Dane Cook.

Daniel Shak

• Who he is: Dan Shak is known in the poker world as a hedge fund manager, but he’s probably known as a poker player by his fellow financiers. Specializing in gold futures Shak has been finding more and more time to play live major poker tournaments.  
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Shak’s New York City apartment sold earlier this year for $7.5 million and judging by the number of super high roller events we’ve already seen Shak playing, his commitment to the Big One isn’t surprising.
• Fun Fact: Shak has the rare ability to say he beat Phil Ivey at poker. Shak won the $100,000 buy-in event at the 2010 Aussie Millions, defeating Ivey heads-up.

Loto-Québec satellite seat

• Who he is: A random person from Quebec who wins the lottery draw for a seat to this event.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: He stopped trying to secede from Canada long enough to buy a lottery ticket.
• Fun Fact: He will probably be eating poutine when he discovers he’s won.

Caesars satellite seat

• Who he is: Hopefully a degenerate Las Vegas local who goes on a ridiculous dice heater, culminating in him entering and winning the Big One satellite.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: Increased oxygen levels and free cocktails clouded his judgment, stopping him from leaving the casino mid-heater.
• Fun Fact: He will probably be watching Nascar when he discovers he’s won.

European satellite seat

• Who he is: Probably named Jacques, or Soren, or Jan, this player will band together with fellow Euro-high rollers ElkY and Gustav.
• Why he can afford a $1M buy-in: He took a shot at the satellite despite having to put up with boorish Americans in order to cash in the prize.
• Fun Fact: He will probably be wearing a shirt with a popped collar when he discovers he’s won.

PokerListings.com will be on location in Las Vegas this summer so keep an eye on our 2012 WSOP live coverage section for video, news and live updates of the $1 million WSOP Big One.