Australian $1 Million Buy-In Event a Hoax

Last week a press release claimed that The Star Hotel and Casino in Sydney would be hosting a Royal Poker Challenge, a $1 million buy-in, winner takes all, poker tournament. However, it appears that the casino knows nothing about the event and that the press release was a fake.

The press release had claimed that 48 players were already enrolled in the tournament, claiming that they were mostly “wealthy business leaders, entrepreneurs and industry titans from Asia who indulge in high stakes poker for entertainment.”

However, despite the extremely detailed press release, a source at The Star said that, “There wasn’t any such event scheduled to take place at their casino.”

Had it been true, the poker tournament would have awarded a record breaking top prize of $50 million.

Nonetheless, those who enjoy high stakes poker will be pleased to hear that the 2014 World Series of Poker will be hosting a $1 million buy-in event. The One Drop High Roller event will be returning to the WSOP with a no-limit hold’em event, however, it won’t be a winner takes all event. In 2012 Antonio Esfandiari won the event and took home a record breaking top prize of over $18.3 million.