High Stakes Capital, a high-risk investment company, has announced plans to host a $1,000,000 buy-in poker tournament in 2022. The high-stakes event will take place as part of BTC Miami, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency conference.
As per the Twitter announcement, the final schedule of the massive tournament will be up to the players. It could take place a few days before or after BTC Miami.
Top Pros Set to Join
The announcement quickly gained the attention of many high-stakes players, including Antanas Guoga, better known in the poker world as “Tony G”. The 47-year-old businessman and philanthropist was among the first to say yes to the tournament but he has one condition: it must be open to real serious crypto investors only.
The Lithuanian businessman is a huge crypto enthusiast. He is the founder and CEO of Toronto-based crypto investment company Cypherpunk Holdings. He also runs a crypto online poker room called CoinPoker.
It’s unclear whether Tony G would have his wish fulfilled, but he has the backing of another high-profile name – well-known sports bettor and poker player Haralabos Voulgaris. The former Dallas Mavericks executive said he would play in the tournament provided that it’s a non-pro event.
But given the attention that the tournament is getting from the big-name pros, Tony G and Voulgaris could end up not getting what they want. Just hours after the announcement was posted, some of the world’s elite pros quickly responded.
Fedor Holz, who is now semi-retired, said he’d play in the event if there’s a seat. The German poker pro is no stranger to $1 million buy-in tournaments. The largest score of his career came in 2018 when he finished second in the 2018 WSOP Big One for One Drop for $6 million.
Dan “Jungleman” Cates is up for the challenge as well. The American poker pro will be looking to add another major victory after his impressive win in this year’s WSOP $50K Poker Players Championship.
Jason Koon, one of the world’s most successful high-stakes pros, also said yes, alongside Dan Smith who promised to give a portion of his winnings to charity.
Justin Bonomo, who recently regained the top spot on Hendon Mob’s All-Time Money List with $57,175,262 in total live earnings, also expressed his intention to participate in the huge event.
Should the tournament take place as planned, it will become one of the biggest buy-in tournaments in the history of the game, joining the likes of the $1.1 million Monte Carlo One Drop Extravaganza in 2016 and the $1.27 million Triton Super High Roller in 2019, as well as several Big One for One Drop events which came with a $1 million entry fee.
The Rise of Crypto Poker
Over the past few years, several sites have popped up accepting crypto payments, with major online poker rooms such as Americas Cardroom also incorporating crypto into their platform. The $1 million tournament planned for 2022 will highlight this particular industry even more, as more and more poker players enter the world of cryptocurrencies.
Many players use crypto as a way of boosting their bankroll. Some also like to invest in cryptocurrency for its anonymity and decentralization features which the traditional investment methods don’t have. Bitcoin (BTC) is the most popular cryptocurrency which hit record values this year. It is also the largest crypto by market cap.
The BTC Miami takes place from April 6-9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Among the guest speakers set to grace the event are skateboarding legend and entrepreneur Tony Hawk and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
