The World Poker Tour’s latest international stop concluded recently with Fabrice Bigot taking down the €1,100 Prime Paris event for $193,291.
This marked the biggest cash of the Frenchman’s poker career. He now has more than $715,000 in live tournament winnings.
In other news, the WPT also recently announced a new partnership with the One Drop Foundation. The agreement brings a new initiative to the tour’s own charitable foundation. Here’s a quick look at the events as well as some WPT tournaments on the horizon.
A look at the WPT Prime Paris event
The event at the Club Circus Paris in France marked the first event for the WPT of 2023. The tournament wrapped up on Feb. 5 and the event saw 1,071 entries for a $1.1 million prize pool.
Along with the payout, Bigot (pictured in lead image courtesy WPT) earned a $10,400 seat to the 2023 WPT World Championship. The December event at the Wynn Las Vegas proved popular with players and saw big numbers. The tour is once again running the championship this year with event winners grabbing a seat throughout Season XXI.
Bigot finished Day 2 second in chips going into the eight-handed final table. He sat just behind Sabare Atmani, but continued to grow his stack throughout the day.
The two eventually faced off heads up for the title with Bigot holding more than a 2-to-1 chip advantage – 22.3 million to 9.9 million. That proved too much and after 11 hands, Bigot finished off his opponent.
The final hand saw both players see a flop of J♠10♠9♦. Atmani checked and Bigot made a bet of 800,000. Atmani then moved all in for the last of his 6.8 million.
Bigot called with A♥J♦ and top pair while Atmani held 10♥7♣ with middle pair and inside straight draw. The 6♠ and 2♥ brought no help for Atmani and Bigot had the title.
“I feel like I am where I should be,” Bigot said before the final table got underway. That certainly proved to be the case. Here are the final table payouts.
WPT Prime Paris
- Fabrice Bigot – $194,390
- Sabare Atmani – $123,934
- Alexandre Le Vaillant – $92,128
- Federico Cirillo – $69,096
- Antoine Labat – $51,548
- Manuel Coimbra – $39,483
- Hakim Chniyat – $30,709
- Timothee Scotti – $24,129
Tour announces new charity poker initiatives
In other news, the WPT announced a new deal with the One Drop Foundation this week. The agreement sees the organizations teaming up for charity poker initiatives in the coming year.
One Drop, which has also worked with the World Series of Poker, helps provide access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene to impoverished communities. Tour officials promise charity events hosted by WPT casino partners around the world.
“WPT has always committed to giving back to those in need both locally and globally,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said in a news release. “Through the WPT Foundation, we have utilized our position in the poker community to raise millions of dollars in funding for non-profit organizations, and we are eager to continue this charitable thread by teaming up with the incredible One Drop Foundation.”
Elevating the Future of Charity Poker ♠️@WPT x @OneDrophttps://t.co/KlCNedSl50 pic.twitter.com/grIxCx0AtE
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) February 9, 2023
Over the past 10 years, the WPT Foundation has helped raise more than $45 million for numerous charities including: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Conservation International; Education Reform Now; K9s for Warriors; the NASCAR Foundation, Special Olympics, World Central Kitchen; and more. One Drop officials were pleased to join that group of beneficiaries.
“The One Drop Foundation has raised more than $25 million through poker events over the past decade,” One Drop Chief Marketing Officer Alexandre Meunier said. “We now look forward to the next milestone in our mission to improve access to safe water and living conditions for millions across the globe. We are confident the WPT is the ideal partner to help us achieve that goal, hand in hand with the global poker community.”
Since 2012, the WPT and One Drop foundations have raised a combined total of over $70 million for global causes.
Looking ahead at upcoming WPT events
More action is on the horizon for the WPT. While the first Main Tour event isn’t until April, some other Prime events are in the works.
The Prime Gold Coast heads to The Star Gold Coast casino in Australia. The festival runs Feb. 23 – March 6 with the main event running March 2-6.
Two more Prime events are also set for the same month with the Cambodia main event running March 16-20. That’s followed by the stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from March 28-31.
The First Main Tour event of the year is the $3,500 Rolling Thunder in California, set for April 1-4. That’s followed by the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Florida from April 28 – May 2.