Guy Laliberté: The Man Behind The FIRST $1 MILLION Buy-In Tournament

Guy Laliberté isn’t your average poker player. The 52-year-old billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, CEO, performer and part-time astronaut has a lot more on his mind than the cards, specifically, how he plans to turn this year’s annual charity event at the World Series of Poker into one of the biggest tournaments in poker history.

The Canadian businessman believes in his charity, the One Drop Foundation, which is an organization focused on helping those without access to clean water. But he also believes in the poker community’s ability to rally the troops and support the cause. With his help, the Big One For One Drop, poker’s first $1 million buy-in tournament, will feature an ambitious field of poker professionals, businessmen and fellow charitable benefactors.

This is the story of the man behind the summer’s most talked about event.

A Childhood Performer

Laliberté was born in September of 1959 in Quebec, Canada. His early years were spent hustling, earning whatever he could by selling whatever he could.

“I feel like I grew up just like any other kid, but early on, you could tell that I was adventurous and overly curious about things,” he remembered. “I had that entrepreneurial spirit even as a child, wheeling and dealing during school hours, trading hockey cards and even selling lemonade and firecrackers on the street corner.”

Inspired by an early trip to the circus and some time spent in the arts at school, Laliberté quickly found himself working the streets as a performer, playing the harmonica and accordion.

“As long as I can remember, I always had a dream to travel and see the world,” he said. “The fastest way to achieve that goal in my situation was to pick up an accordion and join my father on the road. So at the early age of 14, I became a busker. It was there that I really developed an appreciation for entertaining people. I found great pleasure in making people happy and that sort of became my main motivation as a performer.”

Laliberté continued to perform as a teenager, joining a troupe of circus performers that hitched their way across Canada. After he returned to Quebec, he took a job at a hydroelectric dam, only to find himself out of work when the employees went on strike. With nowhere else to turn, he went back to street performing.

“At the age of 20, I realized that I could put bread on the table everyday by working in the entertainment industry. Once I really became focused on the task at hand, which was gathering the top performers I could find and bringing them together, things started to fall into place for the creation of Cirque du Soleil.”

Cirque du Soleil

The government of Canada was celebrating its 450th anniversary in 1984 and Quebec wanted a touring group that would travel to the other provinces for performances. The grant supported a one-year project, but the act was so popular, that Laliberté, along with some help from friends Daniel Gauthier and Gilles Ste-Croix, was able to extend and improve the show.

After a few years of financial trouble, the show moved to Los Angeles, where it exploded in popularity. New shows were added in Las Vegas, and eventually all over the world. Today, the company boasts over 5,000 employees working 21 shows that entertain 13 million spectators each year. It was years of laboring out of love, but today, the company has made Laliberté a billionaire and one of Canada’s most wealthy citizens.

“Over 28 years, I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to maintain the original mission and vision I had for this company. I haven’t once compromised on the artistic content, which I think has really been the difference maker in the industry. There were many times during our development where we were asked to compromise, or make deals that would’ve taken us in a different direction creatively, but we didn’t budge.”

Laliberté no longer performs, stating that the only time he gets to feel like a clown is when he’s trying to make his five kids laugh, but 28 years later, he remains a big part of the development of each show’s creative vision.

An Introduction To Poker

With seven shows based in Las Vegas, it’s understandable that Laliberté was originally drawn into the casinos to fill the time between his duties as CEO of the company. Though he could afford to lose big, it was his overall mood that pushed him out of the pits and into the poker room.

“I had played (poker) occasionally before as a teenager, but it was nothing too serious until 2006,” he recalled. “I had kind of become a regular in the pits, playing blackjack and dice games in Las Vegas. At the end, I came to two conclusions. The first was pretty obvious, in that it’s really hard to beat the bank. The second conclusion, was that for the most part, you are playing these games alone. Poker was different. You weren’t playing against the house and it was much easier to be sociable with others at the table.”

Laliberté was immediately drawn into the game, relishing the social aspect of the game, while also developing relationships with not only professional poker players, but other businessmen, who like him, had quickly become infatuated with poker.

“We started out slowly, playing small at $10-$20 games. I started meeting all of these interesting people and very quickly I realized that poker was something I wanted to get better at. It became my own personal challenge to improve my skills. I think I came into those games with a unique skill set. I’ve always been strong in mathematics, but I believe that I did have an edge when it came to reading people and feeling people out, thanks to all of my time as a street performer. The challenge was learning all of the other nuances of the game.”

Laliberté found quick success on the tournament circuit. In April of 2007, he finished fourth in the World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio, cashing for $696,220. He appeared on poker television shows like High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark and played some of the highest stakes cash games online and live against the best players in the world. Though poker remains a passion for Laliberté, he now prefers to play in private, away from the casino public eye.

“I’ve pretty much given up online poker, though I do still play on occasion if I’m traveling. Most of my play these days takes place in private home games. There I can play with a good group of people and really enjoy myself. Win or lose, it’s always a great time. Over the last few years, I’ve been able to develop an amazing network of high-stakes players all over the world, whether it be in Russia, Macau, London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal and some other places, so there’s always a live game I can jump in. I can also say that I’ve been more successful in those games than online.”

When asked why he no longer frequents the nosebleed games online, Laliberté said “I believe that it’s better to see your opponents face to face. Secondly, I’m kind of an old fashioned guy when it comes to computers, so I never got a chance to use all of those online tracking programs and systems that analyze hands. When I play online now, it’s mostly smaller stakes and tournaments.”

Giving Back

Laliberté didn’t wait until he was successful to give back to his community and various cause. In fact, he credits his mother for an upbringing that taught him the importance of charity.

“She ingrained in me at an early age that I was privileged and that I should be thankful for all that I had,” he said. “That mentality followed me to the streets as a busker, where I was always able to find those who were in worse shape than I was. That money in your pocket may mean a lot to you, but there’s always somebody out there who could use it more.”

In 1995, Laliberté established the Cirque du Monde foundation, a social circus program aimed at helping children on the streets to improve their situation, rebuild their self esteem and teach them the arts. A total of one percent of all revenue, not profit, goes towards the program, which reaches 80 different communities all over the world.

“Cirque du Monde is a cause that is very close to me,” said Laliberté. “Many times, these children have nowhere else to turn, but this program gives them a way out of their situation. Some of the kids in the program have actually gone on to work in Cirque du Soleil.”

The One Drop Foundation

In October of 2007, Laliberté announced the launch of the One Drop Foundation, a charity with a mission to provide access to clean water worldwide. The program uses the arts to generate awareness of the global water crisis and also utilizes technical projects in developing countries to improve water quality and access. Laliberté has pledged $100 million of his own money, along with 25 years of funds and services from Cirque du Soleil, to support the cause.

“I wanted to start another charity to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil,” he said. “I could have supported any number of humanitarian issues, but after some reflection, I decided on water. Water is a source of life, which I’ve always found to be inspirational, but I was also affected by the fact that one person dies every 20 seconds, mainly children, because they do not have access to clean water.”

Raising money for the cause is important, but raising awareness of a growing problem is perhaps the bigger issue. In September of 2009, Laliberté went so far as to travel to space, becoming Canada’s first space tourist, in an effort to inform the world about water issues. In June of 2011, he published a book, Gaia, containing photos from his space flight, the proceeds of which went towards the foundation.

“In Europe and North America, we are born with the impression that water is an infinite resource,” he explained. “We’ve been abusing it and if we don’t take action soon, the people of this earth will find themselves in trouble. To me, the One Drop Foundation is soft medicine. We compare it to activists, who use a hammer to bash people over the head with their message. People may contribute towards the cause, but after the pain subsides, they are left with no memory of the problem. One Drop, with it’s connection to the arts, hopes for a more long term approach to the campaign, because water is an issue that we should all be thinking about each and every day.”

Official Charity of the World Series of Poker

Laliberté believes in his cause so much that he’s turned to the poker community for help, hoping that an event on poker’s biggest stage can help him get the word out on water. At this summer’s World Series of Poker, Laliberté and his team will be at the helm for the biggest buy-in tournament in history, The Big One For One Drop. The tournament will feature a $1 million entry fee, $111,111 of each buy-in going towards the foundation.

Wanting to do more, Laliberté worked with Caesars Entertainment CEO Mitch Garber to make One Drop the official charity of the WSOP and launched the All In For One Drop initiative, which allows players to pledge one percent of their winnings, buy-in, profit, whatever they’d like, to the cause.

“One Drop is doing important and impactful work and we intend to do what we can to help their efforts,” said Garber. “The water crisis is a worldwide issue and with the WSOP’s global reach, we believe this is a great fit for our company.”

Laliberté echoed Garber’s statement, pointing out the WSOP’s reach to the states, Europe and in 2013, Australia. “The poker community is world wide and has always been incredibly charitable,” said Laliberté. “Sometimes the players get a bad rap and are seen as selfish, but for the most part, it’s the complete opposite that is true. I think this is a great opportunity for poker player’s to show the world what they are capable of.”

What’s Next

Laliberté is a man with many accolades. He’s won the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and the Order of Canada, the highest distinction in the country by the Governor General. He was once recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Most recently, Laliberté was inducted in the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame.

“No matter what direction you look down the Strip, you see a property with a headlining Cirque du Soleil show,” said AGA President and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr. “Guy and his creative team have truly revolutionized the gaming entertainment experience, raising the bar of our customers’ expectations and bringing elements of whimsy and wonder to our industry.”

But despite all of those awards, the notoriety and even the money, Laliberté insists that he isn’t done innovating and working to create a better place for his children to grow up in.

“I can’t keep still for too long,” he said. “There always something, whether it’s my business, or my foundations or my latest project. There always something that needs improvement and I’ve dedicated my life and my resources to making that happen. If everyone had the mentality that they should leave this world in better shape than when they came into it, then I think we would all be better for it.” ♠

The Big One For One Drop

At the 2012 World Series of Poker, one player will walk away with a first-place prize bigger than that of the eventual main event winner thanks to The Big One For One Drop, a charity tournament benefitting the One Drop Foundation which will take place from July 1st-3rd at the Rio and will be televised on ESPN.

The $1 million buy-in tournament was the brainchild of Guy Laliberté, who saw an opportunity to position his charity in the spotlight of the WSOP, thanks to his connection with high-stakes poker players and wealthy businessmen all over the world.

“One day, I was with [Caesars Entertainment CEO] Mitch Garber at a hockey game in Montreal and we got to talking,” said Laliberté. “I explained that I wanted to reach out to various communities with One Drop and that I thought the poker community would be an amazing place to get the word out. I brought up the idea for a $1 million buy-in tournament and that I thought it could happen if we included a charitable element.”

You might think that a $1 million tournament would be a tough sell to the poker community, especially with $111,111 of each buy-in going to the One Drop Foundation, but Laliberté explained that the tournament, and their confirmed participants, hinged on the fact that it was for charity.

“Well, let’s be clear. There are a number of factors that have drawn in the players. First, the prestige and the bracelet. Every pro wants to be able to say that they won the biggest tournament in poker history. But let’s be honest, there aren’t 48 poker players in the world who could afford the buy-in, even by selling their action and playing in the satellites. The other half of the field, amateur players with deeper pockets, are businessmen who like their privacy and don’t want the exposure. Without the charitable aspect of the tournament and their generosity, a $1 million buy-in tournament doesn’t get off the ground.”

Ever since the tournament’s announcement last year, Laliberté has worked tirelessly to build up the player pool. He’s used his personal relationships from projects, businesses and even high-stakes cash games from around the world to generate interest.

Among the poker players who have committed to playing are Erik Seidel, Justin Smith, Sam Trickett, Bobby Baldwin, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan, Tom Dwan, Jonathan Duhamel, Bertrand Grospellier and Dan Shak. In addition to a number of anonymous players and yet-to-be-determined players, businessmen such as Cary Katz, Arnaud Mimran, Paul Phua, Bob Bright, Richard Yong, Paul Newey, Phil Ruffin and Andy Beal have also been confirmed.

Though the first event has yet to take place, Laliberté was confident that The Big One For One Drop was an event that could take place each summer at the WSOP.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “We’re not sure if this is something we’d like to do every year, every two years, three years or even five, but we know that we’d like to do something each summer. Maybe we’ll lower the buy-in. Maybe we’ll increase the number of players. It all depends on how well the tournament is received in July, both by the players and the public.”

Of course, don’t expect Laliberté to stand on the sidelines and watch while the tournament is running. He plans on being right in the middle of the action, eyeing the bracelet and the top prize.

“My ideal winner is myself,” he said with a laugh. “Obviously, it would be a great achievement and a real testament to how I have grown as a player, but it would also be great because a huge portion of my purse goes to One Drop, which means more money for the charity.” ♠