A whopping $1,000,000 buy-in.
That's what it will cost each pair of players (one businessman who can invite one pro, as per the strict rules) to enter the Triton Million, which starts at WSOP Paradise on Saturday.
One surprising partnership that joined the fray this week is seven-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu and Hustler Casino Live’s producer and showrunner Ryan Feldman.
Negreanu spoke with us earlier today to express his excitement for the team-up: “It’s an honor to play with Ryan Feldman! He creates a lot of really good buzz with HCL. I hope we can do some damage in the Bahamas!”
But how did it come about? We spoke with Feldman a day before he plans to take off for the Bahamas to find out.
How did this partnership with Daniel Negreanu happen? As far as I’m aware, Daniel has never been on HCL.
I haven't played with Daniel before, nor has he been on our show, but we’ve been friends for a long time. I've asked him many times to come on Hustler Casino Live, but he loves staying home in Vegas or attending tournaments like the WSOP Bahamas. He doesn't like traveling for cash game streams.
When I realized Daniel wanted to play at this event and didn't have a partner, I started talking to the entities running it. Daniel is a legend in the game. I thought this would be a great event to play together. It quickly all came together and worked out.
Once they contacted Daniel, he texted me first – “LFG!” He was very excited. It's wild to think that Daniel Negreanu wouldn’t get a partner to play in such an amazing tournament. He’s one of the most famous poker players in the world.
And he's never played a Triton before...
It’s hard to believe, but he’s never played in a Triton event. This Triton Million is something that I’ve dreamed of playing in ever since its announcement. I thought it was one of the coolest events ever in poker. We both are looking forward to this weekend.
Daniel’s so excited. He said something like, ‘It's an honor to play with you.’ I said, are you kidding me? Get out of here. Don't butter me up. He’s a legend. I'm a nobody. It's my extreme honor to play with Daniel.
You made it happen for both of you. Congratulations.
I know. It's just an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Luckily, I figured out the odds and ends to make it happen. It’s obviously the biggest tournament I've ever played by far. I think its prestige, the $1M buy-in, and the ability to play with one of the legends at such a great venue is a dream come true for me.
That’s an astronomical buy-in for anyone. How did the financial side of things come together?
I don't want to say exactly what my situation is, and I can’t disclose how it came to be financially. But there is nothing between me and Daniel worked out regarding the buy-in.
How did HCL’s cash game livestream in Cyprus work out overall?
It was an incredible experience going to Cyprus and partnering with Onyx Club and Rob Yong. It didn't go as well as I originally wanted it to because a few people couldn't make it last minute. That changed the quality of lineups and the viewership. But we made the most of it.
I've always been interested in doing anything with Rob. It was an extraordinary experience. I hope HCL can do more things like that in the future.
Speaking of Rob Yong, can you give us your take on the weird hand and the nearly $200K pot that went down between the two of you?
Sure. It was a bizarre and awkward situation, especially being on a livestream. Rob's point was that if this wasn’t a stream, it was over as soon as he mucked his hand. It’s your pot. He said we never see the river card, even if he made a mistake. He didn’t want to make an exception.
Rob said he threw his cards toward the dealer and mucked his hand. The hand is over.
He did. It was more about his intent. He thought he was drawing dead, and he mucked. I convinced him it was fine, so let's see the river card. That’s the only reason he turned his cards over.
He's a very wealthy guy. The amount of money in the pot doesn't faze him.
He's the type of person who, once he decides something, you're not going to convince him otherwise. I tried to convince him a few times just to turn his hand over. Before seeing the river card, he said, ‘But it doesn't matter what the river is.’ And once he says that, I can't argue with a guy of his stature.
Then a queen hits the river, giving him trips and the best hand. Wow!
That was crazy. I offered for Rob to take the last bet back of $53,000. He wanted no part of that. He was not going to let me force him to keep the money. Rob wanted to do the right thing. That's what I cared about, too.
From my experience, Rob is a total class act.
I know. I guess I'm fortunate. I was unlucky in a way that the queen came. What are the odds of that? It's insane. Two outs, right? But I was very fortunate that Rob is such a nice and fair guy, and I was able to avoid that disastrous bad luck.
Good luck to you and Daniel in the $1M event.
Thanks, Craig.
You can watch all three days of the Triton Million from Saturday on the Triton Poker YouTube channel.
