(Bloomberg News) Greenlight Capital Inc. co-founder David Einhorn entered next month's $1 million buy-in tournament at the World Series of Poker, donating any profits to the charity City Year.
Einhorn, who finished 18th in the World Series of Poker's main event in 2006, is among at least 42 entrants for the July 1-3 charity event in Las Vegas, known as the Big One for One Drop, Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for Einhorn, said in a telephone interview.
The champion at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino will win at least $16.4 million, topping the $12 million Jamie Gold won by claiming the World Series of Poker's $10,000 buy-in Texas Hold'em world championship, known as the main event, in 2006. Gold's win is the largest ever in a poker tournament.
City Year, based in Boston, is partnering with public schools to build more engaging and supportive environments so as to reduce student dropout rates.
One Drop, which is the main beneficiary of the poker event, fights poverty worldwide by supporting access to water.
Other confirmed entrants include poker professionals Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Gus Hansen, 2010 main-event champion Jonathan Duhamel, Patrik Antonius and Tom Dwan.
It's the first year for the $1 million buy-in charity event at the World Series, which is comprised of 61 different poker tournaments. The annual series concludes with the main event.
Greenlight, the $7.8 billion hedge fund based in New York, can bet on rising and falling prices. Einhorn is known for shorting Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. before it collapsed in September 2008.
The 43-year-old Einhorn offered $200 million for a 33 percent stake in Major League Baseball's New York Mets last year before withdrawing the bid.