World Series of Poker - THE Event for Top Poker Players
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is literally THE tournament for top poker players around the world in Las Vegas, home to all casino gambling
How The WSOP All Began
The WSOP started four decades ago, but it had extremely humble beginnings. In 1969 it didn’t even yet have the name World Series of Poker, but actually Texas Gambling Reunion, and wasn’t even yet in Vegas, but rather Reno. It is a tournament that anybody who is anybody in poker simply has to win before they get recognized as a real, true poker giant. So this wasn’t really the WSOP but perhaps a prelude to it. You had to be invited and the event was sponsored by Tom Moore (from Texas). Crandell Addington won it. But it wasn’t until the following year that things started heating up. It was Benny Binion who was behind this set of poker tournaments and thus it might be more accurate to attribute this guy (rather than Moore) to the WSOP developer/originator. Again, it was by invitation only and Binion invited six of the top poker players to come along. The games involved in this tournament (held in Las Vegas in Binion’s own casino) were: the infamous Texas Hold’em poker (which is the game used today); seven card stud; five card stud; razz, deuce to seven low ball. Using Texas Hold’em as the Main Event came the following year and that was really when the WSOP looked much more like it does today.
Development of The WSOP
Interestingly the WSOP didn’t take off straight away. It took a long time to grow. In fact, they only reached the 50+ mark after 12 years! The 1980s saw the beginning of satellite tournaments so that those who weren’t so wealthy could try to win their way in to the tournament that poker players loved to talk about. It was only really in the late 80s however, that the WSOP really started to attract lots of players – over 2,000 in fact in 1987. But that’s quite a long time from when the event first started. Today it’s doing even better and at its highest, there have been over 8,000 players.
How The WSOP Looks Today
For the last two years, the WSOP has comprised a staggering 55 events. Usually, events occur over one or more days in a row but there have been exceptions. The winner of each WSOP event receives a WSOP bracelet and thereafter become known in terms of their bracelets, for example: John Smith – 3 WSOP bracelets. It’s pretty impressive if you have a WSOP bracelet since they are not so easy to come by. But of course, the winner doesn’t just walk away with a bracelet. The financial reward for winning tournament at this event is pretty substantial too. The peak of the series is the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event with a multi-million dollar prize. This has attracted thousands of entrants and is a very tense and exciting time for all. Anyone who wins this will not only be financially set for life, but also enjoy the reputation of a top poker giant.