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World Series of Poker
The World Series of poker (WSOP) is the event to play in if you are a poker player. Dating back to 1969, the series has changed and evolved over the years but is still recognized as the elite tournament for poker pros and even some ambitious amateurs. Begun as an invitational tournament by Tom Moore of San Antonio Texas, the WSOP is now a series of cash poker games including seven card stud and Omaha. Here is a short look at how the WSOP began and changed to the event that it has become today.
Although the WSOP was begun by Tom Moore, legendary casino owner and poker player Benny Binion is responsible for the set of poker tournaments we have today. He brought poker to casinos with his efforts to keep cheaters out and by promoting the game especially through the World Series events. Over the years many different variations of poker have been added and removed from the series and in 2006 there will be a total of 42 different poker variations played. The winner of each event will receive a cash prize along with the coveted gold bracelet. Every year the number of participants and hence, the top prize for winning, increases. In 2000, for all events over 4000 poker players participated. In just 5 years, this number grew to over 23,000.
The no limit Texas Hold’Em event is regarded as the main event at the WSOP. There is a $10,000 dollar buy-in and the biggest payout for all the poker events in the series. Winners of the Hold’Em event not only get the largest winnings but they are also photographed for the Gallery of Champions. In the Gallery there are only a few players seen multiple times, each one a legend in the game. Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan have all won at least twice and in fact one of Johnny Chan’s main event wins was shown in the popular poker movie ‘Rounders’.
Recently, amateur players and online players have gained success against professionals with 2002 and 2004 winners qualifying for the main event through online tournaments. Because of the popularity the number of players will be capped at 8000 for the main event in 2006 however there is an estimated 10 million dollar prize for the winner. The World Series of Poker just keeps on growing, having also captured a significant TV audience as well.
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