The World Series of Poker

The massive, star-studded event that is the World Series of Poker actually came from humble beginnings.  In fact, it didn’t even look like the World Series we know today.  The first World Series of Poker only consisted of seven players and the winner was determined by a democratic vote.

Top 3 WSOP Qualifier Tournament Sites

Where it All Started

It is said that the World Series of Poker can be dated back to 1949 when Benny Binion staged a heads up match between two of the greatest poker players of the time, “Nick the Greek” Dandolos and Johnny Moss, at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino.

It was the greatest heads up match of all time, with both players battling it out across a variety of poker variants for over five months.  Nick finally ceded the match one day by standing up and saying to Johnny “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.”  Down an estimated $2 million, Nick had finally cried uncle in the greatest poker match of all time.

Binion was surprised to see how much attention the event got and how many people showed up at the casino each day to watch.  He knew there was potential in some sort of high stakes contest, but it would be over twenty years before he organized the first World Series.

The First WSOP

It wasn’t until 1970 that Benny would hold the first official World Series of Poker.  He invited seven of the greatest players in world to battle it out at the poker tables and to vote for the year’s champion. After a grueling week of poker, Johnny Moss was voted to become the first champion of the World Series of Poker.  His championship prize: a silver cup.

The 1971 World Series had a more recognizable format, with six entrants each paying $5,000 and playing a freeze out tournament.  Johnny Moss successfully defended his voted title and won the event.  This time he took home $30,000 for his efforts.  Every year since, the World Series has grown a little larger.

By 1980, the prize for winning the Main Event had grown to $385,000.  By 1990, it had reached almost $900,000 and in 1991 the first place prize for the Main Event broke $1,000,000.  The 2007 Main Event lasted for 12 days, had 6,358 entrants and awarded over $8.25 million to the champion.

The Present Day World Series

Now days the WSOP is held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and features a stiff $10,000 entry fee.  The high buy in has spurred a myriad of satellites for players to win entry to the tournament at a fraction of the cost.

The satellites work by awarding entries to the WSOP instead of cash prizes.  With online tournaments being so easy to play, hundreds of people have won their way in to the Main Event at a reasonable cost.  Two great sites for online WSOP qualifiers are Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars.

What started out as a vague idea in the late 1940s has since turned into the greatest poker championship in the world.  It is at the World Series of Poker where players from around the world put themselves to the ultimate test of skill and endurance with dreams of being crowned the champion of the world.