The World Series of Poker is the largest set of tournaments all over the world. It is an annual month-long event held in Las Vegas. The first ever World Series of Poker was held in 1968 at the Holiday Hotel Casino in Reno, spearheaded by Tom Moore from San Antonia Texas. It was a by invitation event only. The first ever winner of the World Series of Poker Main event was Crandell Addington and since then has been in the top ten of the event eight times. This record is yet to be broken in the entire World Series of Poker history.
The World Series of Poker eventually evolved into a set of tournaments originated by Benny Binion and his sons, jack and Ted. Benny Binion was an owner of a casino in Las Vegas. They sponsored an invitational tournament with only seven top class poker players in 1970 at Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas. The first World Series of Poker held in Binion’s Horseshoe included a series of games of five-card stud, razz, deuce to seven low-ball draw, seven-card stud, and Texas hold ‘em. The 1970 winner Johnny Moss was also voted as the first World Champion of poker, awarded with as silver cup. Stories has it that when it was time to vote for the first World Champion, each player voted for themselves as the best player. A re-vote has to be conducted, this time to determine who they think is the best player aside of themselves. Johnny Moss, also known as “Grand Old Man of Poker” won most votes.
The Binions did not only contribute to the development of the World Series of Poker but also to the game in general. Before the daring attempt of the Binions, poker was not a popular game in casinos all over the world. Casinos simply found it hard to keep cheaters out of their premises. The Binions continued to promote the game and even developed security techniques for poker games now adopted by many casinos.
The World Series of Poker in 1971, was held with a freeze out structure and once again, Johnny Moss topped the events.
The World Series of Poker had been held in Binion’s Horseshoe until 2004, when Harrah’s Entertainment purchased the hotel and acquired the rights to the event. At present, circuit tournaments are held in different parts of the United States in Harrah-owned establishments to qualify players for the main event.
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