World Series History

Back in 1970 when the World Series of Poker began, there were fewer than 50 poker tables in the entire city of Las Vegas. In an ordinary hotel room at Binion's Horseshoe, 30 gamblers gathered and made poker history.

It was inspired by a 1969 Reno event hosted by Moore and Vickrey who invited Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, Rudy "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Benny Binion, Doyle Brunson, "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Johnny Moss, and Puggy Pearson to the first, and last, Texas Gamblers Reunion. 

The next year, Binion took over the charge and brought this event home to Vegas, calling it the World Series of Poker. Only a handful came, and it got no public attention and little press coverage. Johnny Moss didn't win one tournament but he was elected "best all-around player" none-the-less after several days of high-stakes card playing.

The next year, the WSOP was played as a freeze-out: 7 poker players posted a $5,000 entry fee. Johnny Moss won the winner-takes-all prize and retained his title as world champion. And so the legend began.

The event grew, and the stories spread, some, like the upset victory of "Amarillo Slim" Preston in 1972 that turned into a tidal wave of publicity flooding the nation. The talkative Texan became poker's greatest ambassador, appearing on The Tonight Show 11 times, in movies, and publishing a best-selling book. 

In 1973, CBS Sports televised the World Series for the first time and the WSOP was expanded to include 4 preliminary events: 7-card Stud, Razz, Deuce-to-7 Draw, and a lower buy-in No Limit Hold‘em event. In 1978 the Main Event's prize money was divided up for the first time. The top 5 finishers all received a cash payout. It was also the first year a woman entered the WSOP, Barbara Freer.

In 1981, Stu "The Kid" Ungar won the championship for the second year in a row and, being from New York, generated even more publicity for gambling's grandest event. NBC Sports dispatched a film crew to cover the '81 WSOP, which introduced poker into millions of homes for the first time.

By 1982, the WSOP had expanded to 11 preliminary events. A Ladies World Championship was added to the poker menu, in addition to the $10,000 buy-in Main Event. In all, the 13 events played that year awarded over $2.6 million in prize money to the top finishers.

By 2006, the World Series of Poker offered 45 tournaments, all awarding gold bracelets to the winners. Well over $100 million in prize money was won, making the WSOP the richest event in all of sports. Jamie Gold overcame the largest field in poker history when he defeated 8,772 fellow players and won $12 million as the top prize, surpassing the payout of events such as Wimbledon, The Masters, and the Kentucky Derby - combined.

There's more of that to come for the World Series of Poker.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Harrah's). HIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with Bovada Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Harrah's.