The WSOP
The heart of every professional poker player flares up when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is coming to town. The WSOP tournaments are as interesting as their history. The origin of WSOP is related to the great gambler Nicholas Dandolos “Nick the Greek” (sometimes even called “the Dad of WSOP”. In 1949 he made a request to Benny Binion to start a high stakes poker marathon. Binion did just that. He set up a poker tournament between Nicholas Dandolos and Johnny Moss, which lasted five months. Poker players had breaks only for sleep. Crowds of people gathered around the casino to watch the game every day. Finally, Johnny Moss won a pot of $2,000,000. Then Nicholas stood up from his chair, bowed and said, “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go”.
"I have to let you go," these words are still popular against poker players.
The public's interest in the tournament was so high, Benny Binion arranged the first official championship of the World Series of Poker in 1970 at his casino. At this poker championship the winner was decided by voting. And it was Johnny Moss. The following year Johnny Moss won the tournament again by winning all the chips. One player winning all of the chips, each year since the second year, has decided the winner. Amarillo Slim took the title the third year the event was held.
In 1980, WSOP tournaments were introduced to the poker community and its popularity grew from year to year (in 1982 there were 52 entries, in 1987 there were 2141 entries and the 2002 event attracted 7595 participants) and it is still growing.
Today the Internet and television have opened up the game of poker, allowing people to watch the game as it is played and also learn the game in a relaxed atmosphere - at home in front of a computer. A seat in a WSOP event is still a dream for most of the poker-playing world.
While Binion's Horseshoe used to host the WSOP, the year 2005 will find only the final table being played there.
The location and dates of the WSOP events are as follows:
36th Annual World Series of Poker
June 3 to July 15, 2005
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
3700 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89103, US
702 777-7777 Toll-Free: 1-888-746-7153
Many online sites offer satellites for all events at the WSOP, including airfare, the tournament buy-in, and hotel rooms. Check the bonuses and downloads offered here at PokerWorks on Internet Poker Sites. If you are in Las Vegas, you can also find satellites running on a daily basis for entries into WSOP events.
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