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The History of WSOP (World Series of Poker) 1970 1989.
WSOP 2011 is just 10 days away and while looking forward and getting ready to the new series we would like to remember the history of this magnificent event to and see how it grew to become the most desirable and iconic live poker tournament.
This year over 70,000 players from every corner of the world will compete for $280,000,000 of the prize money in 58 different events. It is hard to believe that 1970, when the first World Series of Poker began, the entire state of Nevada had only 70 poker tables and on 50 of them in the whole city of Las Vegas. Although Benny Binion is universally thought of as the founder of the Series the story began a year earlier in 1969, when Vic Vickrey and Tom Moore set up a “Texas Gamblers Reunion” in Reno. A few high profiled Texan players joined the series of high rolling gaming including Benny Binion himself, Jimmy Snyder, Doyle Brunson, “Amarilo Slim” Preston, Johny Moss and Puggy Pearson. Although the original plan was to have this gathering an annual event 1969 reunion became the first and the last in history. However is gave Binion an idea to set up World Series of Poker in his Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas the following year.
1970 WSOP attracted only 6 players. The first champion Johny Moss was not even the tournament winner, as he was selected as the best player by mutual agreement of the other players. There was no attention or interest in the event from either press or public. Whats more Horseshoe Casino did not even have a poker room and the event to place in a little alcove about the size of a small hotel room.
1971 WSOP was set up as a freeze-out. The tournament fee was $5,000 and again only seven attendants. Johny Moss defended his title and won the top prize. In those days the tournament was run on “winner-takes-it-all” basis. Once again nobody outside and in fact most people in Las Vegas new anything of what was going on.
1972 WSOP became the turning point, although still with only twelve participants joining the table. When “Amarillo Slim” Preston won the event, he took this opportunity to turn his victory into a huge publicity whirlpool and became live pokers greatest ambassador, telling the nation about this amazing new opportunity.
Prestons promotional efforts paid off and 1973 was the first time in history when live poker tournament made an appearance on CBS Sports. It was also the first year when other poker variations such as Razz, Seven Card Stud and lower limits of Texas Holdem events were introduced. Puggy Pearson was the main even winner that year.
Johny Moss made a history and won his third title in 1974 and Doyle Brunson got the bracelet in three consecutive years 1975,1976, 1977.
It was 1978 when the tournament format was changed again to spilt the prize money and award top five players with progressive amounts. Also the same year the first woman, Barbara Freer, joined the tables to compete against all male clubs.
Hal Fowler became the first unknown amateur player to win the bracelet in 1979 to shock the famous professional hard core. His victory became a real aspiration for many new players, who had never thought of it before, to go Las Vegas and test their skills.
Young New Yorker Stu “The Kid” Ungar was another surprise for old school Texan dominated fraternity when he won in 1980 and then again the following year. His achievements where so exciting for the nation, that NBC Sports did the coverage of the whole event.
1982 WSOP offered eleven events, including Ladies World Championship. The main event buy-in became $10,000 and 260 players joined in.
In order to make WSOP participation more popular and achievable for all poker players from all backgrounds Eric Drache, WSOP tournament director at the time, introduced an idea of satellite qualifications in 1983. This idea was exactly what was needed attract universal interest and to move WSOP into a different league. From that point on the Series popularity shot through the roof. The old Horseshoe Casino could no longer host the event alone and Binion even had to buy next door Mint Casino to accommodate some of the tournaments. Sadly Binion died in 1989 on Christmas Day.
If you have not secured your place in Las Vegas this year yet dont worry there is still time to qualify to live poker events WSOP 2011 online with Unleashed Poker as well as many other online poker promotions running now.
Ten Thousand Years of Poker History.
Contrarily to the popular believe that the game of poker began in the 19th century in the US the roots of the game go much further in history and originate from the 10th century AD in China during the emperor Mu-Tsung ruling. Although at the time it was played with dominos, not cards, the principles, rules and strategies of the game were very similar to the modern day poker. It is believed that the emperor himself enjoyed playing this domino game with his wife and the court officials. This was the start of the poker history.
The game of what will be known as poker in the future travelled through times and continents to Egypt, India and Persia where it became known in the 12th-13th centuries as “Ganjifa”, which can be translated as “The Treasure Cards”. Such cards were made of very thin pieces of rare wood or even ivory and were only affordable to the very rich. The game reached Europe in the 16th century and became very popular first in Italy and Spain known as “Primero”, then in France named “Poque” and in Germany called “Pochen”. It was Europe that introduced suits to cards from the Italian tarot cards.
When French colonials moved to Canada at the start of the 18th century they took their “Poque” with them. It then travelled further south to the New Orleans and spread at first all around Louisiana where it was played in the famous floating saloons and than later all over the country. One of the earliest contemporary mentions of poker happened in J Hildreth book “The Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains” in 1836. The game of the time seemed to be a 20 card deck variation played with Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens which were divided between the players to make the best hand, there were no communal cards.
Jonathan Green described poker at the as the “cheating game” in his book “An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling” and then later in his “Reformed Gambler” book. In 1857 Allen Dowling in his guide to New York City described 20 cards poker “one of the most dangerous pitfalls to be found in the city”. However during this time the 52 cards deck games started to increase their popularity and during the Wild West period and especially during the Civil War poker saloons could be found in every town in the US from the east to the west coast.
The middle of the 19th century saw introduction of new variation of poker games such as Stud, a cowboy invention from Ohio and Indiana, 5 Card Draw, which began during the Civil War period Although winning poker hands were not as we know them today. The 1864 edition of The American Hoyle gives the following winning hands rank “one pair, two pairs, straight sequence or rotation, triplets, flush, full house, fours.” It adds “When a straight and a flush come together in one hand, it outranks a full” but not fours.
Hi-Lo poker games, where a player can make a winning hand through getting wither the highest or the lowest hand began in 1903 and became most popular in the thirties and forties of the 20th century.
The beginning of the 20th century saw the birth of the Texas Holdem which became the Poker game for many years to come. Originated in Texas it stayed a mainly a local variation of poker unknown to the rest of the world until the 1960s. Poker legend Crandell Addington who first played it in 1959 said “They didn’t call it Texas hold ’em at the time, they just called it hold ’em. I thought then that if it were to catch on, it would become the game. Draw poker, you bet only twice; hold ’em, you bet four times. That meant you could play strategically. This was more of a thinking man’s game.” And how right he was!
It took a few years for Texas Holdem to establish its grounds and become The Poker Game. For a few years Golden Nugget Casino was the only casino in the whole Las Vegas to offer Texas Holdem games. But those were the days before poker tournaments began. 1970 was the first year of World Series of Poker, WSOP, set up by Benny and Jack Binion in their Horseshoe Casino. Texas Holden entered the centre stage for the first time. Although the first World Series of Poker did not attract a huge number of players, only 6 players took part in the first Series, it was the figures like Doyle Brunson, Jonny Moss and especially Amarillo Slim, who won the bracelet in the third Series, that drew the worlds attention to Texas Holdem. From then on poker and especially Texas Holdem went from strength to strength.
2003 became the start of the new Golden Era for poker when an unknown at the time armature player Chris Moneymaker won his WSOP bracelet and $2.500.000 top prize. This victory changed the world of poker forever. Not only Chris was an extremely charismatic ordinary guy who played poker as a hobby, he was the first Champion to qualify to WSOP through exclusive online poker promotions. Popularity on online poker rooms hit through the roof that year and for many years come. Chris showed the ordinary players in every part of the globe that the dream of the top poker prize was within their reach. No one needs to pay the $10.000 buy-in any more to become the champion in the most prestigious live poker events and win millions of dollars as online poker rooms are willing to give the tickets to the players.
It looks like the popularity of online poker is going from strength to strength. This years WSOP registration numbers are higher than the year before despite doom and gloom forecasts from some analytics after the Black Friday. Online poker rooms offer players a huge number of satellites to qualify to live poker events, generous deposit bonuses and many other online poker promotions. Who knows it maybe your turn next to make a history and become the next WSOP champion?