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Venue - Rio All
Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas , Nevada |
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 The World Series of Poker is
series of tournaments held consecutively, a new one each day, each being a
different form of poker (Stud, Omaha, Texas etc.) or the same game with
different betting limits (limit, pot-limit or no-limit). The final event is a
$10,000 No-Limit Texas Holdem event which is classified as the World
Championship event. The winner becoming the World Champion.
The series
of tournaments was held every year from 1971 to 2004 inside Binion's Horseshoe
at 128 Fremont Street Las Vegas, NV 89101. This to everyone in the know of
Vegas is the heart of Downtown. Downtown is the original Vegas, built close to
the railroad station.
The Horseshoe was originally the the El Dorado
Club but Benny Binion bought that in
1951 when it then became the Horseshoe Club and later the Binion's Horseshoe
that is known the world over.
On Jan 9th, 2004, Binions closed its doors
for financial reasons but was acquired by Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. on 22nd
January and it re-opened with some refurbishment on April 1st 2004.
 In 2005 the main schedule of tournaments in the World
Series was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel although the final two days of the
World Championship event were held at the traditional venue of Binions
Horseshoe, July 14-15
The 2006 Series is being held entirely at the Rio
All.Suites Hotel from June 25 – August 10 2006. Check
schedule for details. |
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| Background |
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Nicholas "Nick the Greek" Dandolos -
considered by many to be the finest poker player in the world during the
1950s—longed for some heads-up action. Benny called his old Dallas friend,
Johnny Moss, and the game was on. This legendary match graduated into
staggering stakes as the two lions took turns attacking and retreating. Crowds
seemed to come from nowhere, and the publicity cascaded. Many in the crowd
stuck around to try their luck at the casino games. The publicity, Benny noted,
was free. Johnny Moss ultimately won the five-month marathon dubbed "The
biggest game in town"—an estimated $2 million. When "The Greek" lost his
last pot, he rose from his chair, bowed slightly, and uttered the now-famous
phrase, "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go." Dandolos then went upstairs to bed.
The crowd buzzed and stayed.
The idea for a World Poker Championship
was born. But it wasn't until 1970 that Binion decided to re-create this
excitement and stage a battle of poker giants--dubbed the "World Series Of
Poker"--to determine who would be worthy of the title "World Champion." Some of
the best players in the country were assembled, and Johnny Moss came out on
top. The decision was democratic in that the champion was decided by popular
vote.
The following year, the winner was determined by a freezeout
competition, with players being systematically eliminated until one player had
all the chips. Moss again was declared the World Champion. In 1972, when Thomas
"Amarillo Slim" Preston won the title and went on the talk-show circuit, the
WSOP began to gain a wider following. |
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| History |
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Since "Amarillo Slim" won in 1972, the freezeout format has remained
with the championship event and the game is still No-Limit Holdem. The buy-in
has always been $10,000 and those 8 players in 1972 created a first prize of
$80,000 for Slim. Johnny Moss got $30,000 the year before. The Championship
event was "winner-takes-all" until 1978!
From 1972 into the nineties
the number of players steadily rose. Closing in on the millenium however saw a
massive increase. In 2001 there were 613 players in the main event creating a
first prize of $1,500,000.
In 1971 there was only the championship
event. In '72 a 5-card stud championship was introduced and in '73 there were
five individual championships other than the main event. In the forthcoming
2002 event there will 33 seperate championships besides the final $10,000
event.
In 2001 a
record-smashing 5738 entries paid $17,720,482 to play in a month-long poker
festival. In 2002 we reached
$19,473,840 (-9% in like for like tournaments) and the player total 7324 (-6%
in like for like tournaments). In 2004 there were 2756 and in
2005 there were 5619 players. |
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| Results |
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| For the $10,000 championship event we will have daily reports. For
all other events see List of
Results. |
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