WSOP
The World Series of Poker is the largest event in the world for poker players. The tournament features some of the biggest names in the world of poker, as well as some of the largest prize pools and of course, the gold bracelets. The World Series of Poker is held in Las Vegas each year, and began back in 1970 by Benny Binion who invited seven of the best poker players in the world to the Horseshoe for a single elimination event. The number of events at the WSOP varies typically, but is between 50 and 60 events each year, and ends with the World Series of Poker Main Event, which is a $10,000 buy-in, no limit Texas hold’em tournament. The Main Event draws in one of the largest fields out of any tournament in the entire world, and has a first place prize that currently will average over $8 million.
The entrants at the World Series of Poker have gone up an incredible amount since back in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the gold bracelet. The 2003 event featured 839 players, and has grown into the thousands as of late, topping at 8,773 entrants back in 2006 when Jamie Gold won the prize of $12 million. The following three years all topped over 6,000 entrants, with 2010 drawing in 7,319, making it the second highest number of entrants of all time.
Events
While the number of events has varied over the past years, it was recently set at 58 different events throughout the months of June and July. The 58 events feature multiple different games, ranging anywhere from no limit Texas hold’em, to limit Texas hold’em, Omaha, and seven card stud. The World Series of Poker even features games such as deuce to seven triple draw lowball, 10 game mixes, and even shootout tournaments. The buy-ins for the events typically range anywhere between $1,000 to $50,000, which is the Poker Players’ Championship.
As of 2008 the WSOP Main Event’s final table has been delayed until November, in order to draw in even more fans, and allow players to fly in their families and prepare both mentally and physically to be a part of the “November Nine”.
World Series of Poker Main Event
In reality, the World Series of Poker Main Event is what really put this massive event on the map. Back in 2003, ESPN showed poker coverage of the Main Event, and the world watched as Chris Moneymaker outlasted 838 other entrants to win $2.5 million and the gold bracelet. This hooked the viewing audience, and took poker’s popularity to a completely different level. In 2004, the Main Event drew in 2,576 players and saw Greg Raymer take home an incredible $5 million. At this point, this so called World Series of Poker, would never be the same.
World Series of Poker Players’ Championship
The Players’ Championship has drawn quite a bit of interest over the recent years, as it’s $50,000 buy-in is the largest at the WSOP. Players are now given a diamond and gold bracelet for winning this event, instead of just a gold bracelet for winning any other WSOP event. The Poker Players’ Championship doesn’t draw in nearly the same numbers as the Main Event does (with only 128 in 2011), but it’s large buy-in guarantees the first place winner a very nice payout. The 2011 winner, Brian Rast took home an impressive $1.7 million for beating out 127 players.
The World Series of Poker has grown to be so popular over the past few years, that there was even a video game created about it which was called “World Series of Poker”, and was followed up by a sequel called “World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions”, and finally “World Series of Poker 2008: Battle of the Bracelets”. Today, players will wait year round to participate in the World Series of Poker, and even enter multiple different online satellites in hopes of winning a seat into one of the big events.
