World Series of Poker Tournament has been the most iconic tournament that has been the peak of poker for over half a century on all corners of the globe. Since 1970, WSOP has been held annually, attracting thousands and thousands of players competing for millions of dollars in prize money. In this article, we will dig deep into some fascinating facts about the World Series of Poker Tournament.
History of the World Series of Poker Tournament
As mentioned, this tournament began in 1970, when there were only 70 poker tables in Nevada and less than 50 in Las Vegas. Nobody outside the city of Las Vegas knew about the world series of Poker tournament. However, Johnny Moss, the inaugural world champion, was elected the best all-around player in this tournament after he was selected by his peers after a few days of high bets card playing.
Main Event Buy-in
After WSOP began in 1972, the major event buy-in was $10,000 in no-limit Texas Hold’em (NLHE) tournament. This might sound like much, but it is affordable compared to other tournaments. For instance, the buy-in for the super high roller bowl is $300,000, while that of Triton Million is a whopping 1 million. In 1971, the buy-in was $5,000, while in 1970, the winner was selected by a player vote.
Main Event Prize Money
The first tourney in WSOP to get a million-dollar prize was the main event in 1983, while 2004 had a prize of more than $10,000,000. In 2006, Jamie M Gold of the U.S. won the main event, and his take home was a prize worth $12 million. This prize has, over time, become the largest in WSOP history. In 2019 and 2022, Hossein Ensan and Espen Jorstad won the main event of the mentioned years, respectively, receiving prizes worth $10 million each. Usually, WSOP is known to award its players millions of dollars every year in prize money.
Bracelet Events
WSOP has featured quite several bracelet events since its inception. These events are tournaments that award a gold bracelet to the winner. The buy-ins in these events range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, attracting players of all skill levels. For instance, in 2019, there was a record of 89 bracelet events held during the WSOP, and the total number of entries recorded was 187,298.
Most bracelets won in the World Series of Poker
Phil Hellmuth, one of the greatest poker players known, holds the record for the most WSOP bracelets won. He has, in total, won 16 bracelets. Phil is highly regarded as one of the greatest poker players, and his success has been from his skills and dedication towards the game. Other mentioned players with multiple WSOP bracelets are Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson, among others.
Female WSOP players
We all know that the WSOP has been a male-dominated event, but we still have female players doing so well and achieving great success in the series. The first record of a female to win in an open WSOP was in 1996, and the Iron Lady was known as Barbara Enright. Other famous female poker players include Liv Boeree, Vanessa Selbst and Jennifer Tilly.
International participation
WSOP has grown to be the world’s biggest, most popular, and most prestigious poker tournament. Since Phil won the most bracelets with 16, WSOP has grown with over 7200 entrants in 11 years. In 2019, WSOP recorded players from 87 different countries who took part in competing in the series. Therefore, they saw it as good to expand and include events in states like Europe, Asia and Australia.
Charitable contributions
WSOP has recorded a history of having taken part in numerous charitable contributions. Usually, WSOP used to take a portion of the annual prize pool or, instead, prize pools from different events and donate them to various charitable organizations. The year with the highest record was 2019 when they donated over a million dollars to various charities, including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department K9 Unit.
Controversies in World Series of Poker
It is okay the WSOP hold a very prestigious status. Still, when you put thousands of competitive players in one convention hall, all playing to win one piece of a multi-million dollar prize, there must be clashes and controversies. WSOP is the same since there is so much on the line. A good example was in 2006 when there was a dispute between Phil, the professional poker player and Borgata over alleged edge sorting.
Phil was accused of cheating and was sued for $9.6 million, which he had to repay since the court ruled in favor of the casino. There was also an issue concerning security in the casino when a WSOP dealer was caught stealing chips from the tournaments.
Conclusion
World Series of Poker has captivated the audience for over 50 years due to its fascinating nature. There is a diverse player base with massive prize pools, and over time WSOP has become the pinnacle of the poker world. For you to be part of WSOP, you don’t have to be a seasoned player, there must be something for everyone who desires to be part and parcel of this series, and at the end of the day, the World Series of Poker will celebrate you.
