Since its official beginning in 1970, the World Series of Poker has captured the attention of fans and players around the globe. The Main Event is the pinnacle of the series, attracting some of the best players, highest stakes and biggest turnouts in the prestigious history of the game. However, in its earliest 1949 incarnation, the series was played by just two players: Legends "Nick the Greek" Dandolos and Johnny Moss. This match was the brainchild of casino owner Benny Binion. The pair faced off in a variety of a cash games, resulting in a 5-month event in which Moss was the eventual champion. It’s reported that Moss raked-in an unprecedented two million dollars.

The public’s enthusiasm over the event was not lost on Binion, who observed with keen interest the crowd gathering outside the casino every day. Still, it took just over two decades for Binion to really capitalize on his vision. In 1970 he invited some of the greatest poker players in the nation to play in what he ambitiously called the "World Series of Poker". Once again, Johnny Moss took the title of champion. However, unlike the WSOP today, the winner of this inaugural event was decided by democratic vote.

The next year, Moss reigned once again, but this time the winner was determined by a freezeout, meaning competitors were systematically eliminated until one player had all the chips. Moss’ luck ran out in 1972, when Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston won the event and then went on the talk-show circuit. This televised coverage garnered the WSOP an even greater audience.

In 1973 Binion discussed the WSOP with interviewer Mary Ellen Glass. He said, "This poker game here gets us a lot of attention. We had seven players last year, and this year we had 13. I look to have better than 20 next year. It's even liable to get up to be 50, might get up to be more than that. It will eventually."

The early 1980’s saw the introduction of preliminary satellite competitions with lower buy-ins which attracted even more players and fulfilled Binion's prophesy.

The tournament continued to grow. In 1982 the tournament drew 52 entrants and five years later, there were 2,141 participants. By 2002 the event had grown to 7,595 entries and the prize money followed suit.