History of the WSOP

History of the World Series of Poker

“Know how to win before you sit down. Experience may be the best teacher, but it's also the most expensive.” – Doyle Brunson

The WSOP has given many players a great deal of experience. However, few players are aware of the rich history of this series. Even though poker appears to be slowly taking over the gaming world, poker tournaments have been going on for years. The one tournament that rises above all other tournaments is the World Series of Poker. This poker tournament has a prosperous history behind it that most poker players would be interested in.

The WSOP's creator, Lester “Benny” Binion was one of the founding fathers who brought poker into the spotlight as a profession. Benny was born in 1904 in Grayson County, Texas, where his father was a horse trader. During the young Binion's childhood, he often traveled with his father, and learned the art of gambling from other horse traders and cowboys.

It seems that Benny came out of his mother's womb looking to make a fresh buck, and so it came as no surprise when he started working for road gamblers while he was a young man. He continued on this way as a young adult – always looking for ways to make more money. Soon he was earning his dinners by organizing illegal craps games in Dallas, and for years the authorities turned a blind eye to his practices. However, eventually Benny received warning that unless he went legit, he may go to jail – and so Benny went legit.

After the jail scare, Benny decided to take over the Eldorado Club, which was soon renamed as Binion's Horseshoe. To remain competitive with other casinos, he raised the betting limits and cut the house edge. Binion's Horseshoe became a favorite amongst many professional gamblers of his time. In fact, Nick “The Greek” Dandalos, became a fixture in Benny's casino.

Benny soon learned that Dandalos was very well connected. There are even stories of him showing Albert Einstein the Las Vegas sites, and referred to Einstein as ‘Little Al from Princeton'. The more Benny learned about the intriguing Dandalos, the more he wanted to know; and the more Benny's other patrons wanted to know. One thing they all knew – Dandalos was a professional.

Soon after Dandalos began frequenting Binion's Horseshoe on a regular basis, he began to show an interest in poker tournaments. One day he approached Benny to host a high-stakes poker game that would be “the biggest game that the world had to offer.”

As Benny was always interested in finding new ways to make money, he jumped at the idea. Of course, Benny also knew the perfect opponent for Dandalos – Johnny Moss, a world class Texan gambler would be the perfect challenger for this tournament.

Benny actually bankrolled Moss, who arrived at the tournament slightly disgruntled. He'd had a long trip to Vegas and he was quite tired; he just wasn't interested in playing poker, as he'd been playing intensely for days before he'd received the invitation to Binion's Horseshoe.

But this poker tournament would be bigger than any other poker tournament; it would go down in history. Dandalos and Moss eventually sat down to play a poker game that would last for five months straight, only breaking to sleep every four or five days. In the 70s, tournaments would have blind systems put into place to keep games from lasting five months.

The players gave it their all, and it would be a tournament that would go down in the history of poker. It would go down in history as one of the most intense games in history. However, all good things must come to an end. Eventually Dandalos saw that he could not win this tournament. He stood up from the table and spoke his famous quote: “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.” Then he went up to his bedroom to go to sleep. Moss had won millions from Dandalos.

Benny watched this tournament go down, and he observed as people came in droves to watch Dandalos take on Moss at the poker table. Benny decided that this was something that everyone needed access to. This was the poker game that started the World Series of Poker.

However, it wasn't until 1970 that the WSOP was truly born. Moss, also known as the “Grand Old Man of Poker,” was a dominant player in this WSOP. Unfortunately, Dandalos had passed away (without a penny to his name) in 1966. But Benny only wanted to involve players of Moss and Dandalos's caliber.

He invited six of the best players he knew of: Amarillo “Slim” Preston , Brian “Sailor” Robers, Doyle Brunson, Walter “Puggy” Pearson, Crandall Addington, Carl Cannon, and of course, Moss. This outstanding crowd was to play No Limit Texas Hold'Em in front of anyone who wanted to watch.

The tournament didn't last quite as long as Moss and Dandalos's first attempt. When it finally came to an end, Johnny Moss was chosen as the winner. He received a trophy for his efforts and was dubbed the 1970 World Champion of Poker. His exceptional efforts were recognized by players around the globe.

The following year, the tournament became a winner-take-all event. Moss brought his best game and achieved victory. He took home $30,000 in winnings. With each year, the event grew stronger. And by the time 1971 rolled around, Benny wasn't by himself anymore. He now had two sons, Jack and Ted, who ran Binion's Horseshoe by his side. They both played an essential roll in developing the WSOP event and brand.

As the “casino tournament” was somewhat of a novelty, Binion's Horseshoe became known as a trend setter in the industry. Some of the ideas that Benny and his sons put into play are still used widely in the industry.

Since the early days of the WSOP, much has changed. The tournament has developed into a winner-take-all, to an “if you have $10,000 to spare, you can play” game. Every year the popularity of poker increases, as does the number of participants in the WSOP.

An evolving trend is the idea of Satellite tournaments, where players are given the option to play in tournaments with lower entry fees. These tournaments permit entrance to the WSOP. Recently players have been given this option to play online. Read about the success stories that have happened from online Satellite tournaments. You could be next.

The cash prize at the WSOP increased from $7.7 million ten years ago, to over $49 million in 2004. In fact, 2004 was a huge year for the WSOP. Harrah's took over the Horseshoe that year and the series was becoming an international spectacle. 2004 was also the first year that the WSOP had to be divided into two separate locations, as the numbers were so high. Much was changing with the WSOP, and much will continue to change with the WSOP. Televised tournaments, celebrity poker, and online gaming will continue to increase poker's popularity.

Go To Top