The greatest hold 'em tournament - WSOP

 

You can see it on television almost any time of day and you can watch the same tournaments repeatedly without getting bored. Or, you can watch tournaments from years and years ago like they just happened last night. The people change, but the game stays the same - and it's great! Just as many great things prosper, the World Series of Poker started with an idea - an idea for two men to sit down and play a marathon of poker games at Lester "Benny" Binion's casino. Binion, at the time, couldn't imagine what an attraction the marathon would be for his casino, but he saw people waiting anxiously to watch the game that took place over five months between "Nick the Greek" Dandolos and Johnny Moss in 1949.

 

In 1970, Binion decided to try and host the poker marathon again and had a successful turn-out. In 1972, there were seven players in the tournament. With more players also came larger denominations of money to win. Originally, the pot was a winner take all situation. Now, however, the pot is shared amongst the winner and some of the top finishers. In 1982, there were 52 players that showed for the event. And, to bring us more up-to-date, there were 5,618 entrants and Joe Hachem, the 2005 WSOP World Champion, won the largest pot the tournament has ever seen - 7.5 million dollars! Binion never would have believed how huge of a success this event would become. Every year the event, the audience and the pot size increases.

 

The World Series of Poker consists of multiple games: Lowball, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. and of course, the biggest event –Texas Hold em. There are champions who get named for each of the games listed above, but there is only one world champion every year. It is not only the world champion that is remembered at the end of the events; many players, or at least their names, are known by people who follow the Poker circuit.

 

Buy-ins for the events vary, but many are $1,000 - $3,000. A few events are $10,000 and some are even $50,000! Anyone (who can afford to) can buy in for the World Series of Poker. Each event has a different buy-in price. However, since this event is still on the rise, it is also possible to win a seat for yourself at the tournament by playing in other tournaments online or at land-based casinos. Best Texas Hold em tournament can be referred with more details. Some websites online will sponsor you to play for them and some casinos will offer opportunities on how to win a free seat at the tournament as well.

 

By 2006, the World Series of Poker was comprised of 45 tournaments, all awarding gold bracelets to the winners. Well over $100 million in prize money was won, making the WSOP the richest event in all of sports. Jamie Gold overcame the largest field in poker history when he defeated 8,772 fellow players and won $12 million as the top prize last year, surpassing the payout of events such as Wimbledon, The Masters, and the Kentucky Derby - combined.

 

The World Series has also expanded its reach beyond Las Vegas, to nearly a dozen casinos spread throughout the United States. The newly-formed World Series of Poker Circuit allowed poker players nationwide the opportunity to participate in poker's greatest tradition.

 

Big corporations also took notice. What was once an untouchable subculture largely rejected by potential advertisers and business partners has suddenly become a highly- desirable target demographic. Beer companies, auto makers, and other mainstream businesses are now eager to attach themselves to the success story that is the World Series of Poker. Incredibly, the next thing on the horizon for the World Series might be yet another boom.

 

The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion of the World Series of Poker in series history. In September 2007, the first WSOP championship events outside of Las Vegas, complete with bracelets, were held. The inaugural WSOPE consisted of three events held in London from September 6–17, 2007. The main event, a GBP 10,000 buy-in no-limit hold 'em tournament, was won by Norwegian online prodigy Annette Obrestad on the day before her 19th birthday. This made her the youngest person ever to win a WSOP bracelet, a record that cannot be broken in the Las Vegas WSOP under current laws because the minimum legal age for casino gaming in Nevada is 21. Obrestad could play in the WSOPE because the minimum age for casino gaming in the United Kingdom is 18. While no definitive plans have been announced, WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has indicated that in the next one to three years that other venues may start holding WSOP events. Two locations that have been mentioned as possible expansion sites are Egypt and South Africa, and the World Series of Poker Africa was ultimately launched in South Africa in 2010. However, it is currently treated as a WSOP Circuit event, with no bracelets awarded. The next expansion of the WSOP that included bracelet events was ultimately to Australia.

 

In 2010, the WSOP expanded overseas once again, only this time to Gauteng, South Africa. Although the 2010 event was part of the WSOP Circuit, winners did not earn a gold ring or standing for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, both of which were common for other circuit events. This policy changed in 2012. The WSOPA did not occur in 2011 but would come back in 2012.

 

The WSOPE moved from London to Cannes, France in 2011. At that time, the buy-ins and payouts changed from being fixed in pounds to euros. The event moved again in 2013, this time to the Paris suburb of Enghien-les-Bains.

 

In November 2013, it was announced that the WSOPE would in the future alternate with the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (WSOP APAC), which launched in 2013. The WSOPE will now be held only in odd-numbered years, with WSOP APAC conducted in even-numbered years.

 

On April 30, 2012, the WSOP and Australian casino Crown Melbourne jointly announced the creation of the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (WSOP APAC). The first edition of the event was held at Crown's Melbourne Casino from April 4–15, 2013 and featured five bracelet events in the series.

 

In 2015, the WSOP International Circuit was launched, with rounds in Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The winners of each tournament join the WSOP Circuit winners to play the WSOP Global Casino Championship. The International Circuit has expanded to 13 tournaments for the 2017/18 season. And with the 2016/17 WSOP champ being a mere 25 year old youngster - Scott Blumstein, the future of the game looks to have a long life ahead of it, yet.

 

But some critics believe poker's popularity may have peaked. Some people think the World Series of Poker can't possibly get any bigger. A few words of advice: Based on its long and rich history, don't bet against it