WSOP REPORT NUMBER 03

How It All Began (Part III)

In 1980, during that year’s World Series of Poker, a tradition was created – and one which has been copied around the world, in hundreds of other tournaments. Before the heads-up match that would decide that year’s World Championship, son of the casino owner Benny Binion, personally carried the first and second prize combined, in cash in 100-dollar bills, into the tournament room and stacked them on the table before the television cameras! The amount was over half a million dollars, of which 385.000 was won by Stu “The Kid” Ungar who defeated Texas veteran Doyle Brunson.

In 1982, Jack “Treetop” Straus defeated 103 competitors, after the most legendary comeback in the history of the World Series of Poker. After being down to a single 500-chip, he stuck it into the next pot – and won it. After that, he bet, bluffed and bullied his way to the final table and the World Championship title, coining the often-quoted phrase “All you need is a chip and a chair”.

In 1983, Tom McEvoy became the first player to first win a satellite tournament, qualifying him for the World Championship tournament, and then win the title itself. The concept of the satellite tournament had been invented five years before, however, by Eric Drache who then was the tournament director at Binion’s Horseshoe.

In 1990, the World Championship title was for the first time captured by a non-American: Iranian-born British professional player Mansour Matloubi defeated 193 other competitors to capture the title, the bracelet and 895.000 dollars.

The next year, for the first time in WSOP history first prize was an even one million dollars; it was won by American professional Brad Daugherty.

In 1994, the WSOP celebrated its 25th anniversary. This led to Binion’s Horseshoe proclaiming that the winner would not only get the prize money and the coveted bracelet, but also his or her weight in silver. The eventual winner was the rather big American professional Russ Hamilton, who – after consuming a large steak dinner and four banana split desserts at the final table – clocked in at 148 kilos and thus received silver worth over 28.000 dollars.

(to be continued)

World Championship Update

After 5th July, starting days 1A, 1B and 1C have been played, drawing respectively 1116, 873 and 1696 entrants who all have paid 10.000 dollars for the privilege of taking part in the world’s largest poker tournament, with the biggest prize sums. Out of these 2584 players have survived into day 2. Starting day 1D is currently going on as these words are written, and apparently has had close to 3000 starting players!

This will put the total number of starting players this year at about 6500 players, the third highest in WSOP history: the 2006 tournament drew 8773 players, and the 2008 tournament drew 6844 players. First prize this year will therefore be between 8 and 9 million dollars.

Out of all these who start in the World Championship – actually the Main Event of the WSOP tournament series – about three-quarters are players who have won their seat in a satellite tournament, either on the Internet or in live-play in a casino. The others are a mix of players sponsored by various poker companies, professional independent players, and – in a few cases – “highrollers”, rich private individuals such as Hollywood actors, sports athletes and industry tycoons.

Before the new World Champion can be crowned, he or she will first have to survive eight days of playing tough, grueling poker against fearless opponents, until the evening of 15th July when only nine contestants remain, and then two more days in November when those nine will return to Las Vegas, and the final table will be played out before live television and radio broadcasting.

Each contestant starts on day 1 with a stack of 30.000 in chips, making a total of about 200 million in chips in play; and at the end of 10th November, the eventual winner and single remaining player will have all 200 million or so in front of him or her – the largest amount in poker history!

WSOP Facts

The oldest player ever to take part in the WSOP is 96-year old Jack Ury, from Terre Haute in Indiana. He played on day 1B and survived into day 2, albeit with only about 23.000 in chips.

The player who has amassed the largest chip stack after day 1 in WSOP history is John Bonetti; in 1993, when all players started with only 10.000 in chips, he finished day 1 with an enormous half a million! This represented over 20 % of all the chips in play. Bonetti eventually finished third in that tournament.

The player who has played in the most WSOP tournaments is Doyle Brunson from Texas: he has missed only once, in 2001 when many of the professionals boycotted the Championship because of the then complicated and much-criticized owner structure of the casino Binion’s Horseshoe.

The only player to win the WSOP title three times, defeating a large field of competitors on his way to the title, is Stu Ungar who sadly died in 1998 from drug abuse; he won in 1980, 1981 and 1997.

DAN GLIMNE ダン・グリム who finished 534th in last year’s Main Event, winning 25.090 dollars