A Short History of the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker* or WSOP* takes place once a year in Las Vegas and comprises of many poker tournaments across many poker disciplines. For three months Las Vegas is swarmed by many of the best poker players in the world wanting a slice of fame and fortune.

The showcase event of the series is the No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament which has a $10,000 buy-in. If you win this tournament you win prize money beyond your wildest dreams and instant poker fame. But it was not always this way.

Before the poker boom in 2003 the World Series of Poker was contested by smaller tournament fields and was more of a gathering of the top American Poker players than a World gathering of poker players. The best players were players like Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar and Amarillo Slim, all of whom were recognized for their part in Poker’s history by being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Nowadays due to the luck involved in getting through such a large field of poker players it is normal for many amateur players to make the final table of the main event.

The modern day WSOP Main Event usually has more than six thousand entrants with an astonishing first prize of above $8 million. Last year 21 year old Joe Cada became the youngest ever winner of the main event and he won $8.5 million for first prize. Previous winners include such poker legends as Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan and Scotty Nguyen.

Every poker player dreams of winning the World Series of Poker Main Event. Not just for the money, but for the honour of being known as the WSOP champion and taking their place alongside some of the best poker players in the list of previous winners.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Caesars). CIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with Titan Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Caesars.