The World Series of Poker made its
debut in 1970. It was established by Benny
Binion in an attempt to crown a "World
Champion" and capitalize on the public's
interest in watching no limit poker. The World
Series of Poker has been held every year at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino in Las
Vegas ever since.
The original World Series of Poker games were
invitational and 'winner takes all' as compared to
today's game (which is open to anyone with the $10,000
buy-in fee and the prize pool is split amongst a
number of the top finishers).
The first World Series of Poker had only 7 players. In
recent years that number has grown to over 7,500
entrants, with more than 800 playing in the main
event - No Limit Texas
Holdem.
The major change to the World Series of
Poker this decade has been
the introduction of internet satellite tournaments,
which allow poker players who have the skill, but not
the $10,000, to join for the cost of a satellite buy-in.
Some online poker rooms have been known to offer freeroll
satellite tournaments as promotional gimmicks. In an
unprecedented feat, last
year's winner of the World Series of Poker garnered $2.5M after learning
tournament poker on the internet and winning his seat
from a $40 buy-in at pokerstars.com online poker site.
