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Wsop

WSOP - World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a poker tournament held annually in Las Vegas. The first WSOP in 1970 was an invitational wherein Benny Binion invited six of the best known poker players to The Horseshoe Casino. At first, the WSOP grew slowly. It was twelve years before the WSOP drew 52 participants, in 1982. In the early 1980s satellite tournaments were introduced allowing people to win their way into the various events for less than the full entry fees. By 1987, there were over 2,100 entrants in the entire series. Participation peaked in 2006, with 8,773 people participating in the Main Event alone.

The first World Series of Poker was not a freeze-out tournament, but rather an event with a set start- and stop-time with the winner determined by secret ballot. In 1973, five-card stud was added as a second event. Since 2007, the WSOP has consisted of 55 events. While events traditionally take place over one or more consecutive days during the series in June and July, in 2008 the Main Event final table was delayed until November. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. A World Series of Poker bracelet is considered the most coveted prize or trophy a poker player can win, with one from the Main Event revered above all others. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. WSOP victories prior to 1976 are also known as "bracelets". Most of the major poker variants are featured, though in recent years over half of the events have been variants of Texas hold 'em.

The series culminates with the $10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event", which since 2004 has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The victor receives a multi million dollar prize. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker. Since its inception, Stu Ungar and Johnny Moss are the only players to have won the Main Event three times, though Moss's first victory came in a different format than that now used as he was elected winner by vote of his fellow players at the conclusion of what was then a timed event. Moss (if the first time win by vote is counted), Ungar, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan are the only people who have won the Main Event in consecutive years. Johnny Chan's second victory in 1988 was featured on the 1998 film Rounders. Phil Hellmuth holds multiple WSOP records: most bracelets (11), most WSOP cashes (68), and most WSOP final tables (41). The 2008 Main Event bracelet winner, Peter Eastgate, is the youngest person to win the Main Event. Since 2005, the WSOP has been sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment.

Main Event results

Year Winner Winning
hand		 Prize (USD) Entrants Runner-Up Losing
hand
1971 Johnny Moss 30000 6 Walter "Puggy" Pearson
1972 "Amarillo Slim" Preston K  J  80000 8 Walter "Puggy" Pearson 6  6 
1973 Walter "Puggy" Pearson A♠ 7♠ 130000 13 Johnny Moss K♥ J♠
1974 Johnny Moss 3♥ 3♠ 160000 16 Crandall Addington A♣ 2♣
1975 Brian "Sailor" Roberts 9♠ 9♥ 210000 21 Bob Hooks A♣ K♦
1976 Doyle Brunson 10♠ 2♠ 220000 22 Jesse Alto A♠ J♦
1977 Doyle Brunson 10♠ 2♥ 340000 34 Gary Berland 8♥ 5♣
1978 Bobby Baldwin Q♦ Q♣ 210000 42 Crandall Addington 9♦ 9♣
1979 Hal Fowler 7♠ 6♦ 270000 54 Bobby Hoff A♣ A♥
1980 Stu Ungar 5♠ 4♠ 385000 73 Doyle Brunson A♥ 7♠
1981 Stu Ungar A♥ Q♥ 375000 75 Perry Green 10♣ 9♦
1982 Jack Straus A♥ 10♠ 520000 104 Dewey Tomko A♦ 4♦
1983 Tom McEvoy Q♦ Q♠ 540000 108 Rod Peate K♦ J♦
1984 Jack Keller 10♥ 10♠ 660000 132 Byron Wolford 6♥ 4♥
1985 Bill Smith 3♠ 3♥ 700000 140 T. J. Cloutier A♦ 3♣
1986 Berry Johnston A♠ 10♥ 570000 141 Mike Harthcock A♦ 8♦
1987 Johnny Chan A♠ 9♣ 625000 152 Frank Henderson 4♦ 4♣
1988 Johnny Chan J♣ 9♣ 700000 167 Erik Seidel Q♣ 7♥
1989 Phil Hellmuth, Jr. 9♠ 9♣ 755000 178 Johnny Chan A♠ 7♠
1990 Mansour Matloubi 6♥ 6♠ 895000 194 Hans Lund 4♦ 4♣
1991 Brad Daugherty K♠ J♠ 1000000 215 Don Holt 7♥ 3♥
1992 Hamid Dastmalchi 8♥ 4♣ 1000000 201 Tom Jacobs J♦ 7♠
1993 Jim Bechtel J♣ 6♥ 1000000 220 Glenn Cozen 7♠ 4♦
1994 Russ Hamilton K♠ 8♥ 1000000 268 Hugh Vincent 8♣ 5♥
1995 Dan Harrington 9♦ 8♦ 1000000 273 Howard Goldfarb A♥ 7♣
1996 Huck Seed 9♦ 8♦ 1000000 295 Bruce Van Horn K♣ 8♣
1997 Stu Ungar A♥ 4♣ 1000000 312 John Strzemp A♠ 8♣
1998 Scotty Nguyen J♦ 9♣ 1000000 350 Kevin McBride Q♥ 10♥
1999 Noel Furlong 5♣ 5♦ 1000000 393 Alan Goehring 6♥ 6♣
2000 Chris Ferguson A♠ 9♣ 1500000 512 T. J. Cloutier A♦ Q♣
2001 Juan Carlos Mortensen K♣ Q♣ 1500000 613 Dewey Tomko A♠ A♥
2002 Robert Varkonyi Q♦ 10♠ 2000000 631 Julian Gardner J♣ 8♣
2003 Chris Moneymaker 5♦ 4♠ 2500000 839 Sam Farha J♥ 10♦
2004 Greg Raymer 8♠ 8♦ 5000000 2576 David Williams A♥ 4♠
2005 Joe Hachem 7♣ 3♠ 7500000 5619 Steve Dannenmann A♦ 3♣
2006 Jamie Gold Q♠ 9♣ 12000000 8773 Paul Wasicka 10♥ 10♠
2007 Jerry Yang 8♦ 8♣ 8250000 6358 Tuan Lam A♦ Q♦
2008 Peter Eastgate A♦ 5♠ 9152416 6844 Ivan Demidov 4♥ 2♥
2009 Joe Cada 9♦ 9♣ 8547042 6494 Darvin Moon Q♦ J♦

Full Episodes

World Series of Poker 1973

World Series of Poker 1978

World Series of Poker 1981

World Series of Poker 1983

World Series of Poker 1987

World Series of Poker 1988

World Series of Poker 1989

World Series of Poker 1990

World Series of Poker 1991

World Series of Poker 1993

World Series of Poker 1994

World Series of Poker 1995

World Series of Poker 1997

World Series of Poker 1998

World Series of Poker 2003

World Series of Poker 2004

World Series of Poker 2005

World Series of Poker 2006

World Series of Poker 2007

World Series of Poker 2008

World Series of Poker 2009

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