History of the World Series ofPoker History of the World Series of PokerIn 1949, Nick Dandelos approached Jack Binion with an unusual idea. He asked Jack to host a challenge between himself and Johnny Moss. This challenge was to determine the best poker player, and would involve playing every day. Jack agreed to host the tournament, which lasted for over 5 months. In the end, Johnny Moss won the challenge, and won over $2 million. Interestingly, while the challenge was undergone, spectators gathered each day to watch to the action. This public enthusiasm is what eventually led Jack Binion to create the World Series of Poker. The first WSOP event took place in 1970. Thirty-five poker players gathered at Binion's Horseshoe Casino to play the game they loved. Unlike today's World Series of Poker, the winner was decided by popular vote. Johnny Moss was chosen as the champion. In 1971, the format for the WSOP changed. The event now consisted of a single freeze-out tournament. While only 6 players competed, Johnny Moss was again the champion. The 1972 WSOP event brought new attention to the World Series. After winning, Amarillo Slim joined the talk show circuit, and brought much-needed attention to the World Series of Poker. By the 1980s, satellite tournaments began running. This allowed poker players with smaller bankrolls an opportunity to become involved. Numbers of entrants began climbing from this point, albeit slowly. 2000 saw the first event with over 500 poker players. This may have resulted in part from the introduction of online poker, which brought poker to more people than ever before. Since 2000, the number of players has increased exponentially. The 2006 WSOP is predicted to have 10,000 entrants. Many players now win seats at the WSOP through online tournament qualifiers, which allow them to enter the main event for a fraction of the buy-in fee. | 
