World Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker, commonly referred to as WSOP and yearly held in Las Vegas, is the world�s most popular and biggest set of poker tournaments, having 55 events in all. The events consist of the card game of poker and its major variants, majority of which are also the variants of Texas Hold�Em (a poker variation) alone. What makes WSOP gather these many participants is its prize, which can amount to millions of dollars. The more entrants WSOP has, the bigger the prize money becomes.
Brief History of WSOPIt was in 1968 that the WSOP began. WSOP first started out as an invitational tournament, the main sponsor being Tom Moore, Reno�s Holiday Casino being the first location ever to hold the tournament, and Crandell Addington being the first winner of WSOP. Two years later, WSOP evolved into a tournament which consists of a set of events, and this was held in Binion�s Horseshoe. The events were made up of 5 variants of poker, and these are the deuce to 7 low-ball draw, razz, Texas Hold�Em, 7-card stud, and five-card stud. It was in the next year that the game of Texas Hold�Em became the major affair wherein the winner, Johnny Moss, received a silver cup as his prize. For years, the WSOP was held in Binion�s Horseshoe until it was bought by Harrah�s Entertainment. Along with the acquisition of Binion�s Horseshoe were the WSOP brands. Harrah�s Entertainment then put the casino and the hotel on the market and later sold it to MTR Gaming Group, but Harrah�s Entertainment kept WSOP and transferred the event to Rio Casino, owned also by Harrah�s Entertainment.Since then, WSOP has only gotten bigger with the number of participants and the prize money getting larger yearly. Because of this, many poker players aspiring for the huge prize money are joining the tournament.
The Main Event and Naming of World�s Best PlayerThe Main Event of WSOP is Texas Hold�Em wherein the buy-in fee is $10,000. Whoever wins the main event gets not only the biggest prize of the tournament but a gold bracelet as well. Aside from this, the winner also gets to have his picture posted at Binion�s Horsehoe Gallery of Champions. But the title of the World�s Best Player does not go to the winner of WSOP�s main event. Instead, this prestigious label goes to whoever wins the H.O.R.S.E. event, which has a buy-in fee of $50,000, five times larger than that of the main event�s.Although one might think that the bigger the buy-in fee is, the more participants it will gather, it is actually quite the opposite with H.O.R.S.E. This is due to the fact that H.O.R.S.E. entails being a pro at five games, and these are Hold�Em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight or Better, so it would require that the poker player should be very knowledgeable in all these five games, each having its own different strategy and gameplay to win the game, to be able to get the title of the World�s Best Player.
Marketing WSOPA lot of companies are sponsoring WSOP, and this gives them a two-way benefit. One, they get to market their company name; and two, they get to have exclusive use of the WSOP emblem in their promotional items like caps and shirts.Today, ESPN covers the live events of WSOP Tournament, giving millions access to enjoy this tournament yearly.
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