WSOP
Annually in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada the World Series Of Poker is held and is now the world’s most popular poker event. However, the initial tournament in 1970 had only seven players and it was not until the early 1980s, when the World Series Of Poker began satellite tournaments, that the event drew greater than fifty people. In the 80s the entrants had surpassed 2,000.
In the 1970s the first broadcasts of the WSOP were aired. These were produced and broadcasted as documentaries as opposed to a sporting event being narrated by Jimmy Snyder. CBS sometimes showed the main event in the ’70s and ’80s only showing action from the final table of the WSOP.
By the end of the ’80s ESPN had positioned themselves as the goto broadcaster of this poker event, airing continuous footage of each stage of the tournament. The Discovery Channel briefly covered the event from 2000-2001 but ESPN resumed the reigns just as the poker phenomenon was erupting.
The power of computers and the World Wide Web was redefining the poker world. The game was more accessible to the masses than it had ever been. Thanks to numerous online bookmakers, people from all over the world could play poker for money at any time. This created a sensation that has peaked but remains very much alive today.
As this phenomenon began its ascent, interest in The World Series of Poker, highest profile Texas Hold Em Poker game, ascended with it. Being aware of the true, increasing popularity of poker, ESPN stepped in to become the leading television broadcaster of the World Series of Poker. Not only did they televise the various days of the main event but also many of the other poker events that are run throughout the WSOP. Most years viewers will have knowledge of the winner ahead of time, sapping some of the drama from broadcast. It was in the year of 2006 that the number of entrants reached an outstanding 8,773.
Although fans are likely to remember the events from 2002-2008 as the WSOP’s signature moments, the event has a long and illustrious history. Tons of attention is place on those amateur players, many who have won cheap WSOP Satellites, that make it to the final table and win the coveted braclet. In 1979 the first amateur to ever win the big World Series Of Poker Main Event, Hal Fowler, was crowned.. Some WSOP historians assert that Benny Binnion, the father of the WSOP, had to lend him the money for the entry fee.
During the 2000 WSOP, female poker player Annie Duke made it to the final ten, just four short of the final table that year. Coming close in 2006, reaching the final 88, ESPN took the opportunity to congratulate and publicize Annie’s feat. One of the announcers even commented that Duke might be the first woman to reach the final table. However, the truth is that Barbara Enright had already become a legend, earning that distinction in 1995.
Likewise, fans often believe that famous World Series of Poker participant Johnny Chan is the only player to reach the final two, three years in a row. However, Tennessee native Puggy Pearson was the first to do that back in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Eventually claiming the title in ‘73, he was the very first poker player not from the state of Texas to win the World Series of Poker.