The World Series of Poker — Yesterday and Today

The 40th-annual World Series of Poker is under way as we go to press, and once again Las Vegas is the world’s center of poker action.

To commemorate this special anniversary, Card Player is pleased to honor Jack Binion in this issue. Jack helped in the evolution of poker from a kitchen-table game to a staple in casinos, and is the father of the World Series of Poker. Without his dedication and passion for poker, we could easily be without our industry’s most important event.

When Jack helped kick off the WSOP in 1970, the minimum wage was $1.60 and the average American household income was less than $9,000 a year. Yet, a collection of high-stakes gamblers gathered at the Horseshoe Casino, played poker for tens of thousands of dollars, and kicked off what would become the longest-running, largest, richest, and most prestigious gaming event in the world. The Horseshoe, under the direction of Jack and his pioneering father, Benny Binion, became a temple of high-stakes gambling action and the epicenter for poker legends.

Shepherding the WSOP into becoming the world’s richest sporting event is just one of Jack’s many accomplishments. He also has decades of casino management experience under his belt, and has rubbed shoulders with just about every gambling legend ever to come out of Las Vegas.

Jack was generous enough to share a look back at the historical roots of the World Series and some of his memories from poker’s early days in this issue. Check it out on Page 52.

Last year, the WSOP hosted more than 58,000 players. Poker players from 124 nations took a shot at winning a WSOP gold bracelet, the international standard for poker’s highest honor. Expectations are running high for this summer, despite a sluggish economy.

This year, a few exciting events are on tap to commemorate the 40th year of the WSOP. A special $40,000 buy-in event was added, as well as a WSOP Champions Invitational, in which all past main-event champions have been invited to participate. This event will be broadcast on ESPN on Aug. 4.

And if your bankroll cannot shoulder a WSOP buy-in, a number of smaller tournaments around town offer a ton of value and lots of chips to splash around. Binion’s, Caesars, and The Venetian are all running a deep-stack series, which is all the more reason to get out to Vegas this summer and give your poker skills a shot.