The 34th-annual World Series of Poker transformed the event into a pop-culture phenomenon. In 2002, 631 players entered, and the payout was $2 million. It cracked 200 in ’91, the first year in which the winner claimed a seven-figure cash prize. The World Series of Poker main event surpassed 100 players for the first time in 1982.
In the four decades since, the basic rules of the tournament and the amount of money required to enter have remained constant. A year later, the buy-in doubled to $10,000. The next year, six entrants paid $5,000 apiece for the right to play in a no-limit Texas Hold ’em “freezeout” tournament, in which everyone started with the same number of chips and they played until one man had all the money. Seven of them played cash games at Binion’s Horseshoe for three straight days, and when it was over, Moss was named “champion” in a vote of his peers. He sent out invitations to Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim Preston, and the rest of the world’s greatest card players and called it the World Series of Poker.
In 1970, Benny Binion put together a publicity stunt to promote his casino in downtown Las Vegas.
