With one hundred bracelet events this summer it would cost over a million dollars to buy a bullet in every event in the World Series of Poker this year. Of course most no one may do such a thing. One would have to lose so many of the tournaments and make choices of which ones to play and sit out to fire so many bullets.
Before the world of crypto I used to dedicate a fair amount of time to playing poker and play at the WSOP for the whole time usually with some friends I had made a long the way from playing for many years. Leading to playing many different games and with numerous pros. Will get back in the game at some point and return to play lots of poker during the WSOP, if not as much as possible as some, or many of us do with all the action during the WSOP.
Also led to a series of poker posts here on Hive (and Steem) where I played and shared part of the winnings with those who supported and interacted with my posts. May possibly do this again when I find the time and place to play again.
1970 - The Birth of the WSOP
In the late 1960s, casino magnate Benny Binion aspired to hold an event pitting the best poker players in the world against each other at the poker table. Inspired by similar “invite-only” events that ran at the time, Binion began laying the groundwork for what would eventually become the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
The iconic Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas hosted the very first WSOP in 1970. Known for its rich history and vibrant poker culture, this casino laid the foundation for what would become the World Series of Poker, bringing together legendary players and setting the stage for decades of poker excellence.
Inviting Johnny Moss, "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Sailor Roberts, Doyle Brunson, Puggy Pearson, Crandell Addington, and Carl Cannon to compete in the inaugural event in 1970, the seven participants played in a no-limit hold’em cash game, and afterwards were tasked with voting on who they thought was the best player.
Famously, the first round of voting resulted in each player voting for themselves. Once requested to vote on who they thought was the second-best player in the event, Johnny Moss was selected as the very first WSOP Main Event champion.
During the early days of the WSOP, Benny Binion famously told Doyle Brunson “You know, Doyle, someday we may have a hundred people in this tournament”. While Binion’s prediction would prove accurate, the casino titan likely had no idea just how large the event would eventually grow.
What started as a field of seven in 1970 has grown to an event that draws thousands of poker players from all over the world every year. The most recent WSOP Main Event in 2025 drew a field of 9,735, the third-largest turnout in the history of the tournament.
With the lasting prominence of the biggest poker tournament of the year, the 2026 WSOP Main Event may be the largest in the event’s history.
Namaste.