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Poker Champions
Before the 1970s, not many casinos offer poker as a game due to the great difficulty of keeping cheaters out. It only became popular upon the initiative of a true Las Vegas legend, Benny Binion and his two sons. They developed better security techniques and tirelessly promoted the game in events like the World Series of Poker (WSOP). The World Series of Poker stands out as the most prestigious set of poker tournaments in the world. WSOP events have been awarding cash prizes since 1971, together with the much coveted gold bracelet. The main event is the No Limit Texas Hold'em but events have been added and removed through the years. There are two (2) people who hold the prestige of winning ten bracelets each in the person of Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson and Johnny "Oriental Express" Chan. Closely following them is Phil Hellmuth who has nine. Doyle and Todd Brunson are the first and only father and son to win at least one event at the WSOP. The number of participants is steadily growing every year, managing to even attract celebrities to its fold. Increased patronage can be attributed to the WSOP being aired on ESPN. Add this to the fact that the World Poker Tour is being shown alongside with other series in the Travel Channel. In a typical tournament, the sponsoring casino takes a percentage between 6% - 10% and distributes the rest as prize money. As the number of players increase, the higher the prize money becomes. Another probable reason is the continuing boom of online poker. This had made it possible for amateur players like Chris Moneymaker to win big-time. He was able to win a seat in the main event of 2003 WSOP through a satellite tournament at the online poker. A $ 39.00 initial payment paved the way for the $2.5 million prize in his very first live poker tournament. Clearly, there is not one mould from which poker champions comes from. |
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