The World Series of Poker is now a popular poker tournament that takes place annually in Las Vegas. However, the initial tournament in 1970 had only seven participants and it was not until the early 1980s, when the WSOP introduced satellite tournaments, that the event attracted in excess of 50 players. In the 80s the entrants had surpassed 2,000.

TV coverage of the series began as early as 1973 in the form of a documentary-style special narrated by Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, the legendary Las Vegas bookie and American sports commentator. CBS sometimes showed the main event in the ’70s and ’80s only showing action from the final table of the WSOP.

In the late 1980s, ESPN took over duties from CBS and began providing fans with extensive coverage of the event, albeit primitive compared to modern accessibility. The Discovery Channel briefly covered the event from 2000-2001 but ESPN resumed the reigns just as the poker phenomenon was erupting.

The Internet was changing the poker landscape. 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. Unfortunately, due to the need to keep players’ hole cards a secret throughout the tournament, the winner of the tournament is often known before the event is aired on tv. In 2006, the WSOP peaked with 8,773 players participating.

Many people only took notice of this major poker tournament from the early 2000s, but the WSOP actually has an elaborate history. Tons of attention is place on those amateur players, many who have won cheap World Series of Poker 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.. It is believed, though not confirmed, that the godfather of the World Series of Poker, Benny Binnion paid for his buy-in to the main event.

During the 2000 WSOP, female poker player Annie Duke made it to the final ten, just four short of the final table that year. Therefore, in 2006, when Annie Duke got as far as the final 88, ESPN celebrated her success. At the time a poker commentator stated that Annie Duke could even become the very first female to ever make it to the final table of the main event. But in 1995 a female poker player by the name of Barbara Enright actually made the final table, finishing 5th in the World Series of Poker main event that year.

People also think that the infamous Johnny Chan was the only poker player in the history of the main event to have been 1 of the final 2 poker players at the final table 3 consecutive years. But the first player to ever win consecutive WSOP main events was Puggy Pearson, winning in ’71, ’72 and ’73. 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.

Tags: American Sports, Ascent, Bookie, casino, Discovery Channel, Documentary Style, Espn, Gambling, Hold Em Poker, Hole Cards, Jimmy The Greek, Jimmy The Greek Snyder, Main Event, poker, Poker Tournament, Popularity Of Poker, Sports Commentator, Television Broadcaster, Texas Hold Em Poker, Texas Hold Em Poker Game, Texas Holdem Poker, Tv Coverage, World Series Of Poker, Wsop

by PokerWriter on May 2nd, 2010 | RSS | trackback