Poker is here to Stay

First of all poker has been around for a long time. The first World Series of Poker started at Binion’s Horshoe Tavern in Las Vegas in 1970. The prize pool wasn’t even worth mentioning. The first time the WSOP prize pool reached a million dollars was in the late 80’s.

Today is a different story! In the past few years, the main event at the WSOP, with an event entry free of $10,000 US, has grown enormously:

2003 WSOP - 839 players, the winner $2.5 million, Chris Moneymaker
2004 WSOP - 2576 players, the winner $5 million, Greg Raymer
2005 WSOP - 5569 players, the winner $7.5 million, Joseph Hachem
2006 WSOP - 8773 players, the winner $12 million, Jammie Gold
2007 WSOP - 6358 players, the winner $8.2 million, Jerry Yang

Both main event winners (Moneymaker and Raymer), from 2003 and 2004, entered through the online poker site Poker Stars. Not everyone entered the WSOP through an online tournament though, many players coughed up the full entry fee to play.

Poker’s popularity is due the World Poker Tour weekly televised events and the coverage of the World Series of Poker. Online poker has also contributed to the poker boom.

Poker is here to stay.