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The most publicized event in the history of gambling has to be the World Series of Poker, (WSOP). This is an event that has brought fame and fortune to many poker players. The WSOP is televised world-wide and has propelled poker, particularly Texas Hold 'Em, into the nation's most popular card game.

And it all started, not so humbly, back in 1949. Benny Binion, a true to life Texas cowboy and professional gambler, owned a casino called 'Binion's Horseshoe' on Fremont Street, in what is now known as downtown Las Vegas. A friend of Benny's, who just happened to be the legendary gambler Nicholas 'Nick The Greek' Dandolos, suggested that he could play Johnny Moss, another veteran gambler, in a high stakes poker marathon, with Binion's Horseshoe as the hosting venue. Nick thought the game would generate public interest and provide an invaluable public relations vehicle for the Horseshoe. He was right!

Binion liked the idea, and the game was on. And what a game! Playing in full public view, Nick and Johnny battled it out in the longest poker marathon in history.The men played every form of poker imaginable, and the marathon lasted a full five months with breaks only for sleep. Moss eventually won, and pocketed a cool two million in 1949 dollars.

Binion was impressed by the crowds that attended the game daily, and the continuous newspaper coverage of the marathon, which was priceless publicity for the casino, which saw a dramatic increase in patronage by the locals, and a must-see attraction for tourists.

All of this inspired Benny to start similar events centered around poker, which was slowly but surely turning Binion's Horseshoe into a Las Vegas landmark.

However, the first official World Series of Poker event wasn't held until 1970, and the winner was, guess who? Johnny Moss. Moss won again the following year, followed by another poker legend, Amarillo Slim, who won the WSOP in 1972, and by this time the WSOP was being noticed outside of Las Vegas by people other than gamblers. The games had spawned a new phenomenon ' poker fans! In fact,some of the WSOP participants had achieved celebrity status and were invited on the Johnny Carson show.

Well, Benny finally died of heart failure on Christmas Day, 1989, but he had achieved his goals. Binion's Horseshoe was a Las Vegas landmark, and the World Series of Poker had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

When you look at the numbers, you can realize how far this event has come. The first WSOP tournament had only six players in the game. This year, (2006), the number may reach eight thousand, representing some eighty million dollars. No doubt this represents a pool of money unprecedented in any sporting event.

Binion's no longer hosts the WSOP. Now owned by the Harrah's Entertainment Group, the Horseshoe hosted it's last WSOP games in 2005, with the finals being held at Harrah's Rio Casino just off the Strip, on Flamingo Road. This year, the entire tournament from start to finish will be held at the Rio. Vegas is not a town bound by sentimentality, and the number of participants have grown too large to fit into the smaller Binion's available casino space.