Jack Binion created the World Series of Poker in 1971 and at that time no one, including Jack himself, thought it would have such a central role in the world of professional poker.
In its long history, it gave us many exciting and unforgettable moments. Let's mention just a few of the most iconic ones:
WSOP 2016: Who wins? Qui Nguyen!
Qui Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American man born in 1977 in Vietnam. Qui moved to the United States when he was 24 years old.
Qui's is an unusual story in the poker world. In the last thirteen years, all of the WSOP main event champions were in their 20s. All except Qui Nguyen. Just when it seemed that the older generation's time had passed, in 2016, an unknown 39-year-old immigrant, who came to the US 15 years prior, became the champion and earned $8,005,310.
Qui is also quite a character, and this was of great help to him in winning the sympathies of the audience. His styles of dress and play were equally unconventional and with every pot that he raked his supporters on the rail chanted: “Who wins? Qui Nguyen!”. This was a night of pure joy to be remembered.
WSOP 2009: New Generation Steps Up
It was obvious that a new generation was coming when the record for the youngest WSOP main event champion was broken twice in a row. First, in 2008 Peter Eastgate broke Phil Hellmuth's 19-year-old record as the youngest champion, and then in 2009, it was Joe Cada's time to shine.
Even though the table was packed with many well-known players and superstars, such as Phil Ivey, Jeff Shulman, Antoine Saout, and James Akenhead, Cada played heads-up against Darvin Moon, an amateur logger from Maryland. Moon was the chip leader heading into the final table but after a very long battle, Cada was the victorious one, earning $8.5 million.
With this victory, which occurred just over a week before his 22nd birthday, Cada became the youngest World Series of Poker Main Event champion. He was 340 days younger than Eastgate had been at the time of becoming world champion.
WSOP 2007: A South African First
In 2007 it was the first time that a South African player reached the final table at WSOP. Raymond Rahme (born in 1945) is a professional poker player who left school when he was 15. In his own words, this made him “streetwise” and he became a successful businessman as an adult. Rahme has also made more money than any other African tournament poker player.
In 2007 Rahme didn't become the champion. He finished in the third place, but he is remembered for the iconic hand that earned him $3,048,025. Ever since, poker has exploded in South Africa, which is now producing more and more talented players. And SA gambling blogs are now covering many winning poker tips and tricks that players can apply in the game in hope this will soon produce a new SA player who will outperform Rahme.
WSOP 1982: The Original Chip and a Chair
You are perhaps not aware that the now-iconic poker expression “as long as you’ve got a chip and a chair…” was born at the World Series of Poker main event in 1982. The saying means that no matter how few chips you are left with, as long as you got some, you always have a chance of winning. And this is exactly what happened in 1982 to Jack "Treetop" Straus.
Apparently, Straus pushed his chips forward, believing he was pushing all of his chips, and was called.
Then, after losing the hand, he stood up only to realize that he still had one chip left, hidden under a napkin. Because he did not declare himself all-in, the tournament directors allowed him to continue playing and this directly led to his victory at the main event and him becoming the WSOP champion.
As you can imagine, this story is a great source of inspiration for many poker players.
WSOP 1995: The First Woman at the Main Event
Barbara Enright began playing poker at home at the age of just 4, playing five-card draws against her older brother. She worked as a hairstylist, bartender, and cocktail waitress, often holding down three jobs at once to support her family. In 1976 she started playing in card-rooms and soon she was making more money playing poker part-time than all of her jobs combined.
Today when talking about female poker players people will usually mention Annie Duke, Vanessa Selbst, or Liv Boeree. But to the older generation, Barbara Enright’s name would be the first association.
To this day she is the only woman that has reached the final table of the World Series of Poker main event. She did this in 1995 and finished in 5th place. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and the first to win the first two, then three WSOP bracelets.
