Major action at the 2009 World Series of Poker begins today with the 40th-annual no-limit hold’em event that features a $40,000 buy-in. To commemorate this historic milestone, the WSOP will focus on the colorful history of the event throughout the summer, and CardPlayer.com will bring you history-based stories periodically. This first installment includes a recap for every year during the first decade of the WSOP, as well as a look at the precursors that led to the event’s conception.
By clicking on the links below you can read about the infamous heads-up match that took place at Binion’s Horseshoe between Johnny Moss and Nick “The Greek” Dandalos. This is also where you can read about early main-event wins for poker legends such as Moss, Doyle Brunson, Puggy Pearson, Sailor Roberts, Amarillo Slim Preston, and Bobby Baldwin. The early years of the WSOP were much smaller affairs than the mega-event it has become today, but with the wealth of characters present at the time, the history is just as rich as any period of the tournament. Click on the links below to read more:
WSOP Preludes
1970 WSOP Recap
1971 WSOP Recap
1972 WSOP Recap
1973 WSOP Recap
1974 WSOP Recap
1975 WSOP Recap
1976 WSOP Recap
1977 WSOP Recap
1978 WSOP Recap
1979 WSOP Recap
