Texas Hold'em poker with a $10,000 buy-in.. In 1971, the tournament buy in is peg at $5,000. The Main Event winners aside from getting the biggest prize money plus the golden bracelet; have their winning photo displayed at Binion's Gallery of Champions.
By tradition, each Main Event winner is called the World champion unofficially. However poker's top professional players insist that the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E last addition event will ultimately decides who the real World Champion is. H.O.R.S.E.is an event where the top poker variations are played like the Hold'em, Omaha poker, Razz, Seven Card Stud poker and Eight-or-better poker.
The first two winners of this tournament are Chip Reese winner in 2006 along with Freddy Deeb in 2007 respectively. Some of today's top professional poker players played a vital part in It should be noted that the professionals played a major part in persuading the bosses at WSOP to launch a new event having a bigger buy-in the its Main Event.
The escalation of poker tournaments in addition to the annual staging of the World Series (through " Moneymaker Effect") had an outcome that showed amateurs dominate the field in terms of participants. Consequently, the Main Event is likely to come out with more amateur winners than professionals. So to counter such situations, professional players want to produce a separate event where fundamentally sound professionals will emerge the winner and dominates the event in the long run.
The recently added event with a $50,000 buy-in, which is far more bigger in terms of buy-in than what Main Event had to offer. This move has thus far resulted in amateurs being stopped and discouraged from participating in this H.O.R.S.E. tournament.
Gallery of World Champions There occurred some unforgettable and touchy moments at some stage in the main events, including the come from behind win of Jack Strauss during the 1982 edition after thinking that he will be going out of the event but at the last moment he find out that he still has a $500 token in his chair.
A record of sort for four players who have garnered more than one Main Event tournament: Johnny Moss two times (in 1971 and 1974), flamboyant Doyle Brunson (back-to-back winner in 1976 and 1977), the three time winner Stu Ungar (1980, 1981 and 1997 edition) and Johnny Chan successive win in 1987 to 1988.
The film Rounders features the climax of the 1988 edition of Main Event.
The Cinderella finishes of Chris Moneymaker in 2003 as well as Greg Raymer in 2004, both players were given free seats to the main event tournament for winning a particular state city tournament sponsored by PokerStars internet cardroom
Jerry Yang, a neophyte player having been engaging in active poker games for two years before he became a winner in the 2007 Main Event tournament. Just like Moneymaker and Raymer, Jerry Yang won his free ride to Main Event at a $225 satellite event hosted by Pechanga Resort and Casino.
When the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act"(UIGEA) was ratified and became a law in 2006, the right of all poker sites to directly purchase entry to the main event for all their site users is totally banned.
All players (including ex-champions, professional poker players and celebrities) who desire to enter the Main Event tournament is required to post a $10,000 buy-in. Only the winners of satellite tournaments are given a seat in the event.