Ever since its inception in 1968, the World Series of Poker has become the Mecca of the game.  Players from all over the world travel thousands of miles just to participate in this amazing event that has grown to feature a whopping 55 different tournaments.  And there are many more people who don’t travel to the WSOP that are avid fans of it.  Some of these people don’t even know a whole lot about the event.  So, with them in mind, here’s some general information regarding the WSOP.

The Location

The WSOP has switched from several locations over the years with its origins in Reno at the Holiday Hotel and Casino.  Just two years later, it would move to Las Vegas and Binion’s Horseshoe where it would remain until Harrah’s purchased the WSOP and held it at its current location of The Rio.  The Rio Hotel and Casino is located right off of The Vegas Strip giving easy access to all interested fans.

The Events

With so many different events to keep track of in just a six week span, it’s difficult for the average fan to know what’s what since there are 55 poker tournaments taking place.  But it’s really not too hard if one concentrates on the biggest events first.  The largest is by far the Main Event which is held last and takes place over a 14 day period.  Currently the last two days are moved from July to November because of ESPN TV coverage purposes.  The most prestigious is the H.O.R.S.E. event which is a combination of poker games and usually only includes the best poker players in the world.  The rest of the events include lots of No Limit Hold’em tourneys, Omaha games, and various other forms of poker.

The Buy-ins

The buy-ins for WSOP events differ depending on what tournament a person wants to get into.  For instance, the Main Event buy-ins are pretty hefty at $10,000 while a less heralded tourney like a No Limit Hold’em (w/ReBuys) event will only be $1,000.  The H.O.R.S.E. tournament is by far the most expensive at $50,000 and is a good reason why only the best players get into it.

The Prizes

Just like the buy-ins, the prizes and prize pools for each event differ quite a bit.  The Main Event prize has fluctuated recently depending on how many people are willing to pay the $10K buy-in.  Jamie Gold won the most money for a WSOP Main Event with $12 million while last year’s winner Jerry Yang pulled in $8 million.  Tournaments where hardly any players get in can have a top prize of around $100K which is quite a bit less in comparison to what Gold and Yang won.
But anybody who wins any event in the WSOP will receive a coveted gold bracelet regardless of the amount of entrants and buy-in fees.  A lot of people judge a player’s career success by how many bracelets they hold.