When it comes to poker – and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in particular – no one holds as important a place in the history books as the great Johnny Moss. Back in the days before tournament poker had ever dug its claws into the American psyche, Moss was one of an elite group of players who traveled the country looking for good poker action.
He was said to have been involved in one of the great heads-up battles with Nick the Greek in the late 1940s which reportedly saw him win somewhere between US$2 million and US$4 million, although the validity of that story has long been questioned.
What isn’t in dispute is that Moss was the inaugural winner of the WSOP. In 1970, casino owner Benny Binion invited seven of America’s best players, including Doyle Brunson and “Amarillo Slim” Preston, to Las Vegas to play in a series of cash games to determine the best player in the world. At the end, each player was asked to vote for the best opponent and Moss came out on top to be crowned the inaugural WSOP champion.
Twelve months later, Moss returned to defend his crown. For the first time in 1971 the WSOP comprised of a series of freeze-out tournaments culminating in a US$5,000 Main Event. Six players entered and again it was Moss who prevailed – his second win of the series having also won a Limit Ace to 5 Draw Event.
In 1974 Moss became the first three-time winner of the WSOP Main Event, taking home US$160,000 by beating out the 16-man field in a winner-takes-all tournament.
Between 1970 and 1995, Moss played in every WSOP and won a total of nine bracelets – his last in 1988 – before passing away in December 1995. To this day he sits alongside Phil Ivey in fourth spot on the all-time bracelet winners’ list behind only Phil Hellmuth, Brunson and Johnny Chan.
