More than ever before we have witnessed the seemingly never-ending growth of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2013. What began as a mini-tournament between just seven players at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in 1970 has evolved into a global powerhouse with events now played around the world under the famous WSOP banner.
The WSOP itself, held in Las Vegas over the course of about six weeks from late May to early July, now comprises a whopping 62 events which in itself is a phenomenal achievement given its humble beginnings. Without doubt it is every poker player’s dream to head home from Vegas holding one of the coveted WSOP bracelets at least once in their lifetime.
But it doesn’t stop there. Since 2005, the WSOP Circuit has been held in the lead-up to the WSOP featuring a range of no limit hold’em events that culminate in the Circuit National Championship.
Next year’s Circuit (2013 to 2014) will comprise a record 22 events. Although the winners of these events receive a gold ring rather than a coveted WSOP bracelet, the winner of the National Championship – which is played off between the top 100 players from the 22 Circuit events – is awarded a bracelet.
However, the true global expansion of the WSOP began in 2007 with the inaugural running WSOP Europe. Held in London, WSOPE comprised of just three events but proved an enormous success. It also saw the youngest ever WSOP bracelet winner crowned – thanks to the legal age in Europe being 18 rather than 21 – with Norway’s Annette Obrestad winning the £10,000 main event and the £1 million first prize. Like the WSOP in Las Vegas, WSOPE has continued to grow and now boasts seven events annually.
This year saw the newest stop on the WSOP tour added with the very first WSOP Asia-Pacific held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. This historic event saw the WSOP brand head to the southern hemisphere for the first time with five events played. Popular pro Daniel Negreanu stamped his name in the history books by winning the AU$10,000 main event for AU$1.04 million.
Daniel Negreanu won the inaugural WSOP Asia-Pacific main event in 2013
With WSOPE and WSOP Asia-Pacific included, the WSOP will award a record 74 bracelets in 2013 and it appears there is no slowing down. What next for the WSOP?
