Joe Hachem, winner of 2005 World Series of Poker main event
In 1998, the movie Rounders starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton gave moviegoers a romantic view of poker as a way of life. Texas hold ‘em was the main game played during the movie and the no-limit variety was described, following Doyle Brunson, as the “Cadillac of Poker”. There was also a clip of the classic showdown between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel from the 1988 World Series of Poker incorporated into the film.
CommanderBond.net reports that the centerpiece card game in the next James Bond film, Casino Royale, will be no-limit Texas hold ‘em instead of Baccarat as in the original Ian Fleming novel.
Spectator sport
Hold ‘em first caught the public eye as a spectator sport in the United Kingdom with the Late Night Poker TV show in 1999. The popularity of the show led to lipstick cameras also being used for American poker programs.
In 2003, hold ‘em exploded in popularity as a spectator sport in the United States. This was due to several factors, including the introduction of lipstick cameras that allowed the television audience to see the players’ hidden cards. ESPN’s coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker featured the unexpected victory of Internet player Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who gained admission to the tournament by winning a series of online tournaments. Moneymaker’s victory initiated a sudden surge of interest in the WSOP, based on the egalitarian idea that anyone – even a rank novice – can become a world champion.
In 2003, there were 839 entrants in the WSOP Main Event. In 2004, that number tripled. The crowning of the 2004 WSOP champion, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, a patent attorney from Connecticut whose trademark holographic sunglasses have become legendary, further fueled the popularity of the event among amateur (and particularly internet) players. In the 2005 Main Event, an unprecedented 5,619 entrants vied for a first prize of $7,500,000. The winner, Joseph Hachem of Australia, was a semi-professional player. The runner-up, Steve Dannenmann, an amateur from Maryland, opined that he was only “the fourth or fifth best player” in his regular home game.
Two additional hold ‘em series debuted in 2003, the World Poker Tour and Celebrity Poker Showdown. All three of these shows are still currently in production and garner a large and loyal viewership.
With the ability to edit a tournament that lasts days into just a few hours, ESPN’s World Series of Poker focuses on showing how various star players fared in each event. Key hands from throughout the many days of each event are shown, and similar, highly edited coverage of final tables is also provided.
The World Poker Tour does not offer general coverage of the multi-day poker tournaments. Instead, WPT covers only the action at the final table of each event. With aggressive play and increasing blinds and antes, the important action from a single table can easily be edited into a two hour episode. Although the tournament fate of fewer stars are chronicled this way, it allows the drama to build more naturally toward the final heads up showdown.
Celebrity Poker Showdown coverage is a single table like World Poker Tour, however, the players are much less skilled and are invited to participate instead of winning their way on.
The Poker Hall of Fame is a group of poker players who have played poker well against top competition for high stakes over a long period of time. Originally established by the Horseshoe Casino, membership is now awarded by Harrah’s World Series of Poker.Members of the Poker Hall of Fame include (with year of induction):
Johnny Moss, 1979
“Nick the Greek” Dandolos, 1979
Felton “Corky” McCorquodale, 1979
Red Winn, 1979
Sid Wyman, 1979
“Wild Bill” Hickok, 1979
Edmond Hoyle, 1979
T. “Blondie” Forbes, 1980
Bill Boyd, 1981
Tom Abdo, 1982
Joe Bernstein, 1983
Murph Harrold, 1984
Red Hodges, 1985
Henry Green, 1986
Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson, 1987
Doyle Brunson, 1988
Jack “Treetop” Straus, 1988
Fred “Sarge” Ferris, 1989
Benny Binion, 1990
“Chip” Reese, 1991
“Amarillo Slim” Preston, 1992
Jack Keller, 1993
Little Man Popwell, 1996
Roger Moore, 1997
Stu Ungar, 2001
Lyle Berman, 2002
Johnny Chan, 2002
Bobby Baldwin, 2003
Berry Johnston, 2004
Jack Binion, 2005
Crandell Addington, 2005
T. J. Cloutier, 2006
Billy Baxter, 2006
Barbara Enright, 2007
Phil Hellmuth, 2007
Blind man’s bluff is a version of poker which is unconventional in that each person sees the cards of all players except his own.The standard version (also called Indian poker) is simply high card. Each player is dealt one card which he places on his forehead facing outwards, and a round of betting occurs, as players attempt to guess if they have the highest card based on what they see around them.
Other versions (forehead stud) are variations on stud poker, in which one or more of the hole cards is hidden from its owner, but shown to all other players, as above.
During its coverage of the 2004 World Series of Poker, ESPN showed a Blind Man’s Bluff version of Texas hold’em.
Indian Poker is also an adapted drinking game, where the loser has to “chug” a beer for X seconds, where X equals the difference between the high card and the loser. If both players tie, they both drink for the amount of seconds on the card.
Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel is a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The casino is named for its founder, Benny Binion and has 366 rooms, two restaurants and a rooftop pool. It is one of the casinos owned by the MTR Gaming Group.
History
After buying Binion’s Horseshoe, Harrah’s Entertainment sold the property on March 11, 2004 to MTR Gaming Group, which operated the hotel. Harrah’s continued to operate the casino under a temporary contract until March of 2005. Harrah’s retained the rights to the Horseshoe name and the World Series of Poker name.
On March 11, 2005, MTR Gaming Group officially took control of the operation of the casino and it was renamed it Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel.
In July of 2005 the hotel hosted the World Series of Poker finals. This was the last time the event would be held at Binion’s and hosted in downtown Las Vegas. The casino still retains a large poker area and features displays on the Poker Hall of Fame as well as previous WSOP Champions.
Other locations
Following Jack’s with his sister, he went on to open highly successful riverboat casinos under the Horseshoe name:
Horseshoe Casino Tunica
Horseshoe Casino Hammond
Horseshoe Casino Bossier City
These casinos went to Harrah’s after the 2004 sale, but remained under the Horseshoe brand. Jack Binion continues to promote the casinos for Harrah’s.
Texas hold ‘em (also hold’em, holdem) is the most popular of the community card poker games. It is also the most popular poker variant played in most casinos in the United States. Its no-limit betting form is used in the main event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), as seen on ESPN, and the World Poker Tour, seen on The Travel Channel, and is widely regarded as the premier poker game.
Although it can theoretically be played by up to 22 players (or 23 if burn cards are not used), it is generally played with between 2 and 10 people. It is one of the most positional of all poker variants, since the order of betting is fixed throughout all betting rounds. Hold ‘em is commonly played outside of the United States, but seven-card stud, Omaha hold ‘em and other games may be more popular in some places.
Origins
There is no precise information on where or when Texas hold ‘em Poker was first played. According to legend, the earliest game played was in Robstown, Texas, in the early 1900s and it first came to Dallas, Texas in 1925. Texas hold ‘em was introduced to Las Vegas by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, including Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim. The game was later introduced to Europe by bookmakers Terry Rogers and Liam “The Gentleman” Flood.
In popular culture
In 1998, the movie Rounders starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton gave moviegoers a romantic view of poker as a way of life. Texas hold ‘em was the main game played during the movie and the no-limit variety was described, following Doyle Brunson, as the “Cadillac of Poker”. There was also a clip of the classic showdown between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel from the 1988 World Series of Poker incorporated into the film.
CommanderBond.net reports that the centerpiece card game in the next James Bond film, Casino Royale, will be no-limit Texas hold ‘em instead of Baccarat as in the original Ian Fleming novel.
Spectator sport
Joe Hachem, winner of 2005 World Series of Poker main event
Hold ‘em first caught the public eye as a spectator sport in the United Kingdom with the Late Night Poker TV show in 1999. The popularity of the show led to lipstick cameras also being used for American poker programs.
In 2003, hold ‘em exploded in popularity as a spectator sport in the United States. This was due to several factors, including the introduction of lipstick cameras that allowed the television audience to see the players’ hidden cards. ESPN’s coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker featured the unexpected victory of Internet player Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who gained admission to the tournament by winning a series of online tournaments. Moneymaker’s victory initiated a sudden surge of interest in the WSOP, based on the egalitarian idea that anyone – even a rank novice – can become a world champion.
In 2003, there were 839 entrants in the WSOP Main Event. In 2004, that number tripled. The crowning of the 2004 WSOP champion, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, a patent attorney from Connecticut whose trademark holographic sunglasses have become legendary, further fueled the popularity of the event among amateur (and particularly internet) players. In the 2005 Main Event, an unprecedented 5,619 entrants vied for a first prize of $7,500,000. The winner, Joseph Hachem of Australia, was a semi-professional player. The runner-up, Steve Dannenmann, an amateur from Maryland, opined that he was only “the fourth or fifth best player” in his regular home game.
Two additional hold ‘em series debuted in 2003, the World Poker Tour and Celebrity Poker Showdown. All three of these shows are still currently in production and garner a large and loyal viewership.
With the ability to edit a tournament that lasts days into just a few hours, ESPN’s World Series of Poker focuses on showing how various star players fared in each event. Key hands from throughout the many days of each event are shown, and similar, highly edited coverage of final tables is also provided.
The World Poker Tour does not offer general coverage of the multi-day poker tournaments. Instead, WPT covers only the action at the final table of each event. With aggressive play and increasing blinds and antes, the important action from a single table can easily be edited into a two hour episode. Although the tournament fate of fewer stars are chronicled this way, it allows the drama to build more naturally toward the final heads up showdown.
Celebrity Poker Showdown coverage is a single table like World Poker Tour, however, the players are much less skilled and are invited to participate instead of winning their way on.
A satellite tournament is either a minor tournament or event on a competitive sporting tour or one of a group of such tournaments that form a series played in the same country or region. The term is most commonly used in reference to minor professional or competitive junior tennis.In professional tennis, satellite tournaments are typically organised by a country’s national tennis association and overseen by the International Tennis Federation. They are played by players who are ranked outside the top few hundred by the Association of Tennis Professionals with a high enough national ranking. Prize money ranges from £1000 – £15000 for winning the tournament. Players successful at this level of pro tennis move on to play ATP Challenger Series or even top-flight ATP Tour events.
A satellite tournament in poker is a qualifying event. Winners of these satellites usually win the buy-in fee to a larger, more prestigious tournament like the World Series of Poker Main Event.
A poker tournament is a tournament at which the winners are decided by playing poker, usually a particular style of poker.
Contrast this to a ring game, where the game is ongoing with no formal structure to determine a single winner in a certain length of time.
Entry fees and prizes
In a typical tournament, a player pays a fixed entry fee (called a buy-in) and receives, in return, a certain quantity of in-game currency, called play money, invariably represented in the form of poker chips. Typically, the amount of play money given each player is an integer multiple of the buy-in. Only this in-game “play” money can be used in the game, real money cannot. Additionally, real and play money cannot be interchanged at any time. Some tournaments, however, offer the option of a re-buy or buy-back; this gives players the option of purchasing more chips. In some cases, re-buys are conditional (for example, offered only to players low on or out of chips) but in others they are unconditional, or offered to all players. When a player has no chips remaining (and has exhausted or declined all re-buy options, if any are available) he or she is eliminated from the tournament.
In most tournaments, the number of players at each table is kept even by moving players, either by switching one player or (as the field shrinks) taking an entire table out of play and distributing its players amongst the remaining tables. A few tournaments, called shoot-outs, do not do this; instead, the last player (sometimes the last two or more players) at a table moves on to a second or third round, akin to a single-elimination tournament found in other games.
The prizes for winning are usually derived from the entry fees, though outside funds may be entered as well. For example, some invitational tournaments do not have entry fees and fund their prize pools with sponsorship revenue and/or gate receipts from spectators. (These tournaments are referred to as freerolls.) Play continues, in most tournaments, until all but one player is eliminated, though in some tournament situations, especially informal ones, players have the option of ending by consensus.
Players are ranked in reverse chronological order — the last person in the game earns 1st place, the second-to-last earns 2nd, and so on. This ranking of players by elimination is unique amongst games, and also precludes the possibility of a tie for first place, since one player alone must have all the chips to end the tournament. (Ties are possible for all other places, though they are rare since the sole tiebreaker is the number of chips one has at the start of the hand in which one is eliminated.)
Sometimes tournaments end by mutual consensus of the remaining players. For example, in a ten-person, $5 game, there may be two players remaining with $29 and $21, respectively, worth of chips. Rather than risk losing their winning, as one of them would if the game were continued, these two players may be allowed to split the prize proportional to their in-game currency (or however they agree).
Prizes are awarded to the winning players in one of three ways:
Fixed: Each placing corresponds to a certain payoff. For example, a ten-person, $20 buy-in tournament might award $100 to the first-place player, $60 for second-place, $40 for third, and nothing for lower places.
Proportional: Payouts are determined according to a percentage-based scale. The percentages are determined based upon the number of participants and will increase payout positions as participation increases. As a rule, roughly one player in ten will ‘cash’, or make a high enough place to earn money. These scales are very top-heavy, with the top three players usually winning more than the rest of the paid players combined.
Tournaments can be open or invitational. The World Series of Poker, whose final event (a $10,000 buy-in no limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament) is considered the most prestigious of all poker tournaments, is open.
Multi-table tournaments are involve players playing simultaneously at dozens or even hundreds of tables. Satellite tournaments to high-profile, expensive poker tournaments are the means of entering a major event without posting a significant sum of cash. These have significantly smaller buy-ins, usually on the order of one-tenth to one-fiftieth the main tournament’s buy-in, and can be held at various venues across the country and, more recently, on the Internet. Top players in this event, in lieu of a cash prize, are awarded seats to the main tourney, with the number of places dependent on participation. Chris Moneymaker, who won the 2003 World Series of Poker, was able to afford his seat at this event by winning an Internet tournament with a $39 buy-in. Greg Raymer, 2004 World Series of Poker champion, acquired his seat via a $165 Internet tournament.
Betting format
Betting, in tournaments, can take one of three forms:
In a structured (fixed limit) betting system, bets and raises are restricted to specific amounts, though these amounts typically increase throughout the tournament. For example, for a seven-card stud tournament with the stakes at 10/20, raises would be $10 in the first three rounds of betting, and $20 in the latter rounds.
Semi-structured betting provides ranges for allowed raises. Usually, in this format, one may not raise less than a previous player has raised. For example, if one player raises $20, it would be illegal for another player to raise an additional $5. Pot limit is a semi-structured format in which raises cannot exceed the current size of the pot.
Unstructured betting, usually called no limit. While blinds, antes, or bring-ins are fixed, players are free to bet as much as they wish, even early in a round of betting. To bet all of one’s chips (risking one’s tournament life, in the event of losing the hand) is to go all-in. In no-limit tournaments, players will sometimes take this risk even early in the betting; for example, in some no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments, it is not uncommon for players to bet “all-in” before the flop.
The betting structure is one of the most defining elements of the game; even if other aspects are equivalent, a fixed-limit version and its no-limit counterpart are considered to be very different games, because the strategies and play styles are very different. For instance, it is much easier to bluff in a no-limit game, which allows aggressive betting, than in a fixed-limit game. No-limit games also vary widely according to the proclivities of the players; an informal, emergent, betting structure is developed by the players’ personal strategies and personalities.
The stakes of each round, as well as blinds, bring-ins, and antes as appropriate per game, typically escalate according either to the time elapsed or the number of hands played.
Types of poker
While some tournaments offer a mix of games, like H.O.R.S.E. events which combine Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud and Stud Eight or Better and Dealer’s Choice events, at which one may choose from a similar menu of games, most tournaments feature one form of stud or community card poker, such as seven-card stud, seven card high-low stud, Omaha Hold ‘em or Texas Hold ‘em. Both Omaha and Texas Hold’em tournaments are commonly offered in fixed-limit, pot limit, and no limit forms.
Tournament venues
Informal tournaments can be organized by a group of friends; for example, most colleges feature poker tournaments. Casinos and online gaming sites often offer daily tournaments.
However, these are not the only venues. Poker cruises offer tournaments at sea. The 2005 World Series of Poker primarily took place in the conference hall of the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas.
Major tournaments
The two largest and most well-known tournaments are the World Poker Tour championship event and the World Series of Poker, both held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The World Series has traditionally been featured on ESPN.
The 2005 World Series of Poker was the first held outside of Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, though the final few days of the main event were held in the legendary Benny’s Bullpen. Future tournaments will be held at one of the Harrah’s Entertainment properties; 2005 saw the Rio as primary venue.
Arguably the most publicised European tournament is the Poker Million, which began in 2000 on Sky Sports, following on from the success of the Late Night Poker television show.
In addition to these events, there are other major tournaments throughout the year. The World Poker Tour broadcasts a series of open tournaments throughout the U.S. and Caribbean with buy-ins from $5,000 to $15,000, as well as a European event with a €10,000 buy-in. Some of these events are stand alone tournaments like the Caribbean Poker Adventure, but most are held in conjunction with a tournament series being held at the host casino, like the Commerce Casino’s LA Poker Classic, the Reno Hilton’s World Poker Challenge and the Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker.
Atlantic City hosts The United States Poker Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal casino. The Plaza casino in Las Vegas hosts the Ultimate Poker Challenge, a series of regular tournaments that culminates in a $10,000 buy-in event.
Poker television programs have been extremely popular in the last several years, especially in North America and Europe. This has especially become the case since the invention of the “pocket cam” in 1997 (and its first use in the United States in 2002), wherein viewers at home can see what each player has.
History
Poker has been appearing on television somewhat regularly since the late-1970s. In the United States, ESPN started airing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) as an annual one hour event around this time. For many years, the coverage was less than robust because viewers at home could not see what cards the players had. Instead, the coverage essentially involved the commentators guessing what cards the players had.
This all changed in 1997 with the introduction of the hole cam in Europe and later introduction into the United States in 2002. The hole cam was patented by WSOP bracelet winner Henry Orenstein and first used in the Late Night Poker television series. It was used again in the inaugural Poker Million tournament in 2000 which boasted the attraction of the first £1,000,000 poker game on live television.
The usage of the hole cam expanded from Europe to North America in 2002 when it was first used in the coverage of the 2002 WSOP. The World Poker Tour (WPT) was formed later that year and began airing in 2003, attracting numerous new poker fans and leading to increased numbers of entrants to live poker tournaments and increased investment in online poker.
Since the introduction of the hole cam, poker has become almost ubiquitous in the US and Europe. Whilst poker started on sports channels such as ESPN and Sky Sports has expanded to such “non traditional” networks as Bravo and GSN. Most of the shows that shown are poker tournaments with the exception of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker”, which shows a never ending cash game. All of the poker programs make heavy use of the aforementioned pocket cam plus a general format of a “straightman” and a “comedian” type, often a poker pro.
Poker’s growth in Europe led to the creation of two FTA channels: The Poker Channel and Pokerzone. Both began broadcasting during 2005.
Poker television programs
North America
World Series of Poker
CBS;
ESPN
1978-1981, 1983;
1987 onwards1
Lon McEachern and Norman Chad
United States Poker Championship
ESPN
1997-2000;
2003 onwards
Lon McEachern and Norman Chad
World Poker Tour
The Travel Channel;
GSN
2003-2007;
2008 onwards
Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten
Celebrity Poker Showdown
Bravo
2003 onwards
Dave Foley and Phil Hellmuth
Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
Fox Sports Net
2004 onwards
Chris Rose and Howard Lederer
Ultimate Poker Challenge
syndication
2004 onwards
Chad Brown and weekly guest
Poker Royale
GSN
2004-2006
John Ahlers and Robert Williamson III
High Stakes Poker
GSN
2006 onwards
A.J. Benza and Gabe Kaplan
Professional Poker Tour
The Travel Channel
2006 onwards
Matt Corboy and Mark Seif
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
NBC
2005 onwards
Matt Vasgersian and Gabe Kaplan
Poker Dome Challenge
Fox Sports Net
2006
Barry Tompkins and Michael Konik
Poker After Dark
NBC
2007
Shana Hiatt and Oliver Nejad
Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
ESPN
2007
Phil Gordon
Europe
Late Night Poker
Channel 4 (UK)
Fox Sports Net (US)
1999-2002, 2006 onwards
Jesse May and Barny Boatman (final season)
Poker Million
Sky Sports
2000, 2003 onwards
Jesse May and John Duthie
World Heads-Up Poker Championship
Unknown
2001 onwards
Unknown
Celebrity Poker Club
Challenge (UK)
2003 onwards
Jesse May and Victoria Coren
European Poker Tour
Channel 4 (UK)
2004 onwards
Colin Murray and John Duthie
Victor Chandler Poker Cup
Sky Sports
2004 onwards
Jesse May and Barny Boatman
The Gaming Club World Poker Championship
Sky Sports
2004
Unknown
British Poker Open
The Poker Channel
2005 onwards
Unknown
World Speed Poker Open
The Poker Channel
2005 onwards
Gary Jones, Roy Brindley, Lucy Rokach
Late Night Poker Ace
Channel 4 (UK)
2005 onwards
Jesse May and Simon Trumper
PartyPoker Poker Den
Challenge (UK)
2005 onwards
Grub Smith and Tony Cascarino
William Hill Poker Grand Prix
Sky Sports
2006 onwards
Jesse May, Andrew Black, Lucy Rokach
Poker Nations Cup
Channel 4 (UK)
2006 onwards
Jesse May, Barny Boatman and Padraig Parkinson
PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
Five (UK)
2006 onwards
Jesse May, Padraig Parkinson and Ken Lennaárd
Pokerheaven.com Online Series of Poker
CNBC
2006 onwards
Unknown
Pokermania
Italia 1 (Italy)
2007 onwards
Ciccio Valenti and Luca Pagano
Now 4 years ago designed the Player of the Year, Daniel Negreanu win the first place in the $2,000 Limit Hold’em game, $204,874.
Daniel Negreanu (‘Kid Poker’) (born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional poker player with four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles.
In 1998, Negreanu was the youngest ever WSOP bracelet winner, in his first championship at age 19.
Negreanu was named “Favorite Poker Player” at Card Player Magazine’s Player of the Year Awards Gala in February 2006.
Negreanu is also featured in the 2006 poker video game Stacked with Daniel Negreanu, providing tips and hints as to how to play effectively.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,100,000, third in winnings, behind only Jamie Gold, Joseph Hachem. He is the leading money winner on the WPT circuit. He has the highest tournament earnings of any individual who has not won a WSOP Main Event.
The history of poker is a matter of some debate. The name of the game likely descended from the French poque, which descended from the German pochen (‘to knock’), but it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero and the French brelan. The English game brag (earlier bragg) clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing (though the concept was known in other games by that time). It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now.
English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, four players betting on which player’s hand was the most valuable. Jonathan H. Green’s book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country by Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime. As it spread up the Mississippi and West during the gold rush, it is thought to have become a part of the frontier, pioneering ethos.
Harry Truman’s poker chips
Soon after this spread, the full 52-card English deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many additions were made, including draw poker, stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight. Further American developments followed, such as the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925). Spread of the game to other countries, particularly in Asia, is often attributed to the U.S. military.
The game and jargon of poker have become important parts of American culture and English culture. Such phrases as ace in the hole,ace up one’s sleeve,beats me,blue chip,call one’s bluff,cash in,high roller, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, wild card, and others are used in everyday conversation, even by those unaware of their origins at the poker table.
Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began, in 1970. Notable champions from these early WSOP tournaments include Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim, and Doyle Brunson. It was also during that decade that the first serious strategy books appeared, notably Super/System by Doyle Brunson (ISBN 1580420818) and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro (ISBN 0897461002), followed later by The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky (ISBN 1880685000).
Poker’s popularity experienced an unprecedented spike in the first years of the twenty-first century, largely because of the introduction of online poker and the invention of the hole-card camera, which turned the game into a spectator sport. Viewers could now follow the action and drama of the game, and broadcasts of poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour brought in huge audiences for cable and satellite TV distributors. Because of the increasing coverage of poker events, poker pros are becoming more and more like celebrities, with poker fans all over the world entering into expensive tournaments for the chance to play with them. This increased camera exposure also brings about a new dimension to the poker pro’s game—the realization that their actions may be aired later on TV.
Major poker tournament fields have grown dramatically because of the growing popularity of online satellite-qualifier tournaments where the prize is an entry into a major tournament. The 2003 and 2004 WSOP champions, Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, respectively, won their seats to the main event by winning online satellites.
Harrah’s Casino & Hotel Resort chain, which also run the World Series of Poker, will have new owners, two private equity firms named Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group, shelling out a whopping $17.7 billion for the acquisition, being complete in early 2008.
“The WSOP will remain a key brand in the Harrah’s portfolio, and one earmarked for expansion on a number of fronts,” said WSOP Communications Director Gary Thompson.
The senior management team, lead by Harrah’s Chairman and CEO Gary Loveman, as well as WSOP Commission Jeffery Pollack and his team, will be kept.
Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.is a gaming corporation that owns and operates casinos, hotels, and six golf courses under several brands.
Harrah’s Entertainment is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries.
The company known as Harrah’s Entertainment was founded on October 30, 1937 as a small bingo parlor in Reno, Nevada operated by William F. Harrah.
Since its beginning Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions.
The company went public in 1971 with 450,000 shares. Following that, it was listed on the American Stock Exchange in 1972 and in 1973 Harrah’s becomes the first casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Company founder William F. Harrah died in 1978.
Casinos:
Bally’s brand:
Bally’s Atlantic City (Includes Wild Wild West Casino & Claridge Towers)
Bally’s Las Vegas
Caesars brand:
Caesars Atlantic City
Caesars Indiana (being re branded to Horseshoe)
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Grand Casino brand:
Grand Casino Biloxi (it will be renamed Margaritaville Casino and Resort)
Grand Casino Tunica (to be renamed Harrah’s Casino Tunica)
Harrah’s brand:
Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Harrah’s Cherokee
Harrah’s ChesterHarrah’s Council Bluffs
Harrah’s Joliet
Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
Harrah’s Las Vegas
Harrah’s Laughlin
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
Harrah’s Metropolis
Harrah’s New Orleans
Harrah’s North Kansas City
Harrah’s Prairie Band
Harrah’s Reno
Harrah’s Rincon
Harrah’s St. Louis
Horseshoe brand:
Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation
Horseshoe Bossier City
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Horseshoe Hammond
Horseshoe Casino Tunica
Other casinos:
Bill’s Casino Lake Tahoe
Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, Las Vegas, Nevada
Sheraton Hotel and Casino, Tunica, Mississippi
Casino Windsor (name to be changed to Caesars Windsor in 2008
Conrad Resort and Casino, Punta Del Este, Uruguay
Flamingo Las Vegas
Imperial Palace
O’Sheas Casino (Operated as part of Flamingo Las Vegas)
Harveys Lake Tahoe
Paris Las Vegas
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas
Showboat Casino, Atlantic City
London Clubs International, UK
Margaritaville Casino and Resort, Biloxi, Mississippi
Golf club and courses:
Atlantic City Country Club – Atlantic City, NJ – Acquired from the Caesars Entertainment merger
Cascata Golf Course – Las Vegas, Nevada
Chariot Run Golf Course – Laconia, Indiana
Cottonwoods Golf Course – Tunica, Mississippi
Grand Bear Golf Course – Gulfport, Mississippi
Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada
Other assets:
Roman Empire Development (RED) to manage room renovation projects internally.
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Joe Hachem, winner of 2005 World Series of Poker main event
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