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The Rise of the WSOP

The origin of the World Series of Poker can be traced back to 1949 when casino owner Benny Binion staged an event that saw poker players Nick Dandolos and Johnny Moss face off in a variety of a cash games which eventually caught and became the WSOP that we know of today.

Born in Pilot Grove, Texas, in 1904, Binion became a gambler at a very early age thru his connection with horse trading. In 1928, Binoin began running a "numbers" peration in Dallas. During Prohibition, Binion did some bootlegging but never ran a profit. Beginning in 1936, he got involved in illegal craps games. In 1946, Binion came out on the losing end of electoral politics, and, lacking political protection, was forced to close his operations in Dallas.

While some of his confederates went to Reno, Binion followed J. Kell Houssels to Las Vegas, where he acquired a part ownership of the Las Vegas Club. Binion then built the Westerner, but in 1951 decided to buy the Eldorado Club.

Binion renamed the gambling hall the Horseshoe which soon gained a reputation for high limits. In some 40 years operating Las Vegas casinos, Binion injected courage into an industry too timid to take a high bet. These high limits became the trademark of Binion's approach to gambling. The horse shoe was a family affair and run by the Binion family with a mixture of Western hospitality, gambler's resignation to chance, and hard-edged Texas grit. He forced gambling houses to change from sawdust joints to classy, carpeted casinos. He and his sons changed poker from a kitchen-table pastime into an important casino game.

In 1970, Binion hosted the first World Series of Poker, then a small tournament of truly elite players. The World Series was both a poker tournament and a premier advertisement for the casino. Though Benny Binion passed away on Christmas Day, 1989, the Horseshoe remained a family business. Son Jack Binion had already run the casino for years, and he continued to make the Horseshoe a downtown Las Vegas flagship. In 2004 he sold his casino company to Harrah's Entertainment.