Famous Poker Tournaments

Poker is arguably the world’s most favourite casino card game. And for a game this big, there are a plethora of large-scale tournaments taking place. Three such events include the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour and the Aussie Millions. These contests pit the best players in the poker playing world against one another in shakedowns that are the stuff of legend. Of the three aforementioned tournaments and indeed the most important on the entire poker calendar is the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

WSOP facts and figures

The World Series of Poker is the most anticipated poker event of the year. Poker aficionados, spectators and players are all eager to get the latest scoop from everything WSOP related. With such exciting events as the Main Event, satellites leading into the tournament, employee events and more – this is the must-play/must-see poker tourney of them all. The World Series of Poker is a world-famous affair which is held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. It began some 40 years ago –in 1970 – when Benny Binion invited the world’s 6 best poker players to game at the Horseshoe Casino – the rest they say is history. From humble beginnings the WSOP soon grew to become a formidable and ultimately leading competition on the poker calendar. As an illustration of this, by 1982 the event drew some 52 participants. And barely 5 years later there were over 2,000 players taking part. The contest reached its highest levels in 2006 with 8,773 players participating.

The World Poker Tour

Another major event on the poker calendar is the inimitable World Poker Tour (WPT). Contrary to popular opinion, the WPT is not a specific event; rather it is a series of competitions on a global scale. The WPT was started by Steven Lipscomb – an attorney and TV producer. Lipscomb is now the Chief Executive Officer of WPT Enterprises. In addition to big cash money prizes, the WPT offers its winners bracelets too. This is even done retroactively. During 2009, PartyGaming had taken over control of the WPT for a staggering fee of $12.3 million. The World Poker Tour shows on Fox Sports Net. And the series of tourneys selected to be a part of the WPT are highly ranked in prize money, reputation, location, and aesthetic appeal to create a chic, global image for the game of poker.

The Aussie Millions

The Southern Hemisphere is no stranger to big money poker events. The Australian Viagra cheap Poker Championship is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series sports a prize pool over AU$7 million. In 2009 alone, some 18 official events were held along with the final AUD$10,500 No Limit Holdem Main Event. During 2009, the prize pool topped AUD$2 Million. Also during 2009, the Aussie Millions was home to the world’s largest cash game with an AUD$1 million buy-in. The Aussie Millions is the 6^th largest poker tourney in the world.