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Poker Notes

The Best World Series of Poker Main Event Moments (part 4)

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  • Published December 3rd, 2009 in Poker News

It seems almost surreal that the WSOP has been the headlining poker event for 40 years now: So in honor of the World Series of Poker here is part 4 -the final part– of my list of WSOP Main Event moments throughout the years:

2000: The new millennium kicked off with a typical poker player look, accompanied by an atypical poker mind, when a long-haired, cowboy hat wearing, Computer Science PhD, who specializes in game theory named Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, won the Main Event.

2001: When Juan Carlos Mortensen won the Main Event in 2001 it was considered by most poker insiders to be the strongest final table in WSOP history: In addition to Mortensen, Phil Hellmuth, Dewey Tomko, Mike Matusow, and Phil Gordon, have all gone on to be major players in the poker world.

2002: Not since Hal Fowler has a player come out of left field like 2002 main Event champion Robert Varkonyi. 2002 also marked an increase in ESPN’s coverage of the WSOP, turning the poker tournament into a series of shows focusing on poker and the personalities of the participants: Which would play a crucial role in 2003.

2003: Chris Moneymaker and an invention known as the “hole-card cam” revolutionized poker in 2003. Sending a flood of new hopefuls to the Online Poker tables for their chance to be the next Chris Moneymaker, the poker world has not been the same since his dramatic win.

2004: A little known semi-professional poker player, Greg Raymer, was able to take down the title in 2004 as the WSOP went from 839 participants, to 2,576!Thank you Chris Moneymaker.

2005: If 2003 ushered in a poker boom, the 2005 WSOP sent it global, when charismatic Australian poker pro Joe Hachem was able to capture the Main Event title. The number of entrants inconceivably doubled from the year before, creating a first prize of $7.5 million.

2006: 2006 was the pinnacle of poker’s popularity, and when 8,773 players showed up for the WSOP Main Event every player knew they had very little chance to win the event; no matter how skillful they were. In the end it was a complete unknown named Jamie Gold, whose $12 million win catapulted to him to the top of the all-time money list overnight!

2007: The first year that attendance dropped at the WSOP was 2007, however there was still a very strong 6,358 entrants. And for the second straight year a player came out of nowhere to win the event, Jerry Yang. Yang has received the, “he’s a really nice guy” label, which is like saying a girl has “a good personality”.

2008: In 2008 Peter Eastgate knocked Phil Hellmuth from the record books as the youngest Main Event champion of all-time. The young poker pro was just 22 years-old when he won the $9 million first place prize-money.

2009: Eastgate’s reign as the youngest Main Event champion lasted all of 1-year, when another 22 year-old poker pro eclipsed his mark, Joe Cada: Bringing to a close an exciting decade in poker, where attendance rose from 512 players, to 8,773!

The 2000’s brought poker to the mainstream, courtesy of an obscure Internet qualifier with a great name, a simple invention known as the hole-card cam, ESPN’s decision to up the coverage if the event, and perhaps most importantly the rise of Online Poker.

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  • Posted in: Poker News
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