With an ever growing number of players each year, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is one of the greatest poker events in the world. Each year thousands of entrants compete to win a coveted WSOP bracelet and of course, prize money.

The WSOP is held annually in Las Vegas and has been, since 2004, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment. It is the largest poker tournament in the world, consisting of 55 events (since 2007) which take place in just over one month. This excludes the "Main Event" in the WSOP.

The "Main Event" as its name suggests is the highlight of the tournament. A hefty $10,000 will buy you into this no-limit Texas Hold 'Em event and (if you win) would unofficially deem you the World Champion. However most of the game's top professional players consider a different event to be the better judge for World Champion - the H.O.R.S.E. tournament (with a $50,000 buy-in!)

The first WSOP was held in 1968 as an invitational event at the Holiday Hotel and Casino in Reno. By 1970 the WSOP became a series of cash games that included five-card stud, deuce to seven low-ball draw, razz, seven card-stud and Texas hold 'em. Today most of the major poker variants are featured in the WSOP but about half of the events are variants of Texas hold 'em.

The series of events (the format of today's WSOP) would later evolve from the brain of Las Vegas casino owner and poker player Benny Binion (from whom Harrah's would eventually purchase the WSOP).

In 2008 the WSOP saw 6,844 players in the main event alone and a total prize money tally at a whopping $180,248,273!