It's hard to believe that the story of the World Series of Poker began in 1970, more than half a century ago. Back in the days when only 70 poker tables were registered in the entire state of Nevada, poker group of Texans led by Benny Binion played a cash session among themselves, at the end of which they chose the best player among themselves. No one would have believed then if they knew that this tradition is turning out to be the biggest and most watched poker festival in the world, which this year will host 95 bracelet events (+34 online).
The iconic Benny Binion's Horseshoe Casino hosted the WSOP series until 2005 (when Joe Hachem won the ME), then it moved to the Rio Casino. Here, it wrote a good 17 chapters and then move directly to the Strip in 2021, specifically to the Bally's and Paris Hotel casinos. Well, after a 250 million investment, Bally's Casino is changing its clothes and returning as the Horseshoe Las Vegas casino, bringing the entire story back to its roots.
Since the last event of last year's WSOP was completed, the casino underwent a necessary facelift, which renewed the premises from the outside and the inside. New carpets, renovated walls, renovated hotel rooms or a modernized poker room - when introducing the new owners, they are proud of the fact that if you played the WSOP last year, you would not recognize that you are returning to the same premises this year.
The entire poker hall has also undergone re-branding, but it will also include a huge Hall of Fame wall, where the portraits of all previous WSOP Main Event champions will be immortalized. The opening tournament that will take place here will be a $160 tournament for people from the poker industry on April 6, to which Jack Effel will add a free entry to the WSOP Casino Employees event, which traditionally opens the entire WSOP festival.
On the occasion of a spectacular comeback, legends and building blocks of the entire series - Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion - met during the opening ceremony. Those alongside investor Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale or WSOP Vice President Jack Effel cut the ribbon together and, obviously moved, christened this spectacular comeback. "I'm very happy to see the Horseshoe back in Las Vegas, the epicenter of gambling," said Jack Binion.
Jack's father, Benny Binion, was one of the first casino owners to put the customer first. "We were the first casino to give free drinks to customers. Father always made sure that employees and customers were treated like family. What I like most about the current Horseshoe is that they continue to carry on that tradition and offer great customer service.”
Many of you may be wondering where the Mattress Mack investor, whose full name is Jim McIngvale, is. The 72-year-old American businessman is the founder and owner of the Gallery Furniture chain of stores, and at the same time a great lover of sports betting and gambling. It was Mattress Mack who made history last year as the winner of one of the biggest sports bets in history when he bet $10 million on his beloved Houston Astros winning the baseball World Series. That's what happened, the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the finals, and the 75 million win was born. "Yeah, a big part of that investment was paid for me, so to speak, by the players of the Astros team, for which I thank them very much," added Jim with a laugh during the speech.
Source: WSOP, PokerNews
