1. A Brief History of the World Series of
Poker

2. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is now a high profile
poker tournament that takes place annually in Las Vegas.
However, the first event in 1970 involved only seven
players and it was not until the early 1980s, when the
WSOP introduced satellite tournaments, that the event
drew greater than fifty people. Visit Annie Duke for
more info. By the mid-1980s, this number had grown to
over 2,000.

3. Television coverage of the series began as early as 1973
in the form of a documentary-style special narrated by
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, the legendary Las Vegas
bookie and American sports commentator. Throughout
the 1970s and 1980s, CBS continued to provide light
coverage of the event, which included tape-delayed
broadcast of the final table some years.

4. In the late 1980s, ESPN took over duties from CBS and
began providing fans extensive coverage of the event,
albeit primitive compared to modern accessibility. The
Discovery Channel briefly covered the event from
2000-2001 but ESPN resumed the reigns just as the
poker phenomenon was erupting.

5. The Internet was changing the poker landscape. The
game was more accessible to the masses than it ever
been. Thanks to numerous online poker rooms, people
from all over the world could play poker for money at
any time. This created a sensation that has peaked but
remains very much alive today.

6. As this phenomenon began its ascent, interest in The
World Series of Poker, poker's highest profile game,
ascended with it. ESPN was ready every step of the way
to increase coverage to meet demand and even
orchestrated a delayed final table in 2008 in order to
maximize ratings. Most years viewers will have
knowledge of the winner ahead of time, sapping some of
the drama from broadcast. In 2006, the WSOP peaked
with 8,773 players participating.

7. During the 2000 WSOP, female poker player Annie
Duke made it to the final ten, just four short of the
final table that year. Therefore, in 2006, when Annie
Duke got as far as the final 88, ESPN celebrated her
success. One of their announcers even commented that
Duke might be the first woman to reach the final table.
However, the truth is that Barbara Enright had already
become a legend earning that distinction in 1995.