WSOP 2005 Begins

Today begins an annual event that my friends and I have paid close attention to for two years now. Today begins the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
The World Series officially started in 1970 with seven players. However, the first battle between the best was played more than two decades before that. In the summer of 1949, Nicolas "Nick the Greek" Dandolos asked Benny Binion, owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to find the best player in poker and set up a high-stakes game between the two. Binion did just that. He organized a match between Dandolos and Johnny Moss. After five months of playing a number of poker games and only breaking for sleep, Moss finally defeated Dandolos and took away $2 million. This is also where we get the famous line from Dandolos, "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go." He then proceeded to go upstairs for some much needed rest.
In 1970, the game was played with a democratic twist. A vote was taken and the majority elected Johnny Moss winner. The next year it was set up the way we know today. A freezeout tournament was played and Johnny Moss won that also. After Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston won it the following year, he appeared on the talk-show circuit and the WSOP gained some momentum.
Last year saw 2,576 entries and this year the event is being moved to the Rio to hold the estimated high number of players (some have projected the count will be over 5,000). Today at 2 p.m., noon Las Vegas time, begins the WOSP with a small no-limit tournament, $500 entry fee, between casino employees. The main event that most casual poker players only know about begins July 7, but I will have the privilege to see how the pro poker players fare in the lesser known, which means cheaper and more likely to have amatuers, tournaments.