Wednesday, 08 October 2008


1973 World Series of Poker

A summary of 1973 world series of poker.



What will probably be most remembered about the 1973 World Series of Poker tournament is the fact that the championship round was won by a regular WSOP participant in the person of Walter Clyde Pearson, more popularly referred as 'Puggy' . Prior to becoming a WSOP grand winner, Pearson had two consecutive runner-up finishes. In 1972, he placed second behind Thomas Amarillo 'Slim' Preston, and a year before that, he was a runner-up to Johnny Moss .

However, more than the victory, what could probably be a bigger contribution of Pearson both to the WSOP and to poker in general is his introduction of a freeze-out-a type of poker game where players attempt to knock each other out until finally, only one player will be left to take home the prize. This particular poker format proved to be quite effective that the WSOP immediately adopted it, with other major game tournaments following soon after.

For the WSOP, 1973 will be fondly remembered as the year when it was able to achieve several milestones. First on the list is its venture into the broadcast business, with the WSOP championship event getting videotaped, where the classic duel between Puggy Pearson and Johnny Moss took place.

Second is the participation of Benny Binion in an interview with historian Mary Ellen Glass wherein he discussed the WSOP and how it has become extremely popular among poker aficionados in so short a time. The interview was part of an Oral History scheme prepared by the University of Nevada in Reno and in it, Binion was prophetic in his statements, saying that more WSOP players will eventually participate in the event in the coming years.

Third is the addition of five new individual championship titles in the WSOP, apart from the grand championship title. This included the Seven-Card Razz, the Deuce to Seven Draw, the No Limit Holdem, the Seven-Card Stud, and the Ace to Five Draw. Consequently, the new games involved larger cash prizes which naturally resulted in more players participating. The championship round, in particular, attracted 13 entrants.

The final event also proved to be significant in the sense that the entrance fee was increased to $10,000 from the previous two years' entrance fee of $5,000. Nevertheless, it was small time when compared to the prize that the winner, Puggy Pearson, eventually took home, which was $130,000.

Several popular poker names ultimately captured respectable finishes at the conclusion of the event that year, including Johnny Moss and Jack Strauss, who placed second and third, respectively. A few though were relatively new in the field, like Bobby Brazil who wound up in the fourth place, and Bob Hooks, who quietly settled for fifth spot. Interestingly, the top two finishers in the previous year's competition, Doyle Brunson and Thomas 'Amarillo Slim' Preston, finished only at eleventh and twelfth, respectively.

All in all, 1973 was a year of achievements for the WSOP both in terms of player participation and in publicity mileage. Quite an accomplishment considering the fact that the WSOP has only been existing, then, for only four years.