|
1978 World Series of Poker |
1978 World Series of PokerA summary of 1978 world series of poker.
It was in 1978 that Christopher Reeves first garbed his superman suit, while side by side this monumental Hollywood event is the birth of the world's first test tube baby. Needless to say, 1978 is a year filled with breakthroughs and surprises, even so in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments. If before, the popular trend for grand prize winners was to simply walk away with all the money, in the 9th Annual WSOP event, the prize pool was divided among the five players at the final table. The freeze out challenge concluded without the usual flair of "winner-takes-all." The split, however, secured half of the total prize for the main-event champion, while the remaining 20%, 15%, 10%, and 5% of the cut were awarded to the four runners-up.
The growing population in the main event was able to hit the 40s mark with 42 entrants contributing to an overwhelming money pot of $420,000 in the $10,00 buy-in challenge. From 34 players in the previous tournament, the number had soared up to an all-time high at the outbreak of the event. After winning back-to-back, Doyle Brunson was rumored to be going for his triple grand slam. However, the year's event only proved that even legends are not invincible in the world of poker. Surprisingly, the "Texas Dolly" didn't even make it to the top five, when the hype of the event was also focused on having Brunson ousted from the final table to prevent him from winning another strike-out victory.
While everybody was eying the 1978 WSOP title, none of the popular contenders was able to make it far ahead. Just on the opening event, all WSOP bracelet holders emptied their seats. The early elimination included Barbare Freer, who was the only female poker player at that time. Without the usual bets for the triumphant finish, Ken Smith then emerged as the crowd's favorite. As a chess champ from Dallas, Smith enthralled many spectators with his Abe Lincoln-inspired get-up, as he would also tip his bowler when winning a hand. However, fame didn't last that long for Kevin Smith, when on the final day, he was the first to be eliminated from the six remaining players. With Jesse Alto, Buc Buchanan, and Louis Hunsucker out of the game, the intense one-on-one event could only be resolved between the two tough players, Crandall Addington and Bobby Baldwin.
No player was better than the other, when both of the contenders would often switch leads from time to time until the final card. With $50,000, Addington found himself on a nerve-wracking situation. Baldwin was playing more aggressively than usual, as he raised $10,000 for the money pot. With all the chips in for the final play, nobody knew who had the luckiest hand for the flop. Judging it based on the final poker card, Bobby Baldwin was hailed as the youngest WSOP champion at that time.
Binion Horseshoe Casino hosted this famous event on its ground. The 1978 WSOP challenge was conducted from May 7 to May 22 with a long list of winners from preliminary event with Billy Baxter as one of the major winners of $90,000 for the $10,000 buy-in of No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball challenge and Doyle Brunson with $68,000 prize pool from the Limit 7 Card Stud match.
|
|
|
