Thursday, 28 August 2008


2000 World Series of Poker

A summary of 2000 world series of poker.


The year 2000 was supposedly poker pro Chris Ferguson's year because he was the one who bagged the highest stake at the annual World Series of Poker tournament, making him $1.5 million richer. However, Harper magazine's correspondent, James McManus, converted the 2000 WSOP from an ordinary news beat to a prolific account of his sparked-up poker career. McManus went to Las Vegas for two things: cover the progress that women players were making in the high-stake games and get something out of the ongoing trial for casino mogul Ted Binion's death.

Previously a man's world, women's poker skills are slowly lurking in the background, and their adventure of joining the $23 million tournament is a hot topic that Harper would not want to miss. At the same time, Harper wants the scoop on the ongoing trial against Ted Binion's live-in girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her alleged boyfriend Rick Tabish, who were accused of conspiring for Ted's murder. Ted is the son of WSOP father Benny Binion who is working as the casino manager for the Binion Horseshoe. He was found dead inside a sleeping bag on his Las Vegas home on the 17th of September 1998. Investigators previously declared his death as accidental overdose until Becky, Ted's sister, decided to hire her private investigator to look into the case. Murphy and Tabish were arrested four months before Ted's first death anniversary.

But once McManus stepped into the glittering city of Vegas, his two purposes of going there were made to three. This third reason was to try his luck at the gambling table. In the process of trying out his luck and getting a chance to purse the pot, he also risked a whole month's salary.

McManus did not come out the ultimate winner of WSOP's Main Event, but going home with $247,760 at hand and a 5th place popularity on the globe's biggest casino tournament proved to be not bad either. Plus, he also had his stories -- all spiced up with his first-hand poker experience. His account of the 2000 WSOP event, which covered the whole nine yards, was later converted into a best-selling autobiographical book titled Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker.

Meanwhile, the biggest winner, 2000 WSOP champ Chris Ferguson, was obviously cut out for wonderful things in the poker world since he first entered the tournament in 1995. A California native, Ferguson is wildly popular for his trademark Jesus-like looks, always donning long brown, curled hair and a beard. He also possess an amazing ability of throwing playing cards fast enough to cut through bananas and carrots.

And while the side stories at the 2000 edition of the World Series of Poker proved to be highly interesting, the tournament itself did not lag behind in terms of excitement. The satellites games, which McManus first entered to qualify for the Main Event, started on the 20th of April about the same time the live side events were held. Actual events began on the 24th and lasted for almost a month with the Texas Hold'em (No Limit) finals held from the 15th to the 18th of May.

Indeed, the year 2000 was a highly controversial year not only for the WSOP but for the whole poker community.