Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: When did the World Series of Poker start?
The idea of a World Series of Poker began in 1969 with an event called the Texas Gambling Reunion.[6] It was an invitational event sponsored by Tom Moore of San Antonio, Texas, and held at the Holiday Hotel and Casino in Reno.[6] This inaugural event was won by Crandell Addington. The set of tournaments that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) would evolve into was the brainchild of Las Vegas casino owner and poker player Benny Binion. In 1970, the first WSOP at Binion's Horseshoe took place as a series of cash games that included five-card stud, deuce to seven low-ball draw, razz, seven-card stud, and Texas hold 'em. The format for the Main Event as a freeze-out Texas hold 'em game came the next year. The winner in 1970, Johnny Moss, was elected by his peers as the first "World Champion of Poker" and received a silver cup as a prize.[6]
Starting with the 2011 WSOP Circuit, the Circuit National Championship was held as a closed event for participants of various circuit events. The first Circuit National Championship was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The winner of this event received a World Series of Poker bracelet—the first ever to be awarded in an event other than the main Las Vegas World Series of Poker or the World Series of Poker Europe.
When J. C. won his bracelet, he and brother Puggy became the first brothers to win bracelets at the World Series of Poker. They held that distinction until the 2008 World Series of Poker when brothers Blair Hinkle and Grant Hinkle both won a bracelet.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments[1] held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment Corporation (known as Harrah's Entertainment until 2010). It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players.[2]
The World Poker Tour bracelet is the World Poker Tour's (WPT) answer to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Beginning in 1976, the WSOP started awarding bracelets to winners of WSOP events. The WSOP bracelet has become synonymous with greatness. "It's impossible to overstate the value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet to anyone who takes the game seriously," stated World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack during the 2006 bracelet unveiling. "It is the equivalent of winning the Stanley Cup in hockey or the Lombardi Trophy in football." Since their introduction, a poker player's success has been measured by the number of bracelets they had won. With introduction of the WPT bracelet, the WPT hopes to capitalize on the prestige of winning poker bracelets. WPT Founder, President and CEO, Steve Lipscomb said, "The championship bracelet has become synonymous with poker as a symbol of achievement and respect, and we are honored to continue the tradition that Benny Binion [the founder of the WSOP] began over 30 years ago."
Bambi's father is Noli Francisco (born November 13 in Cebu, Philippines). Francisco is a Filipino American poker player and entrepreneur. In 1992 World Series of Poker, Francisco finished 2nd. At the 1993 World Series of Poker, Francisco finished 2nd, when he lost to Phil Hellmuth. In September 2003, Noli won the World Poker Tour (WPT) second season Borgata Poker Open, winning $470,000. The final table included top professional players Carlos Mortensen and David Oppenheim.
At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Black finished in the money in two Pot Limit Omaha events, finishing 7th and 11th respectively.
At the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, Black played day 1A. He was one of the early chip leaders, building his stack from 20,000 to over 80,000. Despite this, Black did not make it past day 1. He was eliminated when his 45 ran into AA on a 433 flop.
The Poker Channel broadcast a range of poker related programmes acquired from around the world such as the World Series of Poker, the World Series of Poker Europe, the Aussie Millions, the Irish Open, the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour, the Great British Poker Tour, Poker Island TV, the World Series of Backgammon, the Million Dollar Cash Game, the Poker Nations Cup, the World Poker Crown, The World Heads-up Championship and the World Poker Tour. The Poker Channel has also commissioned or produced poker programmes such as the PokerHeaven.com European Cash Game which featured WSOP 2008 winner Peter Eastgate, the British Poker Open, Cash Game Master Class, live broadcasts of online tournaments, 12 Steps to Poker Heaven, and the European Poker Masters. With the rebrand, casino and trading shows were also added. All this programming was dropped in favour of video game programming when the channel was acquired by Gynx TV. 
The World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (WSOP APAC) is the third expansion of the World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970 participants have had to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Although the WSOP started holding circuit events in 2005 in other states, the main tournaments, which awarded bracelets to the winners, were exclusively held in Las Vegas. In 2007 the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe marked the first time that a WSOP bracelet was awarded outside Las Vegas. The WSOP further expanded to Africa in 2010 and 2012 however these events did not award any bracelets.
The World Series of Poker Africa (WSOPA) is the second expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Although the WSOP started holding circuit events in 2005 in other states, the main tournaments, which awarded bracelets to the winners, were exclusively held in Las Vegas. In 2007, the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe marked the first time that a WSOP bracelet was awarded outside Las Vegas. In 2010, the WSOP expanded overseas once again, only this time to Gauteng, South Africa. While the WSOPE awarded bracelets, the WSOPA was considered a circuit event with the winners receiving Championship Rings instead of bracelets. The WSOPA did not occur in 2011, but the series of tournaments resumed in 2012.
In May 2007, PokerNews was named the exclusive Live Reporting Partner to World Series of Poker, replacing previous partner Card Player magazine. PokerNews produces and provides live play-by-play updates and chip counts for publication on the World Series of Poker website, as well as on PokerNews.com. The partnership has continued for over 7 years. PokerNews has covered events all over the world including those on the European Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Caribbean Poker Tour, World Poker Tour, Aussie Millions, Latin American Poker Tour, UK and Ireland Poker Tour, National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and of course the World Series of Poker.
Starting in 2013, bracelets are also awarded in Australia at the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, held at Crown Melbourne.
World Championship Poker is a series of poker video games first developed by Coresoft and released in 2005 by Crave Entertainment. The series capitalizes on the recent popularity of poker due to the successful World Series of Poker.
Titmuss started playing poker "seriously" around 2001. In 2008, Titmuss played in the charity, side-event "Ante Up For Africa" of the World Series of Poker, in Las Vegas. Ladbrokes Poker started sponsoring her in 2005, when she appeared in the first Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship.
Geber left "WSD" in order to pursue poker on a full-time basis, but returned occasionally as a guest host. Howard Rogers took his place, while FSC analyst Nick Webster replaced Geber on "Fox Football Fone-in". He was also the voice of the World Series of Poker Circuit and was the announcer for the Aruba Poker Classic as well as the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Sydney Grand Final and the APPT Tournament of Champions. He co-hosted World Series of Poker Radio in 2008 and was the lead announcer alongside "Howard David" at the 39th, 40th and 41st Annual World Series of Poker. Geber also hosted the Bluff Magazine show "Poker Night Radio" on Sirius, and was the lead live play by play announcer from the World Series of Poker and World Series of Poker Europe on ESPN.
The Crown is also one of the major centres for competitive poker in the Asia-Pacific region. It annually hosts the Aussie Millions, currently the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker event. Starting in 2013, it became home to the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, the latest expansion of the World Series of Poker.
Mikhail Lakhitov (born 1981) is a Russian professional poker player. In June 2011, he became one of the top 20 ranked players in the world. He has one World Series of Poker bracelet and seven career World Series of Poker (WSOP) in the money finishes, all in the time since he started playing in 2010.
His first World Series of Poker (WSOP) in the money finish was at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event where he finished 639th in a field of 6,494 entries for a $21,365 payday. He earned his first bracelet at the 2012 474-player $10,000 six-handed Texas hold'em World Championship. The win set a record for the shortest day of poker in the history of the WSOP, when it was extended to a fourth day and he won on the second hand of the day, according to ESPN. Other sources report that he won on the first hand of Day 4. On Day 3 of the event he started in 12th place out of 27 contestants.
The World Series of Poker Circuit is a series of poker tournaments held annually at a variety of casinos since 2005 as a build-up to the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Friedman has cashed 33 times at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), winning the 2002 World Series of Poker $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better event, earning $176,860, he also has made six other final tables, 3rd in the $2,500 Seven-card stud event at the 2000 World Series of Poker won by Chris Ferguson, 4th at the 2002 World Series of Poker in the $2,000 S.H.O.E. event won by Phil Ivey, 3rd in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2005 World Series of Poker won by Erik Seidel, 7th in the 2007 World Series of Poker $3,000 No Limit Hold'em event won by Shankar Pillai, 4th in the 2012 World Series of Poker $5,000 Seven-card stud event won by John Monnette, and 3rd in the 2017 World Series of Poker $10,000 Seven-card stud event won by Mike Wattel.
Only "open" events in which all players can participate count in the standings; this eliminates the Seniors, Ladies, and Casino Employee events.[22] Beginning with the 2006 World Series of Poker, the Main Event and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. competition had no effect on the outcome of the winner of the Player of the Year award. In the 2008 World Series of Poker, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event counted toward the Player of the Year award, but the Main Event did not. Since 2009, all open events, including the Main Event, count towards Player of the Year. The Player of the Year standings were based upon performance solely at the WSOP in Las Vegas up until 2010, but beginning in 2011 have also taken the World Series of Poker Europe into account, and starting in 2013 also include events in the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific. The 2011 WSOP Player of the Year organized by Bluff Magazine used a different scoring system which took into account field sizes and buy-in amounts when calculating points earned.[23] This scoring system has been used ever since.
Before the 2009 World Series of Poker, then-WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that the process for becoming a member into the Poker Hall of Fame would undergo a slight modification. Starting in 2009, the Poker Hall of Fame started accepting nominations from the public. This move was intended to increase interest in the Hall. Almost immediately after this decision was announced, Party Poker started an online campaign to get its representative and World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton elected to the Hall. Other poker sites, namely PokerStars' Tom McEvoy, followed suit by pushing their own poker professionals. The requirements for the Poker Hall of Fame are as follows:
The 1996 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 1996 World Series featured the first woman to win an open event outright when Barbara Enright won the $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event.
There were 295 entrants to the main event. Each entrant paid $10,000 to enter the tournament.
The Professional Poker Tour (PPT) was a series of televised poker tournaments, spinning off from the World Poker Tour (WPT) television series. It billed itself as the first professional poker league, and was limited to players who have established themselves on the World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker, or major participation on the poker circuit.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP), held annually in Las Vegas, is "the oldest, largest, most prestigious, and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world". In 2000, the WSOP started to honor Casino Employees by offering a bracelet event that only they could enter. The first tournament was called the "Dealers World Poker Championship" because it was limited to poker dealers. The following year the field was open to all casino employees.