The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. 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.
Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won a record sixteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and he is a 2007 inductee of the WSOP's Poker Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tournament players of all time.
Johnny Chan is a Chinese professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including the 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively.
Thomas James "T. J." Cloutier is a professional poker player from Richardson, Texas. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006.
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. In 2014, independent poker ranking service Global Poker Index recognized Negreanu as the best poker player of the decade.
Jennifer C. Harman is an American professional poker player. She has won two World Series of Poker bracelets in open events, one of only four women to have done so.
Philip Stewart Gordon is an American professional poker player, commentator and author.
Erick A. Lindgren is an American professional poker player. He has won two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles, two World Series of Poker bracelets, and more than $10,500,000 in tournament earnings during his poker career. As of April 2020 he is 85th on the all-time money list of poker.
The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2nd, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7th. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15th marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time ($7,500,000) was awarded to the winner. ESPN's broadcast began July 19th with coverage of WSOP Circuit Tournaments, and coverage of the Main Event began October 11th and ended November 15th.
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table.
Josh Arieh is an American professional poker player. Arieh has been competing in poker competitions since 1999.
Joseph Hachem is a Lebanese-Australian professional poker player known for being the first Australian to win the World Series of Poker main event, which earned him $7.5 million, then a record for all-time biggest tournament prize.
Steve Zolotow is an American businessman and professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He was one of the regulars at the famed Mayfair Club while he lived in New York City.
The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is an invitational freeroll poker event. Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo. In 2010, the WSOP Tournament of Champions returned with a new format more akin to a typical sports league All-Star Event format. 27 players vied for $1 million, with 20 of those players selected by the fans via online vote at the WSOP's website.
The 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 25, 2006 with satellite events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29. 40 more events in various disciplines including Omaha, seven-card stud and razz, plus ladies' and senior tournaments led up to the 10,000 US$ no-limit Texas hold 'em main event starting July 28 and running through the final table on August 10.
John Hennigan is an American professional poker player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who, in his career, has won six World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour (WPT) title.
Minh Van Nguyen, a Vietnamese American professional poker player, is a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner residing in Bell Gardens, California.
Michael W. Binger is a part-time professional poker player, based in Atherton, California. He has a brother, Nick Binger, who also has several high-profile tournament cashes.
Chris J. Reslock is a professional poker player from Valley City, North Dakota, who now lives in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Reslock was a semi-retired cab owner and operator before he began playing poker professionally, he was a highly ranked Scrabble player but went into poker because the money potential was much higher.
Hung "Phi" Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player who is a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner with multiple live tournament results adding up to over $1.8 million in career earnings.
