<P> The number of participants in the WSOP grew every year from 2000 until 2006 . Following 2006, new online gambling legislation restricted the number of online qualifiers to the event . 2007 was the first dip in numbers in the 21st century while in 2008 more people participated than the previous year . In 2000, there were 4,780 entrants in the various events, but in 2005, the number rose to over 23,000 players . In the main event alone, the number of participants grew from 839 in 2003 to 8,773 in 2006, and has hovered between 6,300 and 7,200 entrants in the eleven years since . Phil Hellmuth has won the most bracelets with 15 followed by Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Ivey with ten bracelets each . Crandell Addington is the only player to place in the top ten of the World Series of Poker Main Event eight times, albeit in earlier years with small fields compared to modern times . Four players have won the Main Event multiple times: Johnny Moss (1970, 1971, and 1974), Doyle Brunson (1976 and 1977), Stu Ungar (1980, 1981, and 1997) and Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988). Bracelet winners who first achieved fame in other fields include French actor / singer Patrick Bruel (in 1998), Danish soccer player Jan Vang Sørensen (in 2002), American actress Jennifer Tilly (in 2005), and American musician / record producer Steve Albini (in 2018). In recent years, there have been non-bracelet events at the WSOP; two of the most notable are the "World Series of Rock Paper Scissors" and "Ante Up for Africa ." </P> <P> The idea of a World Series of Poker began in 1969 with an event called the Texas Gambling Reunion . It was an invitational event sponsored by Tom Moore of San Antonio, Texas, and held at the Holiday Hotel and Casino in Reno . 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 . </P> <P> In 2004, Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment) purchased Binion's Horseshoe, retained the rights to the Horseshoe and World Series of Poker brands, sold the hotel and casino to MTR Gaming Group, and announced that the 2005 Series events would be held at the Harrah's - owned Rio Hotel and Casino, located just off the Las Vegas Strip . The final two days of the main event in 2005 were held downtown at what is now the MTR - operated "Binion's" in celebration of the centennial of the founding of Las Vegas . The WSOP also added a made - for - television $2 million "freeroll" invitational Tournament of Champions (TOC) event first won by Annie Duke as a "winner - take - all" event . </P> <P> Since 1972, the Main Event of the WSOP has been the $10,000 buy - in no - limit Texas Hold' em (NLHE) tournament (in 1971 the buy - in was $5,000 and the inaugural 1970 event was an invitational with winner determined by a vote from the players). Winners of the event not only get the largest prize of the tournament and a gold bracelet, but additionally their picture is placed in the Gallery of Champions at Binion's . </P>

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