Poker Legends - Benny Binion

Benny Binion started out by running illegal bootlegging and gambling rackets in Dallas during the 1930's. In 1946, he went to Las Vegas. Rumor has it that he did so to beat a murder rap back in the Lone Star state. In Vegas, he bought the old, run-down Eldorado Casino. He renamed it Binion's Horseshoe. The casino quickly became the place to gamble in Vegas.

For over 40 years, Binion had a standing public mantra - He would accept any wager (any size) from anyone who walked into his establishment. As you can probably guess, many eccentrics were lured by this. There are many true stories about willing gamblers walking into the casino with suitcases of money ready to bet. Binion's main event was poker - it was his favorite casino game.

In 1970, he figured he could duplicate the success of the Johnny Moss - Nick Dandalos match (that happened 20 years prior) by inviting all the top poker players to his casino for the title of the best in the world. Thus, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was born.

Now, over 35 years later, the WSOP is still the most coveted of all poker events.

Benny Binion passed-away in 1989. As many of you know, the Binion family is still in the business to this day.