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The two largest and most well-known poker tournaments are the World Poker Tour championship event and the World Series of Poker, both held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 2005 World Series of Poker was the first held outside of Binion's Horseshoe Casino, though the final few days of the main event were held in the legendary Benny's Bullpen. Future tournaments have been held at one of the Harrah's Entertainment properties; since 2005, the Rio has served as the host venue.
Arguably the most publicized European poker tournament is the Poker Million, which began in 2000 on Sky Sports, following on from the success of the Late Night Poker television show.
In addition to these poker events, there are other major poker tournaments throughout the year. The World Poker Tour broadcasts a series of open tournaments throughout the U.S. and Caribbean with buy-ins from $5,000 to $25,000, as well as a European event.
The game of poker has grown dramatically since the first hands were dealt in New Orleans back in 1829. Poker players leaving New Orleans took the game with them as they traveled up the Mississippi River and carried the game of poker into towns and taverns across the growing United States.
In a fun hat tip to the history of poker, some online poker games allow players to choose avatars and skins representative of the old time poker cardrooms.
No matter where poker games are played, the fun and lure of using your poker skills to outwit other players makes poker a great game....more than just the simple luck of a roll of the die, poker players use their skills honed in live poker games to beat the competition.
