Caesars Entertainment Owns the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is owned by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. The WSOP has expanded significantly since its inception in 1970.

The idea of an event to crown a poker champion was originally had by Tom Moore from San Antonio. In 1970, Benny Binion held the inaugural World Series Poker at Binion’s Horseshoe. The first WSOP was a series of cash games that included Texas hold’em, five-card stud, deuce to seven low-ball, razz and seven-card stud. Johnny Moss was elected by fellow players as the “World Champion of Poker” after winning the first WSOP.

In 2004, Harrah’s Entertainment, now Caesars Entertainment, purchased Binion’s Horseshoe along with the rights to the WSOP brands. Since 2004, the WSOP has been officially sponsored by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. Jack Effel is the Vice President of WSOP and is responsible for creating event structures, distributing prize pools and handling all the logistics required to host a massive tournament like the WSOP.