WSOP to Honour 50 Greatest Players in Special Awards Ceremony

The World Series of Poker has announced a special celebratory event for their 50th anniversary, the ‘First Fifty Honors & Dinner’ commemorating the ‘50 Greatest Poker Players’ as well as seven WSOP categories to be voted on by the public and poker players themselves.

There are already several events in the schedule to mark the 50th year of poker’s greatest series, the WSOP adding the Big 50 event and a $50k buy-in high roller tournament to the series, which runs from May 28th until July 16th.

The addition of the ‘First Fifty Honors & Dinner’ will see WSOP gold bracelet winners and invited VIP guests gather in the Brasilia Ballroom at the Rio Hotel and casino on the evening of Saturday, June 29th. A celebration dinner will be followed by the awards ceremony, hosted by ESPN’s long-time WSOP commentary team of Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said in a press release:

“From its founding by the Binion family in 1970, no one could have foreseen what the modern-day World Series of Poker has become.” He added: “It’s only fitting we take an evening out from poker playing to celebrate the great game of poker and all the characters who have made a mark on the WSOP over the past five decades.”

There are seven main categories to be voted on, as listed below:

1. Most Memorable WSOP TV Hand
2. Best Overall WSOP Performance (Single Year)
3. Most Likely to Succeed (Player currently 35 or under to win the Most Gold Bracelets between 2020-2070)
4. Fan Favorite Player
5. WSOP’s Favorite Bad Boy
6. Most Impressive Main Event Win
7. Four Most Important Players in WSOP History

Voting is already open through and will remain so through June 15, 2019, details in the tweeted link above.

WSOP and all-round ‘love him or loathe him’ character William Kassouf is already tweeting with glee at his inclusion in the ‘Bad Boy’ category…

A special 8th category will see poker industry stalwarts and media members decide on the 50 Greatest Poker Players in WSOP history, and this can include “cash game players, mixed games players, online players or tournament players.”