Things will be hotting-up in Las Vegas from the end of May onwards when the World Series of Poker 2008 and its 55 tournaments begin.

Rightly considered the world championship of poker, it will be setting the standard for tournament poker once again and, as before, thousands of poker players will be taking part in the tournaments.

It's hard to believe that this mega-event began in 1970 as a small cash game with just seven players. That time Benny Binion, the then owner of Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, picked up on an old idea and launched the first World Series of Poker.

The WSOP is inseparably linked to the Binion name. The Horseshoe Casino was the venue for the tournament series until 2004 and is still home to the Poker Hall of Fame. Benny Binion, and later his sons Jack and Ted, have made poker - and poker tournaments in particular - what they are today.

The first group of seven participants at the WSOP chose the WSOP Champion democratically at the end of the tournament. The names of this group still read like a Who's Who of the poker world - Johnny Moss, Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Brian "Sailor" Roberts, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, Walter "Puggy" Pearson, Crandall Addington and Carl Cannon.

Johnny Moss was elected the first WSOP winner.

The idea of electing a winner was discarded by the second WSOP in 1971. That year, the WSOP was structured as a series of several tournaments where different varieties of poker are played and one Main Event (played as No Limit Hold'em to date) took root. There were four tournaments (Limit Seven-Card Stud, Limit Razz, Limit Five-Card Stud and Limit Ace to Five Draw) and a concluding Main Event that year.

The starting money of $5000 for the Main Event was considered gigantic at the time. Six players took part that year and it was Johnny Moss who emerged as the winner once again.

There were eight players at the 1972 Main Event. Half of the $ 10,000 buy-in was paid by Binion. Poker legend Amarillo Slim ended up winning that year.

Over the course of the first few years, ever more tournaments were added. No Limit Hold'em was being played more and more often. Five-Card Stud soon disappeared from the tournament structure.

The Main Event was televised even as far back as 1973. However, they were still a long way away from under-the-table cameras, player interviews, superimposed cards and odds at that time. Nevertheless, poker was inevitably on its way to becoming a sport that would attract an audience.

However, it was only from 1982 that there were more than 100 participants at the Main Event. The old guard of poker players - such as Brunson, Moss and Amarillo Slim - dominated the early years of the tournament.

Many of the earlier stars of the WSOP still compete today and give impressive displays, showing how much this game depends on experience and skill.

The allure of the WSOP has captivated thousands of players to date. There is hardly a poker player alive who doesn't dream of winning one of the coveted bracelets.

Eurosport