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The First 50 Honors to Celebrate the Greatest Moments in WSOP History

The 50th World Series of Poker kicks off in a week’s time at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Over the last 50 years, there have been numerous amazing moments ranging from Doyle Brunson’s back-to-back WSOP Main Event titles to Chris Moneymaker’s historic Main Event win in 2003.

This year, the WSOP will recognize some of these moments and the people made these classic moments at the First 50 Honors. The awards event will be a celebration of the past as they look forward to the future.

First 50 Honors Commences on June 29

Saturday, June 29 is the big day at the Rio for the First 50 Honors, an award show and dinner that will honor the greatest WSOP moments of the past 50 years. The event will be held in the Brasilia Ballroom and is open to past WSOP bracelet winners and select VIP members. Doors open at 8 pm and will open with a dinner followed by an award show.

The awards show, First 50 Honors, will be hosted by long-time WSOP broadcasters Lon McEachern and Norman Chad. Since 2003, the pair have been synonymous with the World Series of Poker and have experienced a number of the events that will be highlighted during the awards show.

WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart spoke on the event, stating, “From its founding by the Binion family in 1970, no one could have foreseen what the modern-day World Series of Poker has become. 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.”

After the awards show, there will be an exclusive VIP poker event to cap off the celebrations. There’s no word yet as to what the prizes will be in the event.

Voting to Be Done By Public and Players

The First 50 Honors awards will be awarded based on a combination of votes from the general public and from a panel. The first seven categories will be voted on by the general public at WSOP. Fans can vote on the following categories:

Most Memorable WSOP TV hand
Best Overall WSOP Performance (Single Year)
Most Likely to Succeed (Players currently 35 or Under to Win the Most Gold Bracelets between 2020-2070)
Fan Favorite Player
WSOP’s Favorite Bad Boy
Most Impressive Main Event Win
Four Most Important Players in WSOP History

The public can vote on these categories from now until June 15. US fans can go to http://www.wsop.com/promotions/fifty-first-honors/nv/ while international fans can vote at http://www.wsop.com/promotions/fifty-first-honors-int/. Also, if you’re in the US or Canada, there will be a drawing held that will award prizes to fans that vote. These prizes include:

Sets for Event #69, the $1,000 Mini Main Event
Seats to Event #88, the WSOP.com Online NL Hold’em Summer Saver
Invites to the First Fifty Gala
WSOP Merchandise

There will be one final category in the awards ceremony, the 50 Greatest Poker Players. This category will be decided by a panel consisting of poker industry member and select poker media members. The only criteria is that a person has had to play at least once at the WSOP. Selections can be based on cash game play, tournament play, or a mixture.

Having already cast my votes on WSOP.com, I can tell you that a lot of the awards focus primarily on events post-2003, so don’t expect anyone from the past to be recognized outside of the historical categories such as Four Most Important Players in WSOP History and 50 Greatest Players. Still, this should be a great way to showcase the WSOP’s past and begin looking forward to the next 50 years.

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