Benny Binion – The Father of Texas Hold‘em Poker

Benny Binion has often been described as the Godfather of Texas Holdem Poker. The reason why Binion earned this title is not just that he had a past with a few major question marks around it, but because he, more than anyone else, was responsible for putting the game of Texas Holdem Poker on the world map.

For those who are unaware of the fats, Texas HoldEM poker was first played in the saloons and members clubs of dusty Dallas of the late forties and early fifties. Binion, who was a well known figure of the era was known to be involved in bootlegging and numbers running , Not only that he was “ fortunate “ enough to be acquitted from two murder charges.

Despite all his spurious activities, Benny Binion was also a first class Texas Hold’em Player and won more than he lost. In the late forties, Binion decided that the Las Vegas, Nevada climate would suit him better than that of Dallas, Texas and he decided that he would test the waters of the fledgling gambling scene there. Benny did well and by 1951 has succeeded in raising enough money to open his own casino, which he called the ‘Horseshoe’- to remind him of his cowboy days.

Binion knew how to run a casino, offering attractive odds and generous “comps”, and it wasn’t long before his casino was bursting at the seams every night.

Benny was having a great time in Las Vegas and he wanted to share his fortune with his old card playing buddies from Texas, who soon became known to the locals as the “Dallas Crew”. Till Benny and the Dallas Crew arrived in Vegas, poker, in any form, was rarely played there.

However the Dallas crew would play at the Horseshoe just about every night and soon visitors to the casino were flocking around the table to see this fascinating game being played. Soon outsiders were joining in the Texas Holdem cash games and the demand for tables and seats grew at an amazing rate.

To cope with the demand, Binion began to arrange knock out tournaments, bringing in a brilliant thought adjustment where players needed to not only ante before each hand, but also place small blind and big blind bets in rotation. That meant that games would be over much quicker as players would have to participate in more hands than in the pre “blinds” era.

By the early seventies, Binion’s tournament was gaining momentum, and although entrance was limited due to the high buy in that Benny leveled for entrants, the number was growing every year, and along with it the prize money. When the prize money reached $100,000 in the mid seventies, the World Series of Poker was on its way.

Benny’s vision to bring Texas Holdem Poker to Vegas and eventually to the World turned out to be a fabulous success. Sadly Benny’s slightly colorful past began to catch up with him, and eventually the Nevada authorities took away his casino operator’s license.

However Benny Binion remained a character on the Strip till his dying day and his name will forever be carved in the history of Texas HoldEM Poker.

To learn more about the history of Texas Holdem and the characters who made it great, click on www.pokerstars.co.uk