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Around
1910, political reform and a progressive movement
swept many corrupt local governments out of
office and closed down all casinos, so, like
alcohol soon after, poker was relegated to
the back rooms and "speakeasies"
of the day, where it flourished.
Gambling
was declared illegal in Nevada in 1912, and
it wasn't until ZO years later that the state
realized it was their only real source of
income, and legalized it once again. But the
casino operators soon realized they could
make far more money with slots, roulette,
blackjack, and craps, so poker was soon bumped
to the back room areas of the casino.
Bugs
Siegel, who is given credit for defining the
Las Vegas Strip, did not have poker in mind
when he built the Flamingo in the late 1940s.
With few exceptions, the Strip hotels built
through the 1960s and 1970s did not even offer
poker. You had to go to the "sawdust
joints" and smoky back rooms of the downtown
casinos to find a game. And in those days,
the locals mainly played poker.
But
things changed when Benny Bunion, owner of
the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas,
designed a tournament called "The World
Series of Poker." This tournament, with
its $10,000 buy-in and winner-take-all format,
drew many of the professionals from the private
poker circuits around the country and began
popularizing the game. With the media publicizing
the tournament, the tourists and Friday night
poker players watched in amazement as huge
sums of cash changed hands. |
