World Series of Poker bracelet - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker

Poker

Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP

World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...

. Even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as "bracelets". During the first years of the WSOP only a handful of bracelets were awarded each year. In 1990, there were only 14 bracelet events. By 2000, that number increased to 24. As the popularity of poker has increased during the 2000s, the number of events has likewise increased. In 2011, there will be 58 bracelets awarded at the WSOP, seven at the World Series of Poker Europe

World Series of Poker Europe

The World Series of Poker Europe is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series of Poker...

(WSOPE), and one to the WSOP National Circuit Champion. This will bring the total number of bracelets awarded up to 959.

Bracelet description

The 1976 bracelet looked "like gold nuggets kind of hammered flat." The bracelet in 1976 cost approximately $500. In the 1980s, Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

jeweler Mordechai Yerushalmi became the exclusive manufacturer of WSOP bracelets until Harrah's Entertainment bought the rights to the WSOP in 2004. According to 2003 WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker

Chris Moneymaker

Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker . His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site...

, the design of the bracelet remained relatively unchanged under Yerushalmi. In 2005, Gold and Diamond International based in Memphis, TN won the bid from Harrah's Entertainment to manufacture the 2005 WSOP bracelets. The company also manufactures the WSOP circuit rings.

In 2006, Frederick Goldman, Inc. made the WSOP bracelets while luxury watch maker Corum introduced some commemorative watches as part of the prize package. In 2006, the Champion's bracelet had 259 stones including 7.2 carats (1.4 g) of diamonds, 120 grams of white and yellow gold. It also used rubies to represent the heart and diamond suits, a sapphire to represent the spade and three black diamonds to represent the clubs.

In 2007, Corum became the official bracelet manufacturer for the WSOP. Some of the 2007 WSOP champions received both a watch and a bracelet from Corum. Corum designed four variations for the 2007 World Series of Poker Bracelets. The standard version that is presented to 53 winners features 53 diamonds. The Ladies World Champion receives a bracelet that is adorned with four black diamonds, two rubies and 87 blue sapphires. The $50,000 HORSE Champion Bracelet has 91 black diamonds and two rubies. The World Series of Poker Main Event Bracelet has 120 diamonds on 136 grams of 18 carat (75 percent) white gold. The value of the 2007 bracelets have not been released, but the typical price of a Corum watch ranges from $1,500-$30,000+.

In 2008, the Main Event Bracelet had 291 diamonds, totalling 2.81 carats set 168 grams of 18kt white gold. The other 54 event bracelets consisted of 55 diamonds, totalling 0.25 carats set in 80 grams of 14kt yellow gold.

In 2010, an Australian based company OnTilt Designs Pty Ltd won a multi-year contract to became the official bracelet manufacturer for the WSOP. OnTilt jewelers decided that the 2010 bracelet design would return to the tradition of the 70's and 80's where the bracelet was a heavy piece of unadorned metal. The goal was to create a bracelet that somebody would actually want to wear everyday. In 2011, OnTilt has also been chosen to manufacture the WSOP Circuit rings.

Prestige

At first, the bracelets did not have much prestige. Ten-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson

Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...

said that his first bracelet "didn't mean anything" to him and that he did not even pick up two of them.

Some professional poker players believe that there are two types of poker players; those who have won a bracelet and those who have not. Those who have belong to an exclusive club. "It's impossible to overstate the value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet to anyone who takes the game seriously," stated World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack

Jeffrey Pollack

Pollack has been named to Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal of "40 Under 40" and twice to The Sporting News 100. He has also won two Emmy Awards. Pollack is married, and resides in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas...

during the 2006 bracelet unveiling. "It is the equivalent of winning the Stanley Cup

Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

in hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

or the Lombardi Trophy

Vince Lombardi Trophy

The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl.-History:...

in football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

."

Many professional poker players desire the recognition that is associated with the bracelet. Former Celebrity Poker Showdown

Celebrity Poker Showdown

Celebrity Poker Showdown was a celebrity game show on the cable network Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, and ran eight tournaments during its five-season run....

host and poker star Phil Gordon

Phil Gordon

Philip Stewart Gordon is an American professional poker player, commentator and author.-Personal life:Gordon was born in El Paso, Texas. He spent his formative years in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Gordon began attending Georgia Tech at the age of 15 while still attending high school...

said, "I want that bracelet more than anything." Freddy Deeb

Freddy Deeb

Kassem Ibrahim "Freddy" Deeb is a professional poker player who emigrated from Lebanon to the United States at the age of 19.-Before poker:...

said that he did not appreciate his first bracelet because he did not recognize what it meant. He said his 2007 bracelet, however, "means everything to me". Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...

says that winning her 2005 Women's Championship bracelet was "better than an Oscar". When the World Poker Tour

World Poker Tour

The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...

decided to offer a prize to its event champions, they decided to present them with WPT Bracelets.

World Poker Tour bracelet

The World Poker Tour bracelet is the World Poker Tour's answer to the World Series of Poker bracelet. Beginning in 1976, the WSOP started awarding bracelets to winners of WSOP events. The WSOP bracelet has become synonymous with greatness...

In so doing, WPT Founder, President and CEO, Steve Lipscomb said, "The championship bracelet has become synonymous with poker as a symbol of achievement and respect, and we are honored to continue the tradition that Benny Binion

Benny Binion

Lester Ben "Benny" Binion was a well-known American casino owner, mobster, poker enthusiast, and convicted felon.-Early history:...

[the founder of the WSOP] began over 30 years ago."

History

Bracelets have not always been awarded for winning events. In 1970, the first WSOP Champion received nothing but a silver cup and whatever cash he won during the event. From 1971–1974, according to Becky Behnen (the daughter of WSOP founder Benny Binion

Benny Binion

Lester Ben "Benny" Binion was a well-known American casino owner, mobster, poker enthusiast, and convicted felon.-Early history:...

), the winner received an undescribed "corny trophy". In 1975, the winners received a sterling plate. The following year, 1976, the WSOP started the tradition of issuing bracelets to the event winners.

In 1980 and 1981, one did not have to win a WSOP event to win a gold bracelet. In 1980 and 1981, H.D. "Oklahoma Johny" Hale and Chip Reese

Chip Reese

David Edward Reese , more commonly known as Chip Reese, was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio...

received a gold bracelet for being the "Best All Around Player" at the WSOP, respectively. These bracelets, however, are not considered in the count of WSOP championship bracelets.

In 2007, Thomas Bihl

Thomas Bihl

Thomas Bihl is a German poker player who became the first person to win a World Series of Poker bracelet outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Bihl was sponsored by Betfair, the official sponsor of the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe ....

became the first person to ever win a WSOP bracelet outside Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. Bihl won the £2,500 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. at the World Series of Poker Europe

World Series of Poker Europe

in London, England. Days later, Annette Obrestad

Annette Obrestad

Annette Obrestad is a Norwegian poker player. Obrestad is the youngest person to ever win a World Series of Poker Europe bracelet...

became the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet at 18 years, 364 days, also becoming the first woman to win a World Series Main Event (WSOPE). Harrah's Casinos, the owner of the WSOP, considers the WSOP Europe bracelet to be the same in prestige as those awarded every year in Las Vegas.

In 2008, Jesper Hougaard

Jesper Hougaard

Jesper Hougaard is a poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker.Hougaard won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event in 2008. Later that same year, he won another bracelet in the £1,500 No Limit Hold'em event at...

became the first person to have won both a WSOP and WSOPE bracelet.

In 2011, a World Series of Poker bracelet was awarded for the first time to the WSOP Circuit National Championship

World Series of Poker circuit events

The World Series of Poker Circuit is a series of poker tournaments held annually at a variety of casinos since 2005 as a build-up to the World Series of Poker ....

winner in the 100-qualifier event from May 27 – May 29.

Bracelet legacy

Of the three top WSOP bracelet winners, only Johnny Chan

Johnny Chan (poker player)

Johnny Chan rather than his Chinese birth name. born in Guangzhou, China in 1957) is a Chinese American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively....

still has them all. He keeps them locked in a vault because they are worth, according to him, "millions." Brunson did not pick up two of his. Eleven-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...

gave away ten of his. "To me," Hellmuth said, "the bracelets have always been a really huge deal, to me more than the other guys, because I knew that they represented history."

Three-time WSOP Bracelet winner Hamid Dastmalchi

Hamid Dastmalchi

Hamid Reza Dastmalchi is an Iranian-American professional poker player.Dastmalchi won the 1992 World Series of Poker main event, which is his largest tournament win at $1 million...

and five-time winner Ted Forrest

Ted Forrest

Ted Forrest is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada.- Tournament Wins:...

had been playing for four days non-stop at the Mirage

The Mirage

The Mirage is a 3,044 room hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States.The Mirage is connected by a free tram to Treasure Island. The marquee in front of the Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world.-History:The Mirage was built by...

when Hamid started to complain about the 1992 Main Event Championship Bracelet he received. Bitter about a dispute with the Binion's Horseshoe

Binion's Horseshoe

Binion's Horseshoe, also known as the Horseshoe Casino or simply The Horseshoe, was a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on what is now the Fremont Street Experience. The casino was named for its founder, Benny Binion and had 366 rooms, three restaurants and a rooftop pool.The...

, the owners of the WSOP at the time, Hamid told the table that the Binion's "say it's worth $5,000, but I'd take $1,500 for it." To which Forrest responded "Sold" and immediately tossed Hamid $1,500 in chips. Dastmalchi mailed Forrest his bracelet. Ted Forrest also reported that three of his five bracelets have been stolen over the years, and that he gave his daughter one.

Multiple bracelet winners

As of the start of the 2010 WSOP

2010 World Series of Poker

The 2010 World Series of Poker was the 41st annual World Series of Poker , held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 28 to July 17. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship that began on July 5...

, there are eighteen players with five or more WSOP bracelets.
Of those, the top bracelet winners are as follows:

Winners of Eight or More WSOP Bracelets
Bracelets	Player
11	Phil Hellmuth Phil Hellmuth Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
10	Johnny Chan Johnny Chan (poker player) Johnny Chan rather than his Chinese birth name. born in Guangzhou, China in 1957) is a Chinese American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively....
10	Doyle Brunson Doyle Brunson Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
9	Johnny Moss Johnny Moss Johnny Moss was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970, He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in...
8	Erik Seidel Erik Seidel Erik Seidel is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title.In 2010, he was inducted as a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
8	Phil Ivey Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...

Leaders by decade

Bracelets	Player	Decade
7	Johnny Moss Johnny Moss Johnny Moss was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970, He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in...	1970s(1970, 1971 (2), 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979)
4	Stu Ungar Stu Ungar Stuart Errol "Stu" Ungar was a professional poker and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest Texas hold 'em and gin rummy player of all time....	1980s (1980, 1981 (2), 1983)
5	Phil Hellmuth Phil Hellmuth Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...	1990s (1992, 1993 (3), 1997)
7	Phil Ivey Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...	2000s (2000, 2002 (3), 2005, 2009 (2))
2	Frank Kassela Frank Kassela Frank Kassela is an American professional poker player from Germantown, Tennessee now residing in Las Vegas, who is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. He won both of his bracelets at the 2010 World Series of Poker. First in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better...	2010s (2010 (2))
2	Matt Matros Matt Matros Matthew "Matt" Matros is a professional poker player and author from Brooklyn, New York who has won two World Series of Poker events....	2010s (2010, 2011)
2	Brian Rast Brian Rast Brian Rast is a professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2011 World Series of Poker $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event and the $50,000 Player's Championship....	2010s (2011 (2))

Johnny Moss

Johnny Moss was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970, He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in...

, with a win at the 1971 WSOP

1971 World Series of Poker

The 1971 World Series of Poker was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe during May 1–15, 1971. This was only the second installment of the World Series of Poker, but unlike at the 1970 event, freezeout tournaments were played to decide the winner of the main title. The...

, became the first person to have won multiple lifetime WSOP "bracelets" (as mentioned above, the first actual bracelet was given in 1976).

Moss also was the first person to win five lifetime WSOP bracelets, with a win at the 1975 WSOP

1975 World Series of Poker

-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 21 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. First Main Event to award winner with a gold bracelet.-Final table:...

.

Johnny Chan

Johnny Chan (poker player)

, with a win in Event #25 at the 2005 WSOP

2005 World Series of Poker

The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time was awarded to the...

, became the first person to win 10 lifetime WSOP bracelets, just a few days before Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson

won his 10th bracelet in Event #31 of that same WSOP.

The first person to win two bracelets in the same WSOP was Johnny Moss at the 1971 WSOP

1971 World Series of Poker

.

The first person to win three bracelets in the same WSOP was Walter "Puggy" Pearson

Puggy Pearson

Walter Clyde Pearson was an American professional poker player. He is best known as the 1973 World Series of Poker World Champion.-Early years:...

, at the 1973 WSOP

1973 World Series of Poker

The 1973 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe. This year marked the first year a single player won more than one preliminary World Series of Poker event.-Preliminary events:-Final table:...

. As of the start of the 2010 WSOP, only four other players have won three bracelets in a single WSOP.

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