WSOP - Legends Of The Main Event Quiz | Entertainment

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who was the first non-professional poker player to win the WSOP Main Event?

Answer: Hal Fowler - 1979

All of these players did win the Main Event in the years listed next to their names. All were considered non-professional at the time they won. However, it was Fowler, all the way back in 1979 who became the first non-pro to win the big one.

It is rumored that Benny Binnion had to loan Fowler at least part of the entry fee.

Many today still consider Fowler's win to be the greatest upset in WSOP history.

If you answered Moneymaker, or Varkonyi, don't feel bad. You are in the company of many avid fans who share your previous misconception.

2. In 2006 many thought Annie Duke stood a chance of making the Main Event final table. Duke finished in 88th place. Had Annie Duke made the final table, she would have become the first female EVER to do so, making her an instant legend.

Answer: False

Annie Duke actually finished 10th in 2000. She was not the bubble finisher however as, prior to 2001, the official televised final table consisted of 6 players.

Barbara Enright is the true legend of the Main Event for this question. In 1995 she became the first female to make the WSOP Main Event final table.

Please don't send a correction note if you are sure you heard a well known TV announcer state that Annie Duke might become the first woman to ever make the final table. This did happen, but the announcer was wrong.

At the conclusion of the 2006 Main Event, Barbara Enright remained the only female to ever make the final table.

To Annie Duke's credit, she refuses to play in female only events because women can compete on equal footing with men in sports of intellect as opposed to physical contests. Annie sees no reason to have separate poker events for women.

3. Who were the first two players to win the WSOP World Championship three times?

Answer: Johnny Moss & Stu Ungar

Johnny Moss won in 1970, 1971, and 1974. Stu Ungar won in 1980, 1981, and 1997. Johnny Chan won in 1987, 1988, and took second in 1989. Doyle Brunson won in 1976, 1977 and took second in 1980.

Please don't send a correction note if you think Stu Ungar is the only one to win 3 because the winner was based on a vote in 1970. Although there was only one event of rotating card games, Johnny Moss is still recognized officially as the World Champion in 1970, and appears on every official and every credible list of "Main Event" winners.

4. Who was the first player to finish second or higher, four times?

Answer: Johnny Moss

Johnny Moss finished first three times and second once. Even more amazing, he did it in the space of five years (1970-1974).

Ungar finished first three times.

By 1989, the last time either had finished in the top two as of the writing of this quiz, Brunson and Chan both had two firsts and one second.

5. Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Sailor Roberts used to travel Texas together, and shared a bankroll. They also played regularly with Johnny Moss who was a mentor of sorts. What amazing feat did these four friends from Texas accomplish in the Main Event?

Answer: As a group they won seven of the first eight WSOP titles

1970 - Johnny Moss
1971 - Johnny Moss
1972 - Amarillo Slim
1974 - Johnny Moss
1975 - Sailor Roberts
1976 - Doyle Brunson
1977 - Doyle Brunson

Even more amazing is this: 1973, the only year one of them did not win the title, Johnny Moss finished second to Puggy Pearson.

6. Johnny Chan is the only player to make the final two, three years in a row.

Answer: False

Puggy Pearson did it in 1971, 1972, and 1973. Chan's feat is more memorable and publicized because he won two of three, losing his third attempt to Phil Hellmuth in 1989. Puggy Pearson came in second twice before finally winning it all in 1973.

Incidentally, Pearson, a Tennessee native, was the first non-Texan to win the Main Event.

7. The WSOP is actually a continuation of an invitational event held in Reno in 1969. Benny and Jack Binnion acquired the rights to this event, moved it to Vegas, and renamed it "The World Series Of Poker". The original event was not a freeze out, and a winner was chosen just like the 1970 WSOP. Although the 1969 winner is not officially recognized as a Main Event Champion, who won this invitational that gave birth to the WSOP?

Answer: Crandell Addington

Although Addington never won the WSOP Main Event, he did finish second in 1974 and 1978.

The official title he won in 1969 was the Texas Gamblers Convention "Mr. Outsider" award. (Awarded to the best road gambler.)

8. "Nobody remembers second", so the old saying goes. But one second place finisher will be better remembered than some WSOP Champions. The movie "Rounders" dubiously immortalized which second place finisher?

Answer: Erik Seidel

Erik Seidel will also be remembered as one of the greatest of all time. He has already won seven WSOP bracelets, just none in the Main Event.

9. Chris Moneymaker was the first online qualifier to win the WSOP Main Event. The surge in online qualifiers and enormous fields that resulted in the following years are known as "The Moneymaker Effect". Moneymaker is a very cool name to use at a poker table, and will definately further cement Chris in poker lore. But do you know his real last name?

Answer: Moneymaker

No kidding, his birth name actually is Moneymaker. Go figure.

10. Many people consider finishing 3rd of 839 in 2003 and 4th of 2,576 in 2004 to be the greatest accomplishment in Main Event History. Who did this?

Answer: Dan Harrington

Dan Harrington also won the Main Event against a field of 273 in 1995.

11. Many consider finishing 1st of 2,576 in 2004 and 25th of 5,619 in 2005 to be the greatest accomplishment in Main Event history. Who did this?

Answer: Greg Raymer

Aside from his robust physique, Raymer is easily recognizeable as the guy wearing the opaque, holographic sunglasses when he is involved in a pot.

12. Many consider winning the Main event in 1987, 1988 and finishing second in 1989 to be the greatest accomplishment in Main Event history. Who did this?

Answer: Johnny Chan

Chan fell short in 1989 when his suited Ace-7 ran into Phil Hellmuth's wired black Nines.

13. Which WSOP legend mentored 2006 Main Event winner, Jamie Gold?

Answer: Johnny Chan

As if winning in 1987, 1988, and taking 2nd in 1989 weren't enough, Chan's mentoring and teaching guided Gold through a record field of 8,773 players. Score one more for those who believe Chan to be the greatest of all time.

14. Who was the first player to win the Main Event three times in it's current, freeze-out format?

Answer: Stu Ungar

Doyle Brunson would be the correct answer to this question, had Stuey not defeated him in heads-up play for the 1980 title.

At the writing of this quiz, he remained the only player ever to do so.

15. In 2006 Jamie Gold became an instant legend defeating a record field in a WSOP Main Event that boasted 8,773 entrants, shattering the record set the previous year of 5,619. In 1972 a new record was set, breaking the old record set just two years before at the WSOP's inagural event. The new record broke the old record by just 1 entry. Poker legend Amarillo Slim won in '72 against this record field. How many entrants were there in 1972 for this record breaking extravaganza?

Answer: 8

No, that is not a misprint! Keep in mind, although the fields were extremely small in the early years, the talent was not watered down. Initially only the very best players in the world showed up. In fact, in 1970, you had to be invited to play.

Still sound a bit easy? Imagine sitting at a table in 2006 with Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth, Jesus Ferguson, and Gus Hansen. (Sorry if I didn't include your favorite Super-Pro.) Not only is there no dead money, these players are all poker legends, not just pros. And they all know each other's games! That's about what these guys were up against in the early '70s. The players who played in these early Main Events described them as gruelling. Doyle Brunson has stated that it's not the kind of intensity he would want to, or even be able to, face every day.

Source: Author Chadler

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor linkan before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

WSOP - Legends Of The Main Event Quiz

While it is true that every Main Event winner becomes an instant legend, this quiz deals with those legendary players who have accomplished something unique in the Main Event. They need not necessarily be Main Event champions.

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