That final fateful tournament was held downstairs at Binion’s Horseshoe - just as it had been during the previous 15 years. The winners received gold watches emblazoned with the Horseshoe emblem.īy September of 2002, the Hall of Fame - much like Binion’s Horseshoe - had become a shell of its former greatness. Usually, a dozen tournaments were scheduled for what was basically redux of the WSOP. The latter was done in conjunction with the official announcement of the latest inductee(s) into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Jack Binion ran two major tournaments each year - the WSOP and the Hall of Fame. Now, you have to understand that the Hall of Fame tournament used to be a really big deal. It would be the last Hall of Fame tournament ever. The 2002 Hall of Fame tournament was a disaster. where I worked at the time as the casino’s public relations director. This is the second in a series of articles about Chris Moneymaker’s stunning victory at the 2003 World Series of Poker and what went on behind the scenes that year at Binion’s Horseshoe. Before the Storm: Binion’s Horseshoe (2002)
