As a result, some of the most notable poker players of the day were joined by a handful of sports celebrities in what inspired the first World Series of Poker, founded the following year in Las Vegas. The contest, dubbed the Texas Gamblers Reunion, included several high-stakes games over several days. Just over a century later, in 1969, a group of gamblers met in Reno for a contest that would send one of them home with bragging rights for poker's greatest player. Poker's popularity soared after the Civil War when soldiers carried the game back home with them across the US.

While Hollywood may have written the line, poker became a symbol of westward expansion, though its origins date back centuries earlier. Poker played a central role in the blockbuster movie Tombstone when Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were the regulars around the tables. 'Why Ike, maybe poker just isn't your game,' Doc said with a wry grin. Learn more about the world's most prestigious poker tournament The story behind the World Series of Poker and the game itself

Wsop winners