The 1978 World Series of Poker

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...

(WSOP) was held in May 1978 at 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...

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and was the first WSOP that wasn't a winner-take-all prize.
Instead the tournament had a progressive prize structure, as follows 50% for the Winner then 20% for second, 15% for third, 10% for fourth and 5% for fifth place.

Preliminary events

Event	Winner	Prize	Runner-up
$10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw Draw (poker) A poker player is drawing if they have a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. The hand itself is called a draw or drawing hand. For example, in seven-card stud, if four of a player's first five cards are all spades, but the hand is otherwise weak, they are drawing to...	Billy Baxter Billy Baxter (poker player) William E. Baxter, Jr. is an American professional poker player and sports bettor. He has won numerous tournament titles in his career as a professional poker player, including seven World Series of Poker bracelets....	$90,000	Unknown
$1,000 Seven Card Razz Razz (poker) Razz is a form of stud poker that is normally played for ace-to-five low . The object of Razz is to make the lowest possible five-card hand from the seven cards you are dealt. In Razz, straights and flushes do not count against the player for low, and the ace usually plays low...	Gary Berland Gary Berland Gary "Bones" Berland was an American professional poker player who won five World Series of Poker bracelets.-Early Life:...	$19,200	Unknown
$500 Seven Card Stud	Gary Berland Gary Berland Gary "Bones" Berland was an American professional poker player who won five World Series of Poker bracelets.-Early Life:...	$17,100	Unknown
$5,000 Seven Card Stud	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...	$68,000	Unknown
$1,000 No Limit Betting (poker) In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...  Hold'em	Aubrey Day	$42,600	Unknown
$200 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Terry King Terry King Terry King was a World Series of Poker champion in the 1978 $200 Ladies - Limit 7 Card Stud.As of 2008, her total WSOP tournament winnings exceed $20,167 .-World Series of Poker bracelets:-References:...	$10,080	Unknown
$5,000 Draw High	Lakewood Louie Lakewood Louie "Lakewood" Louie is an American poker player best known for his success at the World Series of Poker in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Louie started playing in tournaments at the World Series of Poker in the 1970s...	$21,000	Unknown
$1,500 No Limit Hold'em	Hans "Tuna" Lund Hans Lund Hans J. "Tuna" Lund was an American professional poker player, based in Sparks, Nevada, who won two World Series of Poker bracelets, and was the runner-up at the 1990 WSOP Main Event.-Poker Career:...	$46,800	Unknown
$1,000 Seven Card Stud Split	David "Chip" Reese Chip Reese David Edward Reese , more commonly known as Chip Reese, was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio...	$22,200	Unknown
$1,000 Ace to Five Draw	Henry Young	$19,200	Gary Berland Gary Berland Gary "Bones" Berland was an American professional poker player who won five World Series of Poker bracelets.-Early Life:...

Main Event

There were 42 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. This was the first time that the main event paid a prize to any players other than the winner.

Final table

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Bobby Baldwin Bobby Baldwin Bobby Baldwin is a professional poker player, off-road racer and casino executive. As a poker player, Baldwin is best known as the 1978 world champion, becoming the youngest main event champion at that time....	$210,000
2nd	Crandell Addington Crandell Addington Crandell Addington is an entrepreneur and poker player who is best known as one of the founders of the World Series of Poker, and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.- Poker :...	$84,000
3rd	Louis Hunsucker	$63,000
4th	Buck Buchanan	$42,000
5th	Jesse Alto Jesse Alto Jesse Michael Alto , was an American poker player, best known for his numerous main event final table appearances at the World Series of Poker.Alto was a fixture at the World Series of Poker in the 1970s and 1980s...	$21,000
6th	Ken Smith	None

Fall of World Champions

• Day one: 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...
  
  , Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston
  Amarillo Slim
  Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. , known as Amarillo Slim, is an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets...
  
  , 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:...
  
  , Brian "Sailor" Roberts
  Sailor Roberts
  Bryan W. "Sailor" Roberts was an American professional poker player.Before becoming a poker professional Roberts was a rounder and traveled the country looking for games along with other legends such as Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim...
  
  , 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...
  
  

Other notable players

Ken Smith

Ken Smith

Ken Smith grew up in Iowa, and attended Iowa State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture in 1976. After graduation, he apprenticed with sculptor Paul Shao, and worked for the Iowa Conservation Commission in Parks and Recreation Planning...

, Gabe Kaplan

Gabe Kaplan

Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...

 and Barbara Freer

Barbara Freer

Barbara Freer was a World Series of Poker champion in the 1979 $400 Ladies - Limit 7 Card Stud.As of 2008, her total WSOP tournament winnings exceed $39,775.-World Series of Poker bracelets:-References:...

(the first woman player).