We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.

For those of you who do not know, the WSOP Main Event is the granddaddy of them all. It started in 1970 when Benny Binion decided to create it on a hunch the public would come to watch. In 1972, there were seven players. A year later, 13. Binion saw the writing on the wall thinking it was going to grow and grow. I’m not sure he envisioned this kind of growth though.

In 2003 Chris Moneymaker was an unknown player who qualified via an Internet poker site and won the whole thing. There were a little more than 800 entries, and the prize was $2 million. I’m guessing this created a stir amongst “Joe Average” poker players since one of their own was able to pull it off. The very next year there were over 2400 entrants and a prize of $5 million to the winner. This year there were 5,619 entries with first place taking home $7.5 million. Not a bad payoff for a week’s worth of work.

If anyone has a spare ten grand lying around, please send it my way. That’s the entry fee for the Main Event and one day, mark my words, I will be in it.