WSOP 1971 – The First Series of Tournaments and Johnny Moss’s Second Victory

WSOP 1971 Results

*Dates can be wrong, we use official information from WSOP.

WSOP Main Event 1971 Results

The Winner — Johnny Moss

Johnny Moss confirmed his title as the best player by winning both the 1970 and 1971 WSOP. Doyle Brunson later said:

“It does show we voted for the right guy”.

The Runner-Up

In the history of the series, not only is there no information about the final hand of the tournament, but the information about the player who finished second also varies.

Most websites name ‘Puggy’ Pearson as the player who lost to Johnny Moss in the decisive heads-up match. However, there is a high probability that these data are confused with the results of the WSOP 1972, where Pearson finished second.

According to players’ recollections, Jack Straus finished second in the Main Event. This mention is found in the book “Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People” and “All In: The (Almost) Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker” by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback.

There are also discrepancies in memories about the prize money. Some participants point to a $35,000 prize awarded to Johnny Moss. This figure arises from an erroneous version that involves the participation of 7 players in the tournament. However, considering the $5,000 buy-in and the number of participants (6), the prize is more commonly referred to as $30,000.

Why Were There So Few Participants?

The final tournament had only 6 players, three of whom had won qualifying tournaments and could play for prize money without risking their own wallet. What happened to the dozens of participants from the WSOP 1970 and Amarillo ‘Slim’, who devised the format for this series?

Moreover, it is known that Jack Binion, who managed Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, was prepared to buy out shares from Main Event participants, but they still refused to participate in the tournament.

The reason was that during the WSOP 1971, an expensive cash game was being held simultaneously, and its appeal to professional players was higher than the chance to win a cup that at that point meant nothing. Today, we understand the incredible significance of WSOP titles in the early stages of the series, but for the real players of those years, the opportunity to play in Las Vegas with poker amateurs for big money was noticeably more attractive.