In 1974, the fifth World Series of Poker main event winner was again, Johnny Moss. In 1970 he won a trophy and in 1974 he took home a whopping $160,000. This was Johnny’s third and final WSOP main event bracelet, but he still played in the tournament for years afterwards. Johnny Moss actually won eight WSOP bracelets altogether, winning the three NL Main Events in ’70, ’71 and 1974, then 7-Card Stud events in ’75, ’76 and ’79. He then won the 7-Card Stud Split in 1981 and the Ace to Five Draw in 1988. His last WSOP bracelet may have been on of his greatest accomplishments since he was over 70 years old at the time.
Every time I read about the past winners of the WSOP I learn more about the players and I learn more about the history of the WSOP. I’ve written before about how the WSOP tournament was started, that Nick “The Greek” Dandolos approached Benny Binion and then called Moss who was in the middle of a three-day game. Moss jumped in a plane and flew to Vegas to play and the tournament lasted over five months.
They started with 5-Card Stud and they played everyday, only taking a break for a few hours to sleep. Moss was a favorite to win because he was 15 years younger than Nick the Greek and everyone knew that stamina would end up becoming a huge factor in the outcome. Binion moved the table to the front of the casino where tourists, guests and other gamblers would stand several people deep to take in the high stakes action. Rumor has it that Moss won over $4 million from ‘The Greek’, and back then that was a hefty sum of money. The game ended when an exhausted Nick the Greek uttered one of the most famous lines of all time, “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.”
Moss lived in Vegas until his death in 1997 and played at The Horseshoe where he had a life-long friendship with Binion. There were only a handful of players who could compete with Johnny Moss and his name will always be mentioned as one of the best players of all time.
Great Players in Poker History 