1974 - This Year in WSOP History

February 13

Gus Hansen [] b. in Copenhagen, Denmark as Gustav Jacobsen
Won 2010 WSOP Europe £10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'Em High Roller ($444,925). 3 WPT titles.
Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon

April 30

Kenny Tran [] b. in Vietnam as Phuong Tran
Won 2008 $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold 'Em ($539,056). 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. 5th place ($444,000). Six WSOP Main Event cashes, including 16th in 2007 (($381,302) & 17th in 2022 ($410,000).
Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon

May 9

$5,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw (Event #1, 2 days [5/7 start])

Winner: Sailor Roberts ($35,850 & 1st bracelet)

Entries: 16 (3 paid)

WSOP.com | Hendon

May 10

$10,000 Limit Seven-Card Stud (Event #2, 2 days [5/9 start])

Winner: Jimmy Casella ($41,225 & 2nd bracelet)

Entries: 9 (3 paid)

Event was likely originally winner-take-all with the players agreeing to a chop three-way.

WSOP.com | Hendon

May 11

Bonnie Baez Becomes First Woman to Cash in Open Event
Finishes fourth in $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em for $1,050.

Amarillo Slim Preston Wins $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em for Second Bracelet
Defeats field of 21 for $11,100.

$1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em (Event #3, 2 days [5/10 start])

Winner: Amarillo Slim Preston ($11,100 & 2nd bracelet)

Entries: 21 (4 paid)

Dates are approximate.

WSOP.com | Hendon

May 12

Bill Boyd Wins $5,000 Five-Card Stud for Fourth Bracelet
Defeats field of 8 for $40,000. [After Boyd's fourth straight Five-Card Stud victory, the event is retired.]

May 13

Duane Hickman Wins $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em
Las Vegan defeats field of 23 for $10,540 in an event missing from WSOP.com and the Hendon Mob Database.

$1,000 Non-Professional No-Limit Hold 'Em (Event #4, 3 days [5/11 start])

Winner: Duane Hickman ($10,540 & 1st bracelet)

Entries: 23 (4 paid)

Event missing from WSOP.com and Hendon Mob database but May 14, 1974 Las Vegas Review-Journal, p. 17. says Hickman won $10,540 of $23,500 prize pool (implying 47 players buying in for $500 each; dates are estimated). Festival leaderboard on page 5 of May 15, 1974 Las Vegas Sun fills in other three places paid but is short by $500, so it's possible an unknown player came in fifth for $500.

WSOP.com

May 14

Jimmy Casella Wins $1,000 Razz for Second Bracelet of Year, Third Overall
Defeats field of 36 for $25,000 four days after overcoming a field of 9, including Johnny Moss heads up, for $41,225 in the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud.

$1,000 Limit Razz (Event #5, 2 days [5/13 start])

Winner: Jimmy Casella ($25,000 & 3rd bracelet)

Entries: 36 (2 paid)

WSOP.com | Hendon

$5,000 Limit Five-Card Stud (Event #6, 1 day)

Winner: Bill Boyd ($40,000 & 4th bracelet)

Entries: 8 (1 paid)

Boyd's fourth straight Five-Card Stud win led to the retirement of the event.

WSOP.com | Hendon

May 18

Johnny Moss Wins 1974 WSOP Main Event
Defeats field of 16 players, including Crandell Addington heads up, for his third world championship and fourth bracelet, the first actual gold bracelet ever awarded.

$10,000 Main Event - No-Limit Hold 'Em (Event #7, 4 days [5/15 start])

Winner: Johnny Moss ($160,000 & 4th bracelet)

Entries: 16 (1 paid)

Johnny Moss received the first actual gold bracelet for his win (source? Another source says Roberts the next year: https://www.888poker.com/magazine/poker/live-events/88-wsop-fun-facts)

WSOP.com | Hendon

May 29

Amarillo Slim Preston Appears on "The Tomorrow Show"
Preston convinced Benny Binion and Joe Bernstein to join him on Tom Snyder's late night show, which becomes an hour-long advertisement for poker and the Horseshoe Casino.

June 21

Abe Mosseri [] b. in Brooklyn, New York
Won 2009 $1,500 Limit Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw ($165,521) & 2017 $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship ($388,795).
Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon

July 26

Daniel Negreanu [] b. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Won first bracelet in 1998 $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'Em ($169,460) and last in 2024 $50,000 Poker Players Championship ($1,178,703) after an 11-year drought. First player to win WSOP (1998), WSOP Europe (2013), and WSOP Asia-Pacific (2013) bracelets. Only two-time WSOP Player of the Year (2004 & 2013 -- also Card Player Player of the Year both times). WPT Player of the Year 2004-05 (Season 3). Poker Hall of Fame 2014.
Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon

September 26

Josh Arieh [] b. in Rochester, New York
2004 WSOP Main Event 3rd place ($2,500,000). Won 2 bracelets in 2023: $10,000 Limit Hold 'Em ($316,226) & $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($711,313). Won 1999 $3,000 Limit Hold 'Em ($202,800), 2005 $2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha ($381,600), 2021 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Max ($204,766), & 2021 $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8-Max ($484,791).
Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon

October 10

John Phan [] b. in Da Nang, Vietnam as Bon Phan
Won 2008 $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em & 2008 $2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($151,896). 1 World Poker Tour title. Featured in Poker's Most Wanted playing card deck (2006).
Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon