Betting on the World Series of Poker 2005

The World Series of Poker has been around since 1970, Before the Television networks like ESPN started showing Poker tournaments for the Public, names like three time champions, Johhny Moss and Stu Ungar were household names in poker talk, but to your average sports bettor or online casino player they were virtual unknowns.

This all changed in 2003, when an unknown named Chris Moneymaker defied all the odds to win the championship and the $2.5 million prize. Moneymaker qualified to play in the World Series of Poker on the internet. That showed the public that truly anyone can win the event.

To show the effect of the Moneymaker's win, in 2003 they were 839 people who laid down the $10,000 entry fee for the main event. That number tripled in 2004 to 2,576 people.

The 2004 prize pool this year was $24.2 million, the biggest prize in sports according to the organizers. The main event was won by Greg "Fossilman" Raymer unknown from the internet world. Greg "Fossilman" Raymer emerged from a field of 2,576 entrants with the $5 million prize and then quickly quit his job as a patent attorney. He is now traveling around to different poker tournaments to prove that he is not a one year wonder.

Online players completed dominated this year's tournament and will have to be respected from now on. 4 of the final 9 players qualified online, including the winner Greg Raymer and the runner-up as well. Greg  Raymer wielded it like a Flintstones club, knocking down opponent after opponent. He saved his greatest drubbing for the end, beating David Anthony Williams in an epic showdown Friday night, seven hours after the finale began.

Greg "Fossilman" Raymer snagged the top prize of $5 million.

In head-to-head play, Raymer had a stack worth $17.1 million compared with the $8.2 million owned by Williams. On the seventh hand, Williams pushed all his chips into the pot and Raymer matched him.

Both had full houses, but Raymer had eights over twos, while Williams had fours over twos. Williams, a 23-year-old Dallas college student, busted out.

Raymer, 39, whose nickname comes from his hobby of collecting fossils, snagged the top prize of $5 million and Williams earned $3.5 million for second place.

Both Raymer and Williams qualified playing in satellite tournaments on the Internet, picking up where last year's champ Chris Moneymaker left off. Moneymaker, who won $2.5 million in 2003,
lost on the event's first day.

Oddsmakers favor poker superstars Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu at 200/1. They are followed by top players Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson and Erick Lindgren at 225/1.

Gamblerspalace.com offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date WSOP Odds and Lines.

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