The First World Series of Poker: Johnny Moss vs Nick the Greek
In 1970, two men sat down at Binion's Horseshoe to decide who was the best poker player in the world. The game lasted for months. Only one man left alive.
The deal
My brother used to tell me about the time he watched it happen. It was 1970 at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. Two men played poker for what felt like the whole summer.
One was Johnny Moss, a Texas gambler who'd been playing cards since he was a kid. The other was Nick the Greek, a legend from the older generation who'd already made and lost fortunes.
Round 1: The Setup
Jack Binion, who ran the Horseshoe, had an idea. Instead of the usual cash games, why not host a tournament? Let the best poker players in America sit down and play until one man remained. Call it the World Series of Poker.
Nick the Greek and Johnny Moss volunteered for the main event. This was May 1970. They started with $500,000 in stakes.
They played heads-up. Just the two of them. Day after day. Week after week. Other players would rotate in for side games, but the central match was these two men.
Round 2: The Match
Johnny Moss was younger. Forty years old. Nick the Greek was older, in his sixties. But Nick had the reputation. He'd beaten everyone. He'd lost fortunes and made them back. He was a legend.
Johnny Moss played tight and careful. Nick the Greek played loose and aggressive, the way he always did. The match went on for nearly three months.
Poker isn't just luck. I want you to understand that. You can be dealt bad cards and play them poorly, or bad cards and play them well. Johnny Moss played every hand carefully. He didn't chase losses. He didn't get frustrated.
Round 3: The End
By August 1970, Nick the Greek was broke. He'd lost everything he brought to the game. Johnny Moss had won what was then an enormous sum: roughly $275,000. That's about $2 million in today's money.
Nick the Greek walked away from the table. He never made a comeback. He died a few years later, broke and alone. That's the part nobody likes to talk about.
Round 4: What It Meant
That first World Series of Poker created the template for everything that came after. DraftKings, Bet365, Pragmatic Play, Stake: none of those would exist without the idea that poker was a game you could play and get known for playing well.
Johnny Moss became the first World Champion. He went on to win it again. But the real victory wasn't his. It was the game's. Poker went from a game for criminals and outcasts to a game with champions and tournaments.
Nick the Greek lost more than money. He lost his place in the game. But his loss gave the game meaning. You could win or lose everything. That was the bargain.
Round 5: The Harder Truth
Poker is a wonderful game. I'm not going to lie to you and say it isn't. But it's a game where some people get very rich and some people get very poor. Johnny Moss got rich. Nick the Greek got poor.
My brother watched it happen. He told me Johnny Moss never gloated. He just played the game. He didn't feel bad for Nick. He didn't feel good about winning. He just won.
That's the honest version of that story. It's a beautiful game and it destroys people. Both things are true at once.
