For example, the competition at the final table of the 1990 SBOP Main Event included Poker Hall of Famers T. J. Cloutier, Chip Reese, Stu Ungar, Jack Keller, and 1992 WSOP Main Event winner Hamid Dastmalchi.
As of 2009, the final three competitors, all members of the Poker Hall of Fame, own a combined twenty-seven WSOP bracelets.
1972 WSOP Main Event Champion and outspoken ambassador for poker, Amarillo Slim, saw this as an opportunity.
[7] Slim called upon his connections and friendships with poker's elite to start a new tournament in February 1979.
World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton recalls that "All the big players at the time were there.
"[7] While only 30 people participated in the inaugural event, six of them were future Poker Hall of Famers (Johnny Moss, Bobby Baldwin, Chip Reese, Amarillo Slim, Sailor Roberts and Doyle Brunson).
[7] After two years at the Sahara in Reno, the casino was acquired by the Hilton Corporation and the SBOP was forced to change its location again.
Slim said that in order to get to the tournament, "You had to fly to Vegas and rent a car and drive 125 miles, and that didn't go over real big.
As the SBOP grew, the number of winners increased, but the prize structure always remained top heavy.
[1] One of the trademarks of the SBOP was the personalized gift from Amarillo Slim that the winner received.