| 1997 World Series of Poker | |
|---|---|
| Location | Binion's Horseshoe and Fremont Street Experience, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dates | April 19 – May 10 |
| Champion | |
 Stu Ungar | |
The 1997 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. Most notably, it was the only WSOP where the Main Event final table took place outdoors, at the Fremont Street Experience, just outside Binions.
| Event | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 Limit Hold'em | Kevin Song | $397,120 | Yuan Lanvin |
| $1,500 Razz | Linda Johnson | $96,000 | Peter Brownstein |
| $1,500 Limit Omaha | Claude Cohen | $110,400 | Frankie Havard |
| $1,500 Seven Card Stud | Maria Stern | $140,708 | Adam Roberts |
| $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/Rebuys | Chris Bjorin | $169,200 | Michael Davis |
| $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split | Doug Saab | $130,305 | Bernie Rosenthal |
| $2,000 No Limit Hold'em | John Cernuto | $259,150 | Thomas Sparks |
| $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | Scotty Nguyen | $156,950 | Mike Matusow |
| $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | Dave Ulliott | $180,310 | Chris Truby |
| $2,500 Seven Card Stud | Vasilis Lazarou | $169,000 | Caesar Como |
| $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/Rebuys | Matthias Rohnacher | $183,000 | Surinder Sunar |
| $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split | Max Stern | $117,000 | Artie Cobb |
| $3,000 Limit Hold'em | Louis Asmo | $231,600 | Jim Meehan |
| $3,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | Dean Stonier | $145,200 | John Hom |
| $3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | Phil Hellmuth | $204,000 | Tom McEvoy |
| $5,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw w/Rebuys | Johnny Chan | $164,250 | Lyle Berman |
| $3,000 No Limit Hold'em | Max Stern | $237,615 | Kathy Liebert |
| $5,000 Seven Card Stud | Mel Judah | $176,000 | Vasilis Lazarou |
| $5,000 Limit Hold'em | Bob Veltri | $224,000 | Ed Stevens |
| $1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud | Susie Isaacs | $38,000 | Karen Wolfson |
There were 312 entrants to the main event. Each entrant paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. Stu Ungar won the Main Event for a record-tying third time.
| Name | Number of chips (percentage of total) | WSOP Bracelets* | WSOP Cashes* | WSOP Earnings* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stu Ungar | 1,066,000 (34.1%) | 4 | 15 | $1,081,478 |
| Ron Stanley | 694,000 (22.2%) | 1 | 10 | $321,886 |
| Bob Walker | 612,000 (19.6%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Mel Judah | 301,000 (9.6%) | 2 | 13 | $544,026 |
| John Strzemp | 245,000 (7.8%) | 0 | 1 | $4,632 |
| Peter Bao | 204,000 (6.5%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*Career statistics prior to the beginning of the 1997 Main Event.
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Stu Ungar | $1,000,000 |
| 2nd | John Strzemp | $583,000 |
| 3rd | Mel Judah | $371,000 |
| 4th | Ron Stanley | $212,000 |
| 5th | Bob Walker | $161,120 |
| 6th | Peter Bao | $127,200 |
NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 9th | Chris Bjorin | $48,760 |
| 12th | Marsha Waggoner | $33,920 |
| 13th | Jay Heimowitz | $29,680 |
| 14th | Andrew Black | $29,680 |
| 15th | Rod Peate | $29,680 |
| 16th | Doyle Brunson | $25,440 |
| 18th | Ken Flaton | $25,440 |
| 19th | Paul Clark | $21,200 |
| 21st | Phil Hellmuth | $21,200 |
| 22nd | Billy Baxter | $21,200 |
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players.
The 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January. Harrah's announced that future WSOP tournaments will be held in a moving circuit of member casinos.
The 2002 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1998 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1996 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 1996 World Series featured the first woman to win an open event outright when Barbara Enright won the $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event.
The 1995 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1993 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. Poker professionals Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest would both win three bracelets during the 1993 Series.
The 1992 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 1989 Main Event was won by 24-year-old Phil Hellmuth, defeating defending champion Johnny Chan, and also breaking the record for being the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event. Had Chan won, he would have tied Johnny Moss's record of three Main Event wins. This year also marked the first year in which Moss did not finish any WSOP tournaments inside the payout positions.
The 1988 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe between 5 May 1988, and 21 May 1988.
The 1987 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1986 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1983 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held from May 9 to May 12, 1983, at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1982 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1979 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The 1978 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held in May 1978 at Binion's Horseshoe, and was the first WSOP that was not a winner-take-all prize. Instead the tournament had a progressive prize structure, as follows 50 percent for the Winner then 20 for second, 15 for third, 10 for fourth, and 5 percent for fifth place.
The 1976 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held in May 1976 at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1975 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held in May 1975 at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1974 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held in May 1974 at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 1971 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe during May 1–15, 1971. This was only the 2nd installment of the World Series of Poker, but unlike at the 1970 event, freezeout tournaments were played to decide the winner of the main title. The freezeout structure replaced the cash games, and it was kept in use ever since. 5 freezeouts were played in total—4 preliminary events and the Main Event—each featuring a different poker variant. The preliminary events required player to put up a buy-in of $1K, while the Main Event buy-in was $5K.