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The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a
poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual
WSOP The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...
. Even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as "bracelets". During the first years of the WSOP, only a handful of bracelets were awarded each year. In 1990, there were only 14 bracelet events. By 2000, that number increased to 24. As the popularity of poker has increased during the 2000s, the number of events has likewise increased. In 2011, 58 bracelets were awarded at the WSOP, seven at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and one to the WSOP National Circuit Champion. This brought the total number of bracelets awarded up to 959. Five additional bracelets were awarded for the first time in April 2013 at the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (WSOP APAC) in
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, Australia. In 2017, 74 bracelets were awarded at the WSOP and an additional 11 will be awarded at the WSOPE in Czech Republic. After the conclusion of the 2014 WSOP APAC, there have been 1083 bracelets awarded, 500 of which were won by 170 players who have won at least two bracelets, with all of the other bracelets being won by one-time winners. This includes (up to this point) 22 Main Event winners with one bracelet: Hal Fowler, Bill Smith, Mansour Matloubi, Brad Daugherty, Russ Hamilton, Noel Furlong, Robert Varkonyi,
Chris Moneymaker Christopher Bryan Moneymaker (born November 21, 1975) is an American poker player who won the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP). His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a wor ...
,
Greg Raymer Gregory Paul Raymer (born June 25, 1964) nicknamed "Fossilman," is a professional poker player and author. He is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event. Early life Raymer's family moved numerous times during his childh ...
, Joe Hachem, Jamie Gold,
Jerry Yang Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang (; born Yang Chih-Yuan; November 6, 1968) is a Taiwanese-born American billionaire computer programmer, internet entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He is the co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo! Inc. and founding partne ...
, Peter Eastgate, Pius Heinz, Ryan Riess,
Martin Jacobson Martin Jacobson (born 30 June 1987) is a Swedish professional poker player, originally from Stockholm, Sweden, but currently residing in London, England. In 2014, he won the World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000, the fifth largest s ...
, Qui Nguyen, Scott Blumstein, John Cynn, Hossein Ensan, Damian Salas, and
Koray Aldemir Koray Aldemir (born 1990) is a German professional poker player of Turkish descent, born in Berlin and now residing in Vienna, Austria. In 2021, he won the World Series of Poker Main Event for $8,000,000. Aldemir first played poker while at a ...
.


Bracelet description

The 1976 bracelet looked "like gold nuggets kind of hammered flat". The bracelet in 1976 cost approximately $500. In the 1980s,
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
jeweler Mordechai Yerushalmi became the exclusive manufacturer of WSOP bracelets until Harrah's Entertainment bought the rights to the WSOP in 2004. According to 2003 WSOP Champion
Chris Moneymaker Christopher Bryan Moneymaker (born November 21, 1975) is an American poker player who won the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP). His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a wor ...
, the design of the bracelet remained relatively unchanged under Yerushalmi. In 2005, Gold and Diamond International based in Memphis, TN won the bid from Harrah's Entertainment to manufacture the 2005 World Series of Poker bracelets. The company also manufactures the WSOP circuit rings. In 2006, Frederick Goldman, Inc. made the WSOP bracelets while luxury watch maker Corum introduced some commemorative watches as part of the prize package. In 2006, the Champion's bracelet had 259 stones including 7.2 carats (1.4 g) of diamonds, 120 grams of white and yellow gold. It also used rubies to represent the heart and diamond suits, a sapphire to represent the spade and three black diamonds to represent the clubs. In 2007, Corum became the official bracelet manufacturer for the WSOP. Some of the 2007 World Series of Poker champions received both a watch and a bracelet from Corum. Corum designed four variations for the 2007 World Series of Poker Bracelets. The standard version that is presented to 53 winners features 53 diamonds.CORUM Introduces New World Series of Poker(R) Bracelets
June 5, 2007. ''GlobalInvestor'' Accessed July 30, 2007
The Ladies World Champion receives a bracelet that is adorned with four black diamonds, two rubies and 87 blue sapphires. The $50,000 HORSE Champion Bracelet has 91 black diamonds and two rubies.Press Releas
CORUM Introduces New World Series of Poker Bracelets; Elegant Design Features 18 Carat Gold, Precious Gems
June 5, 2007. ''WorldSeriesofPoker.com'' Accessed July 7, 2007
The World Series of Poker Main Event Bracelet has 120 diamonds on 136 grams of 18-karat (75 percent) white gold. The value of the 2007 bracelets have not been released, but the typical price of a Corum watch ranges from $1,500–$30,000+. In 2008, the Main Event Bracelet had 291 diamonds, totalling 2.81 carats set in 168 grams of 18-karat white gold. The other 54 event bracelets consisted of 55 diamonds, totalling 0.25 carats set in 80 grams of 14-karat yellow gold. In 2010, an Australian-based company OnTilt Designs Pty Ltd won a multi-year contract to become the official bracelet manufacturer for the WSOP. OnTilt jewelers decided that the 2010 bracelet design would return to the tradition of the 1970s and 1980s where the bracelet was a heavy piece of unadorned metal. American jewelry designer
Steve Soffa Steve Soffa is an United States, American jewelry designer best known for his timepieces that are sold and distributed to Fortune 100 companies. Biography In 1993, Soffa started his career as a salesman at a branding watch company. A few years ...
was chosen to design and manufacture the entire set of bracelets. The goal was to create a bracelet that somebody would actually want to wear every day. In 2011, OnTilt has also been chosen to manufacture the WSOP Circuit rings. In 2012, Jason Arasheben, famed jewelry designer and owner of Jason of Beverly Hills was chosen as the official bracelet manufacturer of the WSOP. Arasheben had designed the championship rings for the 2009 and 2010 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2011 Green Bay Packers, among others. The Main Event bracelet will feature each suit in the deck in either rubies or black diamonds. In terms of sheer mass, it weighs in at over 160 grams of 14 karat gold and over 35 carats of flawless diamonds. A special platinum bracelet was awarded at the 2012 WSOP to the winner of The
Big One for One Drop The Big One for One Drop is a $1,000,000 buy-in No Limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament hosted first in 2012, and for its first four editions, with the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It became the highest buy-in poker tournament in history as wel ...
, Antonio Esfandiari. The event was a $1 million buy-in tournament created as a fundraiser for the
One Drop Foundation One Drop is an international non-profit organization based in Montreal, created in 2007 by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, which is focused on water initiatives. Arts and culture One Drop uses circus arts, folklore, popular theatre, musi ...
, a charity established by
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
founder
Guy Laliberté Guy Laliberté, (born 2 September 1959) is a Canadian billionaire businessman and poker player. Along with Gilles Ste-Croix, he is the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, which was founded in 1984. The Canadian circus company's shows have since be ...
.


Prestige

At first, the bracelets did not have much prestige. Ten-time bracelet winner
Doyle Brunson Doyle Frank Brunson (August 10, 1933 – May 14, 2023) was an American poker player who played professionally for over 60 years. He was a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) List of World Series of Poker Main Event champions, Main Event champi ...
said that his first bracelet "didn't mean anything" to him and that he did not even pick up two of them. Some professional poker players believe that there are two types of poker players: those who have won a bracelet and those who have not. Those who have belong to an exclusive club. "It's impossible to overstate the value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet to anyone who takes the game seriously," stated World Series of Poker Commissioner
Jeffrey Pollack Jeffrey Pollack (born 1965) is an American sports executive and business consultant. After a brief career in politics, Pollack moved into the industry of sports business where he's held executive roles with the NBA, NASCAR, World Series of Poke ...
during the 2006 bracelet unveiling. "It is the equivalent of winning the
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
in
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
or the Lombardi Trophy in
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
." Many professional poker players desire the recognition that is associated with the bracelet. Former Celebrity Poker Showdown host and poker star Phil Gordon said, "I want that bracelet more than anything."
Freddy Deeb Kassem Ibrahim "Freddy" Deeb (; born 27 November 1955 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanese professional poker player. Early life Deeb was attending Utah State University when civil war broke out in Lebanon in 1975. He lost contact with his parents ...
said that he did not appreciate his first bracelet because he did not recognize what it meant. He said his 2007 bracelet, however, "means everything to me".
Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...
says that winning her 2005 Women's Championship bracelet was "better than an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
".ESPN's Coverage of the 2007 World Series of Poker, Episode 2 When the
World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...
decided to offer a prize to its event champions, they decided to present them with WPT Bracelets. In so doing, WPT Founder, President and CEO Steve Lipscomb said, "The championship bracelet has become synonymous with poker as a symbol of achievement and respect, and we are honored to continue the tradition that
Benny Binion Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 25, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American casino operator who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting an ...
he founder of the WSOPbegan over 30 years ago."


History

Bracelets have not always been awarded for winning events. In 1970, the first WSOP Champion received nothing but a silver cup and whatever cash they won during the event. From 1971 to 1974, according to Becky Behnen (the daughter of WSOP founder
Benny Binion Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 25, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American casino operator who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting an ...
), the winner received an undescribed "corny trophy".Associated Pres
Poker's glory is about the bracelet, not the money
''Albuquerque Tribune''. (July 28, 2006).
In 1975, the winners received a sterling plate. In 1976, the WSOP started the tradition of issuing bracelets to the event winners. In 1980 and 1981, one did not have to win a WSOP event to win a gold bracelet. In 1980 and 1981, H.D. "Oklahoma Johny" Hale and
Chip Reese David Edward "Chip" Reese (March 28, 1951 – December 4, 2007) was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio. He is widely regarded as having been the greatest cash game poker player. Early life Reese suffe ...
received a gold bracelet for being the "Best All Around Player" at the WSOP, respectively. These bracelets, however, are not considered in the count of WSOP championship bracelets. In 2007, Thomas Bihl became the first person to ever win a WSOP bracelet outside
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, Nevada. Bihl won the £2,500 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. at the World Series of Poker Europe in London, England. Days later, Annette Obrestad became the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet at 18 years, 364 days, also becoming the first woman to win a World Series Main Event (WSOPE). Caesars Entertainment (known until 2010 as Harrah's Entertainment), the owner of the WSOP, considers the WSOP Europe bracelet to be the same in prestige as those awarded every year in Las Vegas. In 2008, Jesper Hougaard became the first person to have won both a WSOP and WSOPE bracelet. In 2011, a World Series of Poker bracelet was awarded for the first time to the WSOP Circuit National Championship winner in the 100-qualifier event from May 27–29. The following year, the Circuit National Championship moved to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, where it was held in 2013. Starting in 2013, bracelets are also awarded in Australia at the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, held at
Crown Melbourne Crown Melbourne (also referred to as Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex) is an integrated resort consisting of a casino and hotel located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Melbourne is a subsidiary of C ...
.


Bracelet legacy

Of the three top WSOP bracelet winners, only Johnny Chan still has them all. He keeps them locked in a vault because they are worth, according to him, "millions". Doyle Brunson did not pick up two of his. Seventeen-time bracelet winner
Phil Hellmuth Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record seventeen World Series of Poker bracelets, the majority in no-limit hold'em. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Se ...
gave away ten of his. "To me," Hellmuth said, "the bracelets have always been a really huge deal, to me more than the other guys, because I knew that they represented history." Three-time WSOP Bracelet winner Hamid Dastmalchi and six-time winner
Ted Forrest Ted Forrest (born September 24, 1964) is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tournament wins In 1992, Forrest won two tournaments at the LA Poker Classic and one at the World Poker Finals in Mashant ...
had been playing for four days non-stop at
the Mirage The Mirage is a defunct casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The 65-acre property included a casino and 3,044 rooms. Mirage Resorts, Golden Nugget, Inc., led by developer Steve Wynn, purchased the future lan ...
when Hamid started to complain about the 1992 Main Event Championship Bracelet he received. Bitter about a dispute with the
Binion's Horseshoe Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel, formerly Binion's Horseshoe, is a casino on Fremont Street along the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is owned by TLC Casino Enterprises. The casino is n ...
, the owners of the WSOP at the time, Hamid told the table that the Binion's "say it's worth $5,000, but I'd take $1,500 for it." To which Forrest responded "Sold" and immediately tossed Hamid $1,500 in chips. Dastmalchi mailed Forrest his bracelet. Ted Forrest also reported that three of his five bracelets have been stolen over the years, and that he gave his daughter one. In November 2010, Peter Eastgate put his main event bracelet up for auction on
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
with a starting bid of $16,000. It eventually sold for $147,500, and this money was donated to
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.


WSOP Circuit rings

In 2005, the inaugural World Series of Poker Circuit was founded, hosting events at many of their casinos around the country. In order to differentiate these events and to ensure the prestige of the WSOP Bracelet, the circuit events present a ring to the winners.


Circuit National Championship

From 2011, the WSOP awarded a bracelet to the winner of the WSOP Circuit National Championship. The Circuit Event National Championship was an invitation only event that used the standings of players from the various circuit events in determining who was invited.


Multiple bracelet winners

The top bracelet winners are as follows: The bracelet leaders by decade are: (bold = won
Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
) Johnny Moss, with a win at the 1971 WSOP, became the first person to have won multiple lifetime WSOP "bracelets" (as mentioned above, the first actual bracelet was given in 1976). Moss also was the first person to win five lifetime WSOP bracelets, with a win at the 1975 WSOP. Johnny Chan, with a win in Event No. 25 at the
2005 World Series of Poker The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or t ...
, became the first person to win 10 lifetime WSOP bracelets, just a few days before
Doyle Brunson Doyle Frank Brunson (August 10, 1933 – May 14, 2023) was an American poker player who played professionally for over 60 years. He was a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) List of World Series of Poker Main Event champions, Main Event champi ...
won his 10th bracelet in Event No. 31 of that same WSOP. The first person to win two bracelets in the same WSOP was Johnny Moss at the 1971 WSOP. The first person to win three bracelets in the same WSOP was Walter "Puggy" Pearson, at the 1973 WSOP. As of the start of the 2025 WSOP, only seven players have won three bracelets in a single WSOP. Bill Boyd, Doyle Brunson and Loren Klein are the only players to have won bracelets in four consecutive years (Boyd from 1971 to 1974, Brunson from 1976 to 1979 and Klein from 2016 to 2019). As of the completion of the 2024 World Series of Poker, Jason Mercier and
Scott Seiver Scott Seiver (born April 14, 1985, in Columbus, Ohio) is a professional poker player from Cold Spring Harbor, New York, now residing in Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2008 World Series of Poker $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event and is the winner of ...
are the only players to win multiple events in the same
World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...
with a buy-in of at least $10,000.


Notes


References

{{2020s WSOP bracelet winners
Bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, ...
International sports trophies and awards Bracelets Awards established in 1976