Ben Affleck at a world poker tournament Photo REUTERS
Celebrity poker players include Ben Affleck, Martin Amis, Stephen Fry, Robbie Williams, David Schwimmer, Michael Owen, Jimmy White and Steve Davis.
An estimated £15 billion was staked on online poker last year.
The World Series of Poker is held annually at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas.
The tournament's inspiration dated from 1949, when the inveterate gambler Nick "the Greek" Dandolos approached the casino owner Benny Binion and asked him to stage a high stakes poker marathon. Binion telephoned his friend Johnny Moss, a professional player. According to Las Vegas legend the game lasted five months - with sleep breaks only every few days. Finally, after losing an estimated $2 million in all, Dandolos stood up, bowed slightly, and said: "Mr Moss, I have to let you go."
Binion's only stipulation for hosting the showdown had been that the game be played in public view, and he deliberately stationed the card table near the casino entrance in order to draw in the punters. Binion was impressed by the crowds that gathered and, in 1970, decided to re-stage a battle of poker giants and the World Series of Poker was born.
More than 1,500 people are expected to pay the $10,000 entry fee to take part in this year's WSOP, with the winner likely to take home more than $2 million.
Johnny Moss and Stu Ungar have each won the World Series three times.
Last year's World Champion was an amateur, Chris Moneymaker, a 27-year-old accountant who won the $2,500,000 prize. He gained his seat in the WSOP by winning a $40 online poker tournament.
The most expensive tournament is the Five Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas, which costs $25,000 to enter.
In Britain, 13 million adults have played poker.
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