Poker news from http://www.pjstar.com/
LAS VEGAS - Pictures. Autographs.
One for my mom, says a fan at the World Series of Poker.
One for my sister, says another.
Professional poker player Chris Ferguson strode down the hallways at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino this week, his slight frame draped in his trademark black suit, his long hair tucked under a black cowboy hat.
The trappings of fame have become commonplace for the 46-year-old, whose notoriety certainly didn't come by earning a computer science degree from UCLA.
"It's great. It's amazing,"
Ferguson said of poker's blossoming popularity. "I absolutely love how big it's getting."
And there's 62-year-old Mike Caro, being chased by a middle-aged man seeking a moment with the "Mad Genius."
One of the WSOP's patriarchs, Doyle Brunson then rolls by on a motorized cart.
Each one is stopped, taking time to enjoy the fame.
"It's almost surreal to me," said Caro, one of the field's most renowned authors. "It takes me 20 minutes to walk down a hallway here and I'm not used to that.
"It's never been anything like this."
The flop
Poker, its professionals and the game of Texas Hold'em have become cultural spectacles.
Televised events and the development of cameras which allow viewers to see each player's cards have turned the game into the newest, sexiest spectator sport.
You can't surf down the digital cable dial without finding men in sunglasses, engaged in a psychological warfare centered around 52 pieces of cardboard, a whole lot of money - and even more pride.
The final episode of ESPN's WSOP coverage in 2004 was the sports and entertainment network's highest-rated program ever. The ratings that year jumped 58 percent from 2003, when accountant-turned-champion Chris Moneymaker helped put poker on the map.
ESPN's numbers dipped slightly in 2005, capped by Joe Hachem's main event title, but most other poker shows around the dial have seen significant increases in viewership.
The World Poker Tour - considered the innovator of TV poker - remains The Travel Channel's top-rated program, and NBC's National Heads-Up Championship averaged four million viewers last year.
"People used to think showing hole cards on TV would take the suspense out of it," Caro said. "It's added a layer of suspense."
Once reserved for back rooms of your local taverns, smoke and profanity flying around more readily than chips, the game now has soccer moms wondering if they should raise on the button with a middle pair.
"Poker is an American tradition," said Michael Bolcerek, a former tech executive and now president of the 30,000-member Poker Players Alliance, a Washington lobby aimed at getting the game legalized, taxed and regulated.
"It's been a mainstay across the country, from kitchen tables to card rooms in California."
You know poker's hit mainstream when sets of chips and green felt tabletops are now available alongside board games at Wal-Mart - warehouse prices for merchandise once deemed a specialty item.
Both the WPT and WSOP each hold multi-million dollar endorsement deals, their names synonymous with the ever-growing game.
Walk into any chain book store and you'll find multiple shelves lined with books aimed at boosting your poker savvy. There are DVDs, clothing, home decorations - you name it. There are even poker chips that incorporate the game's terms with verses from the Bible.
"In the past, the only chance we had to make a living was to win a tournament," said 31-year-old professional Josh Arieh, whose brash style in taking third in the 2004 main event skyrocketed him to fame. "Now, there are so many more opportunities to make money: Endorsements, books, appearances ..."
The turn
Ah, the money.
One in five American adults reported playing poker in 2005, a 33-percent jump from two years before, according to the American Gaming Association.
The nation's two largest casino markets have seen dramatic increases since the start of the poker boom. In New Jersey and Nevada - the only states that specifically track poker - the amount of revenue generated by poker since the start of 2003 has more than doubled, from $90 million to $207 million.
Much of the explosion can be attributed to the advent of Internet gambling, which generated $2.6 billion in revenue in 2005 and is projected to double by 2010, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors.
PPA's Bolcerek says of the 70 million who play poker each year, 23 million could do it in front of a computer screen, able to play in nothing but a soda-stained bathrobe and fuzzy slippers.
"It's amazing how it keeps growing," said Caterpillar, Inc. business analyst Paul Kessler, who whet his online appetite with early success. "I thought it would never get bigger than it was a couple years ago, but it has."
The 37-year-old Peorian says the game's continued growth also can also be traced to the game's relatively simple setup.
As the saying goes, Texas Hold'em takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.
"It's easy to learn the basics and if you're willing to put in the time - read books, learn - you can have success," said Kessler, who last week was among 2,050 players in the WSOP's $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. He lasted just 33 minutes in what turned out to be a three-day event. He played just four hands, saw a little tough luck, and was out the door.
Internet gaming caters to the younger, more technologically inclined player, especially college students.
That is no more apparent than with Jeff Madsen.
The 21-year-old University of California-Santa Barbara film student is becoming the unlikely hero at this year's WSOP, having already earned almost $1.5 million for two wins and two third-place finishes. He started playing just four years ago in an Indian casino near Santa Barbara and also plays some online.
"There's no discrimination in poker," said Madsen, who Wednesday played dressed in a red polo shirt, low-slung blue jeans and sandals. "It's a lot different than it was 10 years ago when you had the same typecast set of guys."
The river
An estimated 8,000 players will take part in the WSOP's main event, which begins today. Men and women will come from all walks of life, range in all ages and differ in skill level.
Yet they have one thing in common: Playing poker and working to help the game shed the stigma of what was once merely a back-room game.
"We're opening gates and getting people intrigued by the game," Caro said. "People are bonding over the poker table."
|
|
