Why All the Excitement Over Poker?

Home
>
Casino & Gambling
>
Why All the Excitement Over Poker?

Why All the Excitement Over Poker?

Poker's new upsurge in popularity in is due to televised showings of championship poker tournaments, such as The World Poker Tour and The World Series of Poker. This has resulted in millions of people all over the world playing either online or at land based casinos. Even movie stars and professional athletes are getting into tournament action. This really became evident when actor Ben Affleck won $356,400 and a tournament title at Commerce Casino's California State Poker Championship in June 2004.

And big business likes poker too. Bear Stearns estimated that annual revenue from poker was $4.5 billion in 2003. Another analyst group feels 2005 revenue will exceed $10 billion. PokerPulse.com stated that $200,463,154 .00 was wagered at online poker rooms in a 24 hour period on March 13, 2005.

People see the excitement and money that is involved in poker tournaments by watching poker on TV, which is one reason the perception of poker gambling went from being played in dark rooms to a preferred status. The seasoned professional players are excited about this as well. They are not winning as many tournaments as they have in the past due to the influx of many new players, but they are winning more than even because of their levels of expertise at the game.

Plus, the makeup of the top players has been changing. In the past only people who played for years and built up instincts for knowing how to win were champions. Now the newer top players are highly educated, highly successful and are analytical in nature. You will see individuals from top professions like Financial Analyst, Rocket Scientist, Attorney, and Mathematician along with industry CEO's in the ranks of champion. People like Phil Ivey and Chris Ferguson who can perform mathematical calculations in their heads with ease will be the future.

But not having an Ivy League education won't stop enthusiastic poker players from playing the game. On a televised episode of the 2004 World Series of Poker tournament, a former homeless man stated in a game he got off of the streets by learning to play poker. He stated that he learned the game by losing $1500.00, one penny at a time. (For the record he did not win that tournament, but did leave Binion's with over $40,000 in cash.)

And with the 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker Champions earning their seats from online poker room tournaments, the Internet will eventually be the main producer of players. A huge number of online poker rooms have been sponsoring seats to top tournaments with buy ins less than $100, which is a far cry from the standard entry fees for these events at land based casinos. So keep an eye on what is going on in the poker world, because the excitement is just getting started!

Tom Howze is a webmaster for 7 sites that relate to online gambling,
world series of poker and world poker tour events and updates.
For more information, please visit 2005 World Series of Poker

He can be reached at webmaster@justgambleforfree.com for questions.

In The News:

BusinessLIVE
Russia's Vladivostok casino zone to woo Asian money
Reuters
One of four official Russian government zones where casino gambling is legal, Vladivostok is the only one that has formally initiated plans to lure foreign investors. "We have no north Asia port for gambling. For a long time the debate has been, ...
Casino Zone Planned Near VladivostokThe Moscow Times
Russia woos Asian money with casinoIndian Express

all 7 news articles »

NOLA.com
Margaritaville casino to open Tuesday in Miss.
BusinessWeek
Supporters of the Margaritaville casino in Biloxi are counting on it as the gambling hall opens Tuesday. Margaritaville is among the smallest casinos approved by Mississippi regulators in recent years, raising concerns that it would steal business from ...
Jimmy Buffett expands his Margaritaville brand to Biloxi casinoNOLA.com
Regulators OK Jimmy Buffet's casino involvementSeattle Post Intelligencer

all 129 news articles »

$128000 In Fines Levied Against Two Casinos By The Pennsylvania Gaming Control ...
MarketWatch (press release)
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today levied fines against two casinos for allowing gambling by underage patrons. One of these casinos was also fined for permitting individuals who are on ...

and more »

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
Casino Investigates Bobbi Kristina Gambling Incident
UrbanMecca
Microgaming buy photoshop singapore online casino. With Sony Vaio VGN buy windows 7 64 bit online FS640W Laptop .6 GHz Pentium M and AMD`s Duron and Sempron. These changes will not even sure if you are seeing numerous information protection and ...
Vegas probes report of underage gambling by Houston's daughterChicago Tribune
Underage Bobbi Kristina Brown videotaped gambling at casinoThe Star-Ledger - NJ.com
Bobbi Kristina Investigated for Underage Gambling in Las VegasGossip On This
CBS News -The Gossip Girls -KVVU Las Vegas
all 53 news articles »

Casino owners cautious despite surge in gaming receipts
Rapid City Journal
A 9 percent surge in gambling revenue from April 2011 to April of this year looks good on the surface, but that growth includes money that is being given away to entice gamblers, according to casino owners. The revenue figures released by the South ...

and more »

Business Insider
Casino Workers Spill The Secrets Of The Gambling Industry On Reddit
Business Insider
Reddit recently asked anonymous casino workers to share what really goes down in the gambling industry. Dying to score free drinks or find out which casino has the best rewards? Here's what they had to say: Caesar's, says user xteneritasx.

Wheeling Intelligencer
Their View: We have become the United States of gambling
Silver City Sun News
The 11 casinos and two racinos (horse racing tracks with slots) are the Hoosier State's third-largest source of tax revenues. Clearly, the idea that gambling is sinful has vanished in much of the heartland — Iowa has 18 casinos — and increasingly on ...
Ohio panel on gambling bill compromise postponedBusinessWeek
Mercer: Other States' Casinos Smoke-FreeWheeling Intelligencer
Anti-Casino gambling protest held.WNYT
Ohio News Network -Albany Times Union -WKYC-TV
all 42 news articles »

Georgia Republicans to vote on casino gambling
Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Aaron Gould Sheinin Columbus -- When Republican voters go to the polls for the July 31 primary, they'll get the opportunity to say if Georgia should allow casino gambling with profits benefiting education. The state GOP's executive committee this ...
Crawford: Issues are primary focus this JulyGainesville Times

all 16 news articles »

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
States' approval of Internet gambling predicted
Boston.com
May 17, 2012|Wayne Parry, AP The US Congress is too badly divided to act on Internet gambling, so individual states will start approving it on their own within the next two years, panelists at a major casino conference predicted Thursday.
Developer: Pols can't keep approving new casinosWall Street Journal

all 523 news articles »

Jakarta Globe
Casinos bet on Macau growth but China a wildcard
Reuters
The three-day conference at the Global Gaming Expo Asia, known as the G2E, focuses on the outlook for gambling in the region. Of particular interest is the emergence of new casinos being built in Macau, the Philippines and Vietnam at a time when growth ...
Macau: propped up by high-rollers, but for how long?Financial Times (blog)
Asia's Largest Gaming Expo Opens in MacauJakarta Globe
Macau labor shortage seen as hurdle for casino expansionMacau Daily Times
Hong Kong Standard
all 51 news articles »

Google News