Respected gambling writer and expert John Brokopp showcased the huge
potential for the game of poker this week in an excellent article
published on RGT Online.
Commenting on the continued appeal of the game, Brokopp included the
following mind-boggling statistics:
The 2003 World Poker
Tour attracted 844,000 viewers, nearly triple what the Travel
Channel drew during the corresponding period of time the previous
year. It costs Steve Lipscomb between $350,000 and $400,000 to produce
each episode, but the investment proves well worth it.
The 2004 World
Series of Poker began on April 23 and continued through May 23.
The tournament, which is the longest continually held poker event
in the world, drew 9,000 entrants. The famous championship event,
a $10,000 buy-in game of Texas Hold'em, is expected to attract 1,200
players.
The popularity of poker on television has created an entirely new
demographic of people who play the game according to Henry Funke,
poker room manager of the Trump Hotel & Casino at Buffington Harbor
in Gary, Indiana.
"I think that's where television really comes into play, Funke said. "It's turning into a much younger crowd. It used to be the World War II generation was predominate in the poker room world. Television has turned that completely around.
"I'd say our weekly no-limit Texas Hold'em tournaments bring in 50 percent players under the age of 30. It's predominately men. My estimate is that roughly 15 percent of our tournament players are women."
ESPN will air 22 one-hour episodes of the World Series of Poker. The package, which will be comprised of highlights of the entire competition, will hit the airwaves later this year.