First Gaming Gurus editorial column
Dear Gaming Gurus visitor,
Welcome to the first Gaming Gurus editorial column. From now on you can expect to see a new interesting viewpoint on various gambling matters here once a month from one of the Gaming Gurus editors. If you have any questions or comments regarding a column, please contact us at support@gaminggurus.com.
This inaugural column deals with the continued increase in popularity for poker, a topic that is especially pleasing to us here at Gaming Gurus since it helps us make more money. The poker boom started in March 2003 when poker hit mainstream television in the United States. That month marked the debut for The World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. The show quickly became the highest rated program in company history. And poker would never be the same again. In 2003 online poker grew an estimated 600 percent and the number of online poker rooms skyrocketed from 30 to 140 during the same time period.
During the two years that have passed since the first WPT broadcast a lot has happened to the game that had just about disappeared in the late 1990s. Today you can catch poker on TV every day, usually on multiple channels. The media exposure has turned some of the finest poker players into mainstream superstars as Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu, to name a few, are starting to become household names. Interestingly some mainstream superstars have in turn become some of the finest poker players. Actors Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, James Woods, Mimi Rogers are just a couple of examples of Hollywood stars who have taken their acting skills to the poker table.
Lately some poker aficionados have expressed concerns about the poker boom having peaked already. But a quick look at the number of players in the ongoing World Series of Poker will tell a different story. Here are some interesting facts from a couple of events that took place during the first week of this 45-day poker bonanza. The $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament had 831 entries in 2004, this year 2,305 players signed up to play, a 177 percent increase. This was quickly beaten by the Pot-Limit Hold’em tournament which attracted 1,049 players in 2005 compared to 363 players last year. Those of you with sharp math skills already know that we are talking about a 195 percent jump. Judging by these numbers it appears safe to assume that the poker boom is not even close to peaking.
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