People might not consider poker a sport. If you don't, then you might not want to watch ESPN anytime soon.

The cable network carries more poker programming than anyone else, including the travel channel with its highly successful "World Poker Tour" series.

You can't watch ESPN for more than 20 minutes without seeing at least one ad for the World Series of Poker, which it runs for three and four hours at a time. Virtually every day.

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Whether poker can be considered a sport is arguable. But no one can deny the popularity of poker with mainstream America.

Hundreds of thousands of players either partake their favorite sport in games all over the country, or play against other players online on dozens of poker sites.

How popular? Here are a few examples:

In a story on the National Post in Canada, a group calling itself Poker in Athens is campaigning to add poker as an Olympic sport for the 2004 Summer Games. The group says it is "passionately dedicated to bringing poker to the 2004 Games." For them, poker deserves respect given to games like chess and bridge.

In a story in the TwinCities Pioneer Press, a Minnesota lawmaker wants to make poker tournaments legal in his state, like pool or golf tournaments. The announcement by state senator Dave Klies, R-St. Cloud, came after local police raided a bowling alley that had been holding Texas Hold-'Em tournaments on Monday nights for eight months.

In Mansfield, Jeff Smith won $40,000 in a three-day hold-'em tournament Las Vegas night in the Mansfield Knights of Columbus Hall.
"I really don't know what I am going to do with the money but I do know the weekend has been very exciting," Smith said.

In that tournament alone, more than 2,000 players entered, more than $73,000 was paid out to the players, and the hall raised $16,000 for the Butler Adult Center. Robert Slayton of Bucyrus finished sixth and pocketed $3,000.

"I'm sure the popularity of the televised matches had a lot to do with the huge turnout we had this weekend," tournament organizer Mike Meeker said.

Tournament poker does not come without its dangers. According to Crawford County assistant prosecutor Cliff Murphy, tournament poker, as with most gambling, is illegal in Ohio. But he said there are some caveats.

"There are always exceptions to the law," Murphy said. "It really depends on the situation. If there is no money changing hands or if the tournament is for charity, for example. But in Ohio, gambling is illegal."

Source: Dan Clutter, Marion Star