Phenomenon draws viewers into unlikely reality-TV drama
A once-a-week poker player long before it got consecrated by cable television, Melbourne's Jeff Kaplan never dreamed he'd actually plop down in front of the boob tube and watch other stiffs play a sedentary game. But last year, a strange thing happened.
Intrigued by incisive commentary, omniscient graphics, card-shark personalities and playing tables ringed by cameras nifty enough to peer into the gamblers' hidden hands, Kaplan got sucked into an unlikely reality-TV drama -- the World Poker Tour, sponsored by the Travel Channel.
"They really hit a home run with this one," concedes Kaplan. "You've got all these different characters with baseball caps pulled low and sunglasses so you can't see their pupils dilate when they've got a good hand. But you know something nobody else does -- you know who's bluffing and who isn't. It takes the game to an entirely new level."
But it's not just the Travel Channel. Lately, you can catch televised poker on prime time every night: Celebrity Poker on Bravo, the World Series of Poker on ESPN, Championship Poker at the Plaza on Fox Sports. Whether it's the Hollywood allure of Ben Affleck, Don Cheadle and Star Jones, or the appeal of underdog nobodies bidding high-stakes wagers, the ripple effect is pervasive.
"I'd say every third customer who walks through this door is asking about poker supplies," says Joe Cagnina, president of Aurora Road Billiard Supply in Melbourne. "We used to carry 3,000 poker chips. Now, we've got 30,000 chips in stock. We're seeing a lot of newbies."
"A month ago, we didn't sell any of these, not a one," says Alan Prescott, owner of Sun Fun Amusements in Rockledge, as he sweeps his hand at his shelves full of poker chips and carrying cases. "Now we're selling four to six sets a day. And it's all because of Texas Hold 'Em poker on TV. That's the catalyst."
Texas Hold 'Em -- one of poker's most aggressive games -- has been the centerpiece of the WPT since it debuted on the Travel Channel in March 2003. The attraction is its simplicity. The dealer issues two face-down "hole" cards to each player, then deals three face-up "community" cards to the center of the table. Before the dealer drops a fourth and fifth card into the community pool, players wager on their prospects of getting the best five-card hands by the end of the game.
Organized competitive poker has been around since 1970, when the late legend Benny Binion invited the nation's best players to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. But thanks to its recent TV coverage, interest in poker's World Series, open to those who ante up $10,000 for a seat at the table, has exploded. Last year, 839 players, amateur and professional, competed. This year saw 2,756 contestants, and winner Greg Raymer raked in $5 million, twice the take of 2003 champion Chris Moneymaker. In fact, this year's huge purse ensured that the top six finishers would become millionaires.
But that pales against the World Poker Tour, whose current season -- featuring no-limit Texas Hold 'Em -- runs through April and draws 5 million viewers to the Travel Channel for a new two-hour installment every Wednesday night. Founder Steve Lipscomb predicts its purse will swell to $70 million by spring 2005, a seven-fold increase from its $10 million prize debut in 2003.
Featuring jargon-deciphering commentary from popular Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten and Shana Hiatt, graphics that show viewers which cards each contestant holds and player biographies, the WPT revolutionized televised poker and set production standards for ESPN, Bravo and everyone else. It harvests its players -- pros and amateurs alike -- from $5,000 to $10,000 "buy-ins," or from qualifying rounds at satellite tournaments around the country. Its venues cover casinos from Paris to Reno to Costa Rica.
"Poker is the great American game. There are anywhere from 50 to 80 million Americans who play recreational poker," says Lipscomb, an attorney/documentary filmmaker, from his office in Hollywood. "When the World Poker Tour branded this game, we knew we were looking at a huge number of people who were passionate about it. We knew it was a great social activity that wasn't anywhere near as big as we thought it could be. There was poker on television, but it was unwatchable. We changed all that."
Lipscomb says the appeal of WPT coverage is the way it teaches rookies how to become better players without boring veteran gamers. Sun Fun Amusements' Prescott says retail traffic among first-time players bears Lipscomb out.
"I think what the World Poker Tour does best, particularly with Texas Hold 'Em, is that it takes away the embarrassment," Prescott says. "You may not be very good at other games, but with this, you can walk into a casino, sit at a table with a bunch of experienced players and do well, because the game isn't that hard to learn."
Strangely, the 9/11 attacks may have also contributed to poker's growing niche. Both Prescott and Aurora Billiard's Cagnina report they've seen dramatic changes in consumer buying patterns since terrorism came to America.
"People nowadays are spending millions more in home entertainment," says Cagnina, who adds that his typical customers are white-collar white males, age 35-55. "Over the last two to three years, they've been staying closer to home and gathering at friends' houses rather than going to bars."
Prescott says you can get into the culture for as much or as little as you want. Whether you're wagering for chips (plastic? a plastic composite with a metal strip? a clay composite with a metal strip?) or money, ample accessories will accommodate any lifestyle. You can grab a poker table with eight plush chairs for $7,895, or a simple octagonal table-top fold-up for $59. Don't forget that fine wood carrying case, your dealer button or a six-deck dealer shoe.
Kaplan, like most poker players, didn't need television to pull him into the game. But now that it's apparently here to stay, he and his buddies who convene twice a week are getting some big ideas about the World Poker Tour.
"I've been itching to go," says Kaplan, who owns Executive Catering. "We've been talking about 20 of us getting together and sending the winner to one of the tournaments. They look like a lot of fun."
Source: Billy Cox, Florida Today
