Playing is hot on TV and smokin' in game room

The popularity of televised poker tournaments has more new players trying their luck at Grand Casino Gulfport's low-stakes games.

Poker room employees said over the past three months they've seen an increasing number of people attending the daily lessons on how to play the game. Last week, 17 people showed up for one poker lesson, more than three times the average.

All those new faces are just fine with John Bordages, who has been going to the Grand Gulfport's poker room since it opened nearly 10 years ago.

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"There are a lot of real greenhorns that are playing poker now," said Bordages, who lives in Lakeshore and goes to the poker room six times a week. "I like that. They'll throw $8 out on a hand when they don't have anything."

There are only four poker rooms on the Coast. Poker doesn't make a lot of money for casinos, so it's lost some favor with resort operators, who favor the more lucrative and popular slot machines. Grand Gulfport is the closest game to Bordages.

Bordages suffers from Parkinson's disease, which keeps him from working or doing physical tasks around the house. "I've always liked to gamble, so this is a way for me to spend my day," he said. "Plus, this is a low-limit game, so you can get in for $40."

While the stakes may be low (ante is $1, bets are capped at $5), a good, lucky player can win decent money.

"I won $500 a couple of times," Bordages said.

Players like Bordages and Roland Hamilton of Jupiter, Fla., spend 10 or 12 hours at a time in the poker room. It's a quiet area, where players and dealers chat with each other, occasionally pausing the game to get a free cup of coffee or a hot dog. Some gamblers wait around for enough people for a new eight-player table can open up. And while the stereotypical poker room contains a fog of cigarette or cigar smoke, the Grand Gulfport's room is nonsmoking.

"I've been playing poker for 50 years," said Hamilton, a retiree who used to own a marina and oil company in Florida. "I'm not worried too much about winning money. I just want to play in some good poker games."

Hamilton flies in to Gulfport from West Palm Beach, Fla., about every month and a half and spends his time in the poker room and keno lounge. For him, gambling trips are a form of recreation.

"I gamble a lot, and some people might think I have a gambling habit," he said. "But if someone goes to New York City and sees a couple of shows and spends three nights in a hotel, they'll spend $2,500 to $3,000. I don't like to go to New York. I'd rather spend $3,000 in a casino. Plus, I might win some money."

Source: Timothy Boone, The Sun Herald