2003 in Review

The game of poker has been popular for years. For the past few years, we have been watching poker grow dramatically. Without knowing the exact numbers, I would say that there has been about a 15 percent increase annually in the number of entrants in the big events over the last four years. Each year, the World Series of Poker received mainstream press, and each time poker was on TV, viewers became more interested in the game and the players. Those involved with poker believed it was on the brink of a huge explosion, but didn't know when or exactly how it would happen.

Then, along came the World Poker Tour, books about poker that reached audiences outside of the internal poker world, and an increase in players who were able to play at home on their computers. As soon as the first episode of the WPT aired, you could hear the buzz around town. Gus Hansen won the first televised event and instantly became a celebrity. The WPT was aired three times a week, and each week had higher ratings than the previous week's.

All of a sudden, there were new faces putting up $5,000 or $10,000 to play in an event. In May, more than 800 players entered the World Series of Poker's main event. Four years earlier, less than half that number had entered. Many players played in the event because they won their seats through satellites and on online poker sites. One of those Internet qualifiers, Chris Moneymaker, won the championship without ever before playing a poker tournament in a brick-and-mortar casino. Chris won his entry by winning a $40 satellite from his home computer.

Meanwhile, the WPT was growing in popularity and the best player wasn't necessarily winning the event each time. Time and time again, viewers were starting to think they could win. Think about it. You don't need to be a rocket scientist or be able to do 100 push-ups to be competitive in this game. The average person has what it takes to be good at poker. All it takes is some card sense, the ability to bluff, and a little luck. People were saying, "If he can do it, I can do it." At the same time, there were a few repeat winners on the televised events and some repeat players at final tables. With millions of people watching, these players started to become celebrities.

At the beginning of September, The Bicycle Casino hosted its WPT event, which was the first event of the second season of WPT play in America. The buy-in line was about a mile long, with twice as many players as the first year. Each WPT event thereafter was record-breaking in regard to prize pools and number of entrants. Just like the stock market boom a few years ago, everyone is asking how long it will last.

Maybe I am an optimist, but I don't think we have seen anything yet.