2008 Woodie Awards
All in: A poker take over
Jim Tomasetti
Issue date: 10/31/04 Section: Sports
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Greg Raymer. Dan Harrington. Sammy Farha. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Chris Moneymaker. Any of these names ring a bell to the majority of you? Probably not.
These aren't your Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Barry Bonds, and Derek Jeter type of athletes. In fact, they aren't athletes at all, they are professional poker players. Men, women, and children of all ages, welcome to the newest and most popular game in the nation: professional poker.
The first time I was exposed to professional poker was sophomore year. Sitting in my luxurious LLC suite on an early October afternoon, I flipped through the channels looking for a meaningless Major League Baseball game or NFL analysis show. To my surprise and chagrin, there was no baseball being played or football being dissected, but professional poker on ESPN. It was on ESPN! I threw remote on the couch and decided to invest my time in a nap.
The next week, my best friend invited me to join a poker tournament back at home. It was at this moment I realized the potential popularity that poker had, especially with its exposure on ESPN.
Instead of investing my time in catching up on some z's, I have spent the better part of the last two summers monitoring and following the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from the comfort of my home of course. (I don't think I gamble, well...forget it) Two summers ago, over 800 participants entered to win $2.5 million dollars in the World Series' main event: No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Chris Moneymaker, an accountant from Spring Hill, Tennessee who won a small online tournament on PartyPoker.com, took home the grand prize of $2.5 million in the summer of 2003.
This past summer, a whopping 2,576 participants flocked to Las Vegas to enter the 2004 World Series. This was the largest single gathering for a poker tournament that the city had ever seen. Men, women, and college students from throughout the world, yes the world, spent their $10,000 to buy in at their chance at this year's $5 million prize. This was the year of the "fossil" as Greg "Fossil Man" Raymer, yet another online entry, but with way cool dragon-eyed sunglasses, took home the bank.
These aren't your Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Barry Bonds, and Derek Jeter type of athletes. In fact, they aren't athletes at all, they are professional poker players. Men, women, and children of all ages, welcome to the newest and most popular game in the nation: professional poker.
The first time I was exposed to professional poker was sophomore year. Sitting in my luxurious LLC suite on an early October afternoon, I flipped through the channels looking for a meaningless Major League Baseball game or NFL analysis show. To my surprise and chagrin, there was no baseball being played or football being dissected, but professional poker on ESPN. It was on ESPN! I threw remote on the couch and decided to invest my time in a nap.
The next week, my best friend invited me to join a poker tournament back at home. It was at this moment I realized the potential popularity that poker had, especially with its exposure on ESPN.
Instead of investing my time in catching up on some z's, I have spent the better part of the last two summers monitoring and following the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from the comfort of my home of course. (I don't think I gamble, well...forget it) Two summers ago, over 800 participants entered to win $2.5 million dollars in the World Series' main event: No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Chris Moneymaker, an accountant from Spring Hill, Tennessee who won a small online tournament on PartyPoker.com, took home the grand prize of $2.5 million in the summer of 2003.
This past summer, a whopping 2,576 participants flocked to Las Vegas to enter the 2004 World Series. This was the largest single gathering for a poker tournament that the city had ever seen. Men, women, and college students from throughout the world, yes the world, spent their $10,000 to buy in at their chance at this year's $5 million prize. This was the year of the "fossil" as Greg "Fossil Man" Raymer, yet another online entry, but with way cool dragon-eyed sunglasses, took home the bank.