Poker draws a full house

STATELINE - It's about bad beat tales, winning with the river, Amarillo Slim and milking pigeons.

Poker, the game associated with the Wild West, has re-emerged as the game to play among a new generation, thanks to cable channels, such as ESPN2, airing poker games with graphics and expert commentary.

The popularity has inspired casinos and steady players like 23-year-old Jed McCurray.

"Weekends are when you win all your money because all the tourists come up," McCurray said during a break from playing with old-timers.

Steven Schorr has noticed the increase in business. The manager of poker, keno and the sports and racing book at Harveys Resort & Casino said poker revenues are up 70 percent.

"I would say it's the growth industry of the casinos," Schorr said.

Poker has surpassed keno as a moneymaker, Schorr said. He listed the hierarchy as slots, table games, sport betting, poker, keno and bingo.

Casino officials believe it started in April 2003 when the Travel Channel began televising high-stakes poker games. Games have been televised happened before, but not with graphics showing the down cards and commentary explaining the game.

David Schwartz is the coordinator of the Gaming Studies Research Center and author of "Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond."

Schwartz initially thought televising poker was a bad idea. The game is undramatic since "the whole point of poker is to be poker-faced," he said.

"Now you see them everywhere," he said.

Poker always had appeal. It involves drama, psychology, acting, strategy and guts. Its vocabulary is legendary.

Those who had a good hand but lost had a "bad beat." New players are called "pigeons." The last, perhaps crucial card on Texas hold'em poker is the "river." A pair of kings is a "cowboy." A pair of queens is called "San Francisco."

Soldiers back from World War II provided a similar boost to casinos.

"That's what they did in their spare time: Throw dice and play cards," said John Packer, spokesman for Harveys.

After winning the World Series of Poker in 1972, Amarillo Slim Preston became a celebrity, appearing on talk shows and making television appearances.

It's the game families play with pennies. A deck of cards and some Corn Nuts are all middle-school students need.

Get teenagers and college-age students around a table and quotes from "Rounders," - a movie that centered on underground, high-stakes poker - will likely be heard.

Televising the World Series of Poker was the icing on the cake. The competition, which draws gamblers who make their living off poker, deals no-limit Texas hold'em.

Competition play has huge pots. Chris Moneymaker, the winner of last year's World Series, took $2.5 million as his prize.

Packer said the purchase of Binion's Horseshoe Casino, where the series is held, by Harrah's Casino won't affect the series, except for dropping Binion from the name.

On some Saturdays, no-limit tournaments can be found at Harveys. Pots can reach $80,000, and those who make their living off poker come there to play.

"It's probably one of the largest games in the country," said Kevin Wines, poker supervisor at Harveys.

Before the surge in interest, Wines said, he would check players' IDs and ages about five times a year. Now he does it every day.

Harveys poker room expanded to 14 tables after adding four over Super Bowl weekend. On Friday night, the casino began offering cheap instructional weekend games for beginners.

Horizon Casino Resort also has a poker room with various tournaments. Caesars Tahoe has three-card poker tables on its main floor. Carson City's newest entry, Casino Fandango, has poker tables.

Poker has allowed McCurray to eke out a living while unemployed. He's played for three weeks straight and might have a job offer from another player. He calculated he makes about $5 an hour playing.

McCurray said he expected this three-day weekend to be a moneymaker.

"It's fun, I don't have a job, and I win," he said.

Contact William Ferchland at wferchland@tahoedailytribune.com.