POKER BACK ON THE SILVER SCREEN

4 May 2007

Maybe not another "Rounders", but new movie catches the poker trend

Following in the footsteps of the cult poker movie "Rounders" this week is "Lucky You", directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Eric Bana, Robert Duvall and Drew Barrymore, playing to a theme of a participant in the World Series of Poker (Bana) who has to work around his relationships with girlfriend (Drew Barrymore) and his father, played with intensity by Robert Duvall.

In reviewing the movie, Silicon Rope.com explained the phenomenal rise in global popularity of poker thanks to extensive television coverage, local tournaments and the Internet revolution in online gambling.

The reviewer goes on to give his take on events that contributed to the rapid growth of poker in general but the Texas Hold 'Em game in particular, starting in 1998 with the cult hit movie "Rounders" : "It opened our eyes up to Texas Hold'em and we really haven't looked back since. The movie became immensely popular on video, a sleeper pick if there ever was one. I contend that as the movie's popularity grew, so did the game of poker. I don't know anyone that plays the game that hasn't seen the movie and I know a ton of people that said they started playing - or at least became serious about playing - because of it."

The second reason Silicon Rope lists is the online poker phenomenon, when sites like Paradise Poker and later Party Poker and Poker Stars found a highly receptive and fast growing audience for their games and tourneys. This made it easier for newbies to learn the ropes without public embarrassment and opened up a truly global range of other players against whom players could test their skills

The 2003 World Series of Poker is the third reason for poker's growth, opines Silicon Rope. The reviewer comments: "In 2003, sensing the emerging popularity of the game, ESPN decided to do humungo coverage on the World Series of Poker and an amateur by the name of Chris Moneymaker, who won the whole shebang. It was the shot heard 'round the poker world - a message to any schmuck at home that they could be a millionaire by playing poker. Think about it. His name is Moneymaker. That's the name of legends. Now everyone wants to be a legend. Everyone wants a nickname, a personality. You should see some of these clowns on TV these days. Jeez."

He goes on to give a few historical statistics on the development since then: The 2003 record of 839 players turned into 2 576 players in 2004. In 2005 there were 5 619 entrants and in 2006 ... 8 773. The purses keep growing too. When Moneymaker won, he grabbed 2.5 million dollars. Last year Jamie Gold took home 12 million! "These days you can't turn on ESPN2 or ESPN Classic without catching either a World Series of Poker or a US Championship Tourney. It's insane, the popularity of the game.

"There's been a ton of movies involving poker ... Cincinnatti Kid, Maverick and California Split to name a few. There's also been a ton of movies that featured poker games. The Sting has one of my favorite poker scenes in any movie. The game also shows up in films the like of Honeymoon in Vegas, Ocean's 11 (with a bunch of young actors learning to play the most hip game around), and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Really, without the poker craze, Casino Royale would still have had a game of baccarat instead of Texas Hold'em."

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

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