It’s become almost an annual religion for some people. Not so long ago, you might have to explain to friends what is
texas-holdem. Everyone knew about poker, but many fewer people knew about this variation that dominated the poker tournaments.
As poker has exploded into the mainstream over the past 15 years, all of that has changed as tons of Americans and people worldwide descend upon Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, and million more watch the action on ESPN. It’s a great time to be in Vegas if you’re a poker fan, as many of the big-name players will show up in poker rooms around the city to get as much action as they can.
If you’re one of the millions of people honing your skills by playing online poker, you can realistically have a shot at this prestigious tournament, as many of the recent winners learned by playing online versus the smoke-filled poker rooms in Vegas or Atlantic City.
That said, the poker room hasn’t died. Rather, it’s also growing in popularity as cities like Cleveland look to add gambling in order to compete with the surrounding states that added it years ago. In Vegas, every casino has learned to love poker. It doesn’t generate as much revenue as the other casino games, but it’s a critical part now of the Vegas culture and adds to the vibe of the casino. Wives can shop for hours while their husbands burn hours at the poker tables, and that generates revenues as well.
So if you’ve been practicing, this might have to be the year where you get to Vegas and join the fun!
