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Wednesday, May 18, 2005
May 18, 2005
By Rebecca Mowbray,
Business writer
Poker players from throughout the country are expected to arrive in New Orleans this week to play their hand in the first World Series of Poker Circuit tournament at Harrah's New Orleans Casino.
New Orleans is one of five cities to get a regional tournament affiliated with the World Series of Poker this summer in Las Vegas.
Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which bought the World Series of Poker last year, created "circuit," or satellite, poker tournaments in Atlantic City, N.J.; San Diego; Las Vegas; Lake Tahoe, Nev.; and New Orleans this year to expand the event and capitalize on the game's growing popularity.
The circuit events do not feed into the World Series, but are designed to involve more people throughout the country. The top 20 winners here will play in September against winners from other satellite tournaments in the Tournament of Champions, which is separate from the World Series in Las Vegas.
New Orleans will gain national television exposure on ESPN for hosting the event.
"The beauty of having New Orleans as the last stop is we've generated excitement all along the way," said Dan Nita, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's New Orleans. "When it's televised over the summer, people will say, 'Wow, I'd like to come to New Orleans.' "
Nita said that having Harrah's New Orleans host a regional event was a natural fit because the casino has the biggest poker business of Harrah's 28 properties. Harrah's New Orleans has expanded the size of its poker room twice in the past few years, to 23 tables, and business is up 60 percent to 70 percent this year alone, Nita said.
"We could have 50 tables," Nita said.
Poker has long been popular in the New Orleans area, where an early form of the game first migrated from France in the late 18th century, but it has only recently become a craze around the country.
Television coverage of poker has exploded in recent years as networks such as ESPN and the Travel Channel have figured out how to turn footage of stone-faced poker players into gripping reality-TV dramas by placing tiny cameras to allow viewers to see the players' cards and analyze their moves.
Indeed, the World Series of Poker is the third-most-popular event in ESPN's dramatic series and movie division, ESPN Original Entertainment, with 1.5 million households watching the 22 one-hour episodes of the World Series of Poker in 2004. This year, ESPN will increase its coverage to 32 taped episodes, which will run from July to November, said Keri Potts, an ESPN spokeswoman.
And if television has piqued people's curiosity in poker, the Internet has allowed them to practice in private so they don't walk into a poker room and embarrass themselves.
And more people have been marching into poker rooms nationwide. According to a newly released survey by the American Gaming Association, 18 percent of American adults played poker within the past year, up from 12 percent in the 2004 survey.
Many of these players are new to the game. About 19 percent of American adults who play poker began playing within the past two years, according to the American Gaming Association. Although every age group is playing more poker, young adults are the biggest players, with 29 percent of those age 21 to 39 having played poker within the past year.
Those who follow the trend say that poker appeals to people because anyone can play. Most people would never be able to play golf like Tiger Woods, but with practice, they might be able to enter a poker tournament alongside the sport's celebrities, and they might even win.
Another possible draw is the social aspect of the game. It's a way to spend time with friends and family, and it is a competitive sport that requires skill -- unlike solitary games of chance like slot machines.
"It's a reaction against slot machines, which are definitely popular but are more sanitized and sterile," said David Schwartz, director for the center for gaming research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who writes on the history of gambling.
The poker trend is a mixed blessing for casinos, Schwartz said. Casinos don't make much money from poker rooms; slot machines are more profitable. But poker can bring new and younger people into casinos, where they might take to other forms of gambling or bet their poker winnings.
Harrah's New Orleans doesn't expect to make huge profits from hosting the poker tournament, but the nationwide television exposure is invaluable. "That brand has tremendous equity, particularly in light of all the television coverage," Nita said.
The poker tournament runs in New Orleans through May 28. Players can earn spots in the tournament either by qualifying in events that started here in March or by paying a few hundred dollars to enter.
In September, the top 20 winners from New Orleans will automatically be entered into a $2 million World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions with the top 20 from the other circuit cities.
Meanwhile, the 36th annual World Series of Poker, which is separate from the regional circuit tournament, will begin June 2 at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas and conclude July 14 and 15 at the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas.
Next year, after Harrah's proposed merger with Caesars Entertainment Inc. is completed, the World Series of Poker Circuit is expected to spread to more cities.
Rebecca Mowbray can be reached at rmowbray@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3417.
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