Is Poker a Shooting Star, or a New Sport
and Solid Investment?

Living in Beverly Hills accords that you are bound to see movie and television stars on a daily basis. It’s not uncommon for me to go to the Sports club LA and see the likes of Jessica Simpson on the treadmill or David Spade in the weight area. Yes, the little guy works his sets very seriously. In general, the public recognize ‘stars’ as those who are actively involved in television, film and music.

Last week I went to an invite-only party at the Wynn Casino sponsored by Full Tilt and witnessed a brand new type of ‘star’ emerge - the Professional Poker Player.

The well-heeled soiree featured a charity poker game in which the common person was able to play against the likes of Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, and Erick Lindgren. There were even some other celebrities including Penn Jillette and Omarosa of the Apprentice fame.

And of course, there was Jennifer Tilly, the winner of the Ladies-Only No Limit Texas Hold 'Em event at the World Series of Poker, becoming the first celebrity to win an open (as opposed to celebrity-only) WSOP tournament and earn a World Series bracelet. She beat out exactly 600 other women to take the championship.

Now is she a ‘movie star’ or a ‘poker star’?

I decided not to play and hung out with Chris Ferguson and Phil Gordon; both of whom I have known for some time and who have been in the limelight long enough to be cool about what this newfound celebrity means.

After the games, it was on to the charity auction where people paid upwards of $10,000 for framed, autographed shirts from ‘poker stars’. It was like watching footage of a Beatles’ Concert…something truly amazing.

The next day at the WSOP, I witnessed the phenomena. Everywhere these ‘stars’ went, they were followed by adoring fans looking to be seen near them, get an autograph (no doubt for eBay) or snap a photo.

There must have been fifteen hundred players vying for a spot in the championship when I scanned over the main play-room. And there were another few thousand in the trade show where various companies displayed their wares.

It was set up to entice players to buy everything from t-shirts and special “no emotion sunglasses”. And it seemed that anyone who had even made it to a final table at a sanctioned poker event has his own, “Learn to play poker” school.

And does a specially formulated poker-skin cream really help you bluff?

Basically it looked like a flea market with expensive swag.

But the minions couldn’t get enough of the stuff, and fans were flocking by the thousands.

ESPN and FOX sports cameras were everywhere. When did poker become a sport? Oh well, the call bowling, darts and curling sports, so why not?

There were also reporters representing every publication from the New York Times and CNN to MSNBC and financial reviews. These are big publications, and they're following poker not only as a sport, but also as a potential investment for savvy investors to consider for their portfolios.

But I guess you haven’t reached star status until you are splashed all over the National Enquirer. I can only image a headline of the future, “Phil Ivey’s headset actually covering his alien ears.”

So are these no professional poker players really ‘stars’ in the sense of the word?

The gawking fans sure think so. You decide.

By the way, the highlight of my 16 hour trip to Vegas last week was when a certain ‘poker star’ walked up to me and asked if I wanted a picture of him with me. It was very difficult for me not to laugh. After all, I see Uma Thurman once a week at Starbucks.

Now, she's a STAR.

Patrick Smyth is the CEO of Gaming Transactions Inc. (NASD GGTS.PK), and has been involved in the online skill gaming, and online casino industries since the mid-nineties. He is a featured speaker at gaming conferences, and is also a contributing author to the International Game Developers Association. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only.