Online Poker Rooms Gain Popularity

SAN JOSE, California – As reported by the San Jose Mercury News: "For generations, the poker room has been portrayed as a smoke-filled parlor where whiskey-drinking, tobacco-chewing gamblers would rather shoot you than let you take the pot with a pair of fives.

"But recently, the Internet - and a guy aptly named Chris Moneymaker - brought new life to one of the oldest card games around.

"Moneymaker, an accountant from Tennessee, qualified for the May 2003 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas - after honing his poker skills on the Internet. With only three years' experience in the game, he bested a lineup of professional players in the Las Vegas tournament, walking away with the $2.5 million jackpot.

"His win, along with the popularity of the 'World Poker Tour' TV show, have sparked a boom for online poker rooms.

"…More than a dozen poker Web sites drawing tens of thousands of players per hour - some playing for real money and others just for fun - have sprouted up in recent years. And because Internet gambling remains in a legal gray area in the United States, most of the sites are based in other countries.

"…Despite the legal murkiness, online poker rooms are operating like real businesses. An online site has the advantage of not having to buy real tables and chips or pay for a dealer like a casino or cardroom would - but there are other costs involved. The company's finances undergo audits, as do the software products and online security measures for its financial transactions…"