Once upon a time names like Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Chris Moneymaker were just that -- names. Today, however, these names spark a flame in any card player's eye the way the name Joe Namath does to the flag football player, or Tiger Woods does to the amateur golfer.
Chan, Hellmuth and Moneymaker all are champions of the ESPN-covered World Series of Poker, earning millions of dollars and everlasting glory in the poker universe.
In the last decade, the game of poker has enjoyed a surge in popularity. While cards always have been available as a pastime, poker didn't begin to draw the attention that lavishes the sport now until the 1970s, when the World Series of Poker was established. Benny Binion, a casino owner, began the Series as a world championship for poker players and had seven contestants in the first year. Participation numbers began to rise slowly with each following year, and in last year's event, 7,595 poker-hopefuls entered the competition.
Third-year Commerce student Rick Wampler is a prime example of the far-reaching effects of Binion's game.
Originally from Louisville, Ky., Wampler said he started playing poker at the age of 11.
Upon arrival at the University two years ago, Wampler was eager to find new games and continue with his hobby. He soon found, however, that there was a lack of participation and interest among other first-year students in poker games. To make up for this apathy, Wampler slowly recruited fellow dorm members of Watson to play with him.
Now, according to Wampler, any willing University student can find a game every night of the week.
Also because of Wampler's efforts, the University received a visit from 1994 World Series Poker fourth place finisher Phil Gordon. After he met Gordon at the U.S. Open golf tournament, Wampler said he asked Gordon if he would like to play a game at the University.
Gordon currently is on his Ultimate Sports Adventure Tour which stops at all the major sports events of the year to play cards and raise money for cancer prevention. In between his official stops at major events he visits colleges to promote his cause. Gordon raised over $600 at the University this year.
Poker's popularity does by no means begin or end at the University.
When Google-ing the word poker, over three million Web sites can be found: Instructions, glossaries, live games, tournaments, scores, updates, biographies of players, casinos -- the list seems endless.
From the Internet to the actual table, poker has become ubiquitous in our culture.
Cards are no new phenomenon, however. According to www.encyclopedia.com, cards have been around for centuries, most likely originating in Asia and then moving on to Europe. The four suites that poker players are so familiar with now (hearts, jacks, clubs and spades) were adopted by France in the 16th century.
Gambling also has made a significant historical impact.
According to the Online Casinos Portal, Greeks and Romans participated in betting at public spas and baths. The first legal public gambling house was in Venice, called casini.
The word "casino" derives from this original casini, where corrupt dealings and business occurred. Soon, "casino" became associated with moral debasement.
Monaco, struggling under financial hardships in the 19th century, opened a casino to support the economy, which, combined with the beauty of the French Riviera, brought many British and other Northern European tourists to the world renown location: Monte-Carlo (www.casinoratingcenter.com/history/gambling-history.html).
The origin of poker is unknown. While many theories exist, none are confirmed.
According to the online Pokermag, the game spread throughout the 1800s in the United States by steamboat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Nevada outlawed betting games in 1910. They reversed this decision in 1931 after illegal games became uncontrollable (http://pokermag.com/ManageArticle.asp?C=140&A=25).
Roger Dunstan's paper, "Gambling in California," explains the legality of gambling in the United States.
As of 1997, 10 states in the United States have made some form of casino gambling legal (not including Indian Reservation gambling). Dunstan proposes that there have been three waves in gambling history, and we currently are in the third wave. He adds, however, that "because of the length and size of this last wave, another observer has characterized it as an explosion, not a wave," Dustan says.
The explosion of poker's popularity also can be found in a hybrid with technology to form a new form of poker: Online gaming. ParadisePoker.com began the trend with a Web site that drew about 100 people at a time, Wampler said.
Now, between the original site and new ones like PartyPoker.com and UltimateBet.com lonely poker players across the globe can connect and play with each other at all hours of the day, he added.
The sites let the user choose the level of betting (high vs. low stakes), type of money (real or fake), form of competition (tournament or single hands) and game choice (Texas hold 'em, Omaha, Stud and others). The sites even offer a poker "buddy list" that displays people you know who are playing.
"It's a new world of online gaming" Wampler said. "Just when you think it can't get any bigger, something new comes up."
He also praised the availability of online gaming as a way to take a study break. Or, he added, "you could just not study at all."
Wampler's trouble finding other poker-minded first years to share his passion no longer is a problem for incoming students.
First-year Engineering student Henry Carr said he has played more since arriving at the University than he did at home. In an average game Carr said he plays four to eight people, and his opponents come from a pool of 32 other first-year students.
"It's a fun way to spend a night, more entertaining than seeing a movie and it costs about the same," Carr said of his reasons for playing.
Wampler and Carr's sentiments about poker at the University echo those of the many players they play with at informal games, high stakes tournaments and even their friends back at home who have no doubt moved on to play at their own schools.
With the makeshift casinos on Grounds, any student should have no problem finding a place to join in with this resurging popular game. And while there are many theories on the reasons for poker's popularity, Wampler summed up the sentiment he feels needs no explanation: "Money won is twice as sweet as money earned"
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