It’s a full house at poker tournaments
September 12, 2004
BY BILL ORDINEKNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
If you want to play in a Texas Hold ‘em poker tournament in Atlantic City, get in line.
Literally. Get in line.
The gambling public’s appetite for the game is so ravenous that the major Atlantic City casino poker rooms are holding daily tournaments and, in some cases, turning away would-be Chris Moneymakers by the score. Moneymaker was the 27-year-old Tennessee accountant who went from poker unknown to a $2.5 million winner in the 2003 World Series of Poker. It was his improbable feat, televised dozens of times on ESPN, that helped make Texas Hold ‘em the hottest thing going in a casino.
“We’re scrambling to hire as many (poker dealers) as we can,” said Tom Gitto, manager of the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel Casino’s poker room. “It started in February with 50 people (wanting to play in tournaments), then 60 and 100, now the lines are outside the door. . . . Some people don’t even know the name of the game. They say, ‘I want to play that game I see on ESPN.’ ”
The Taj Mahal has Atlantic City’s largest poker room, and plans to add 12 more to its 68 tables.
The Taj holds No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em tournaments all week, ranging from a $50 buy-in plus a $15 fee to a $200 buy-in and $25 fee. As a rule, the higher the buy-in, the bigger the payoff. In tournaments, the buy-in money is returned to the highest-finishing players as prizes, and the fees are kept by the casino.
Atlantic City’s newest hotel casino, the Borgata in the Marina District, holds No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em tournaments most days, with buy-ins that range from $40 to $200, plus entry fees.
The poker explosion has prompted the Borgata to draft plans to triple the number of poker tables (there are 34 now) as part of an expansion that is to break ground at the end of this year. The $200 million addition will also include more restaurants, table games and slots.
Bob Boughner, the Borgata’s chief executive officer, said that his casino’s poker business had doubled from a year ago, and that he expected the trend to continue. The Borgata hopes to capture a younger clientele, and Texas Hold ‘em, a game that appeals to the under-30 crowd, apparently fits the marketing strategy.
“What we’ve brought is a level of energy the (Atlantic City) market hasn’t seen in 20 years, and poker was a critical part of that,” Boughner said.
