Betting on poker’s popularity

John Seewer

Monday, Oct. 18, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

TOLEDO, Ohio -- With poker's popularity growing because of televised tournaments, retailers are betting that playing cards and chips will be among the must-have items during the holiday shopping season.

Stores are showcasing displays of casino-quality chips and gaming tables with holders for drinks and betting chips.

"I'm not a big poker player, but I know a lot about it because it's such a hot item," said Kmart spokeswoman Caryn Klebba. "It seems like the teenagers are in love with it."

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk said the renewed interest in poker may make a deck of cards the top stocking stuffer of the holidays this year.

Poker, which was introduced to much of the country by riverboats on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in the 1800s, is now seeing another surge thanks to tournaments being televised on cable networks.

"The World Series of Poker" on ESPN along with Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and the "World Poker Tour" on the Travel Channel are among the hit new shows.

Few networks were interested in poker until the World Poker Tour turned into an overnight success a year ago.

PokerStars.com, a popular Web site that offers poker online, estimates based on anecdotal research that from 50 million to 60 million people play poker at least once a month.

Games range from high school students gathering in basements on weekend nights to organized tournaments.

Noah Campbell, 25, started a weekend tournament in Toledo this year that draws a combined 80 players on Friday and Saturday nights, with the money going to charities.

He spent at least $2,000 buying tables, cards and chips. Campbell said many of his friends are buying their own supplies too -- including high-end chips and cards.

"They want to emulate what they see on TV," he said.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. sells a $99 gaming set that comes in a portable velvet-lined case with a chrome handle and 300 chips and two decks of cards.

Georganne Greece, a buyer for the company's game room group, said expectations are that poker supplies will see a huge surge in sales in the coming months.

"It's somewhat in its infancy," she said. "But early indications are that we're going to sell through most of this product -- even the high-end items."

Most items began arriving at Sears stores in the middle of August. "We saw it fly away," she said.

Books written by some of the game's best-known players, such as Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson, have been top sellers at Borders bookstores, said Beth Bingham, a spokeswoman for Borders Group Inc.

Hellmuth has a second book, "Bad Beats and Lucky Draws," coming out in November. He's also working on a couple more for next year.

In the last year, Borders has added 20 percent more poker-related books. "It's not just the book titles," Bingham said. "There's a lot more products -- we're carrying poker games, a Texas Hold 'Em game."

Restoration Hardware, the furniture and home decor retailer, sells playing cards and all the extras -- mechanical card shufflers, playing card coasters and shot glasses.

The retailer, just like any good poker player, had a little luck on its side, too. It began stocking gaming items a few years before the poker boom.

Dave Glassman, a spokesman for the Corte Madera, Calif.-based company, said at first the items "didn't get much visual importance in the store." But the company was well-positioned to capitalize when poker shows on television began drawing fans.

Now the items are front and center inside its stores and catalogues.

Crate & Barrel spokeswoman Bette Kahn said poker's elevation is a testament to the power of television.

It's hard to say whether card playing will stick around, she said. "It may not be a fad. They've played poker for years and years," Kahn added.