HBO series, poker craze boost Deadwood casinos

Joe Kafka

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | 8:59 a.m.

Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on the state of gaming in Deadwood, S.D.

DEADWOOD, S.D. -- Casinos in historic Deadwood began cashing in last year after the HBO hit series "Deadwood" went on the air, and the newfound popularity of poker is spurring even more interest in local gambling.

That has prompted more card tables in Deadwood casinos, said Larry Eliason, director of the state Gaming Commission.

He points to a 70 percent increase in traditional poker tables over the past year and a 40 percent increase in poker revenues in casinos.

"The popularity of poker has been there for several months," Eliason said. "It's not an overnight thing."

He said he walked through a handful of casinos during the dead of winter on a Wednesday night and found few people playing slot machines but a flurry of activity at poker tables.

"That's what people were doing -- playing poker," Eliason said. "It was obvious to me that people had come to Deadwood that night to play poker, as opposed to slots."

The Silverado, which bills itself as Deadwood's largest casino, opened a five-table poker room in January, and Texas Hold 'Em is the game of choice, said Cindy Hague, casino marketing director.

"Business is better earlier this season than I've ever seen it," she said. "I attribute some of that to the HBO series and interest in poker."

The seven-card Texas Hold 'Em poker game is a hot TV feature, and that has brought more players to Deadwood, Hague said.

"I was surprised at how many young men come to play," she said. "A lot of them learned to play online."

Casinos opened in 1989 in Deadwood, the third place in the nation to legalize gambling. Nevada did so in 1931 and Atlantic City casinos opened in 1978.

However, unlike its more popular gaming cousins, Deadwood is no haven for high rollers. Bets are limited by state law in South Dakota to $100.

Deadwood, which has about 1,400 residents, is still riding the wave of interest created by the HBO show of the same name, said Tom Griffith, head of a local advertising, marketing and public relations firm. Many viewers are surprised to learn that Deadwood is a real place, he said.

The just-concluded second season of the bawdy HBO western has continued to generate interest in this colorful Black Hills town, Griffith said.

"There is incredible interest in what we're all about today, as opposed to the mud and the blood and the beer that you see in the HBO series," Griffith said. "I cannot tell you the number of times that I've met people downtown who said they came here because they watch the HBO series."

Texas Hold 'Em also has become a great draw for the town's casinos, he said.

"This is the place that had poker before it was either popular or legal," Griffith said of the storied town's checkered past.

One of Deadwood's most notorius citizens, Wild Bill Hickok, was gunned down during a poker game in 1876.

Bill Walsh, owner of the Historic Franklin Hotel, said he heard a lot of enthusiasm about Deadwood during the last three weeks while traveling in New York City, Ireland and Scotland. The HBO series is being shown overseas now, and that is bound to entice more international visitors to the Black Hills, he said.

"Everywhere I go, Deadwood is all over the map," Walsh said.

Mike McLain, table games manager at Cadillac Jack's casino, said the increase in poker players and their companions has resulted in more play on slot machines, the real moneymakers for casinos. It also has improved sales of meals and hotel rooms, he said.

"Poker is a real low revenue source, but it draws people," McLain said. "People attract people. The more activity you can have on the floor, the better off you are."

Retiree Dick Wrightsman, 62, of Spearfish, said he plays poker in Deadwood a couple of times a week to socialize. Having played cards mostly in pool halls in the past, he was a bit intimidated when first playing in Deadwood but quickly got over it.

"You can know nothing about it and sit down and learn," Wrightsman said. "You'll find out that luck is about half of it."