Posted on: Monday, December 20, 2004
Passion for poker
By Ruth Padawer
Knight Ridder News Service
Move over, PlayStation 2. Santa's sleigh may be too packed with poker paraphernalia to fit in last year's must-have games.
Gannett News Service Gannett News Service "Poker products have exploded this season," said Jim Silver, publisher of The Toy Book, a monthly publication that tracks the toy trade. "The television shows have really brought out the strategy of the game — the math, acting, psychological skills. With all the clever marketing, it's become really, really hot, especially for the 13- to 18-year-old boy crowd."
The kindling was laid last year, with the introduction of the "World Poker Tour" television show, which quickly became the highest-rated show in the Travel Channel's history, with 5 million viewers per show. Bravo, Fox Sports Network and others soon followed. The stunning growth of Internet poker, available 24/7, fueled the explosion even more.
"When we started broadcasting in 2003, we estimated there were 50 million poker players in the United States," said Tour spokeswoman Jackie Lapin. "Now we think it's closer to 100 million."
Sports Authority now offers chips in every color and style. Sharper Image has a 300-piece set plus a three-year replacement guarantee.
Macy's sells poker calendars, coasters, dolls, chips and tables, plus a Casino To Go.
Spencer Gifts offers not only gear for the game, but enough poker-themed accessories (Would you believe poker-related room dividers?) to transform an entire teen pad.
Barnes and Noble features more than 125 poker titles, including "Play Poker Like the Pros," "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Poker," "Bringing Down the House" and "The Tao of Poker."
PR News photo Advertiser library photo Holiday sales have far exceeded expectations.
Toys "R" Us ran out of poker gift sets in the past few weeks, and has reordered twice already, Kling said.
Sam's Club named the "World Poker Tour" set its Wow Item of the Year, because sales were so exceptional.
Of course, it's precisely that excitement that makes gambling experts uneasy.
Just how many are teens or younger is unknown.
"For most kids, playing poker isn't a danger, but we have had lots of calls recently, especially from young people or from moms who worry about their sixth-graders losing $300 in a night," said Ed Looney, executive director of the New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling, which offers a test at 800gambler.org to identify addiction. "For most kids, it's just fun, but they have to remember that TV highlights the excitement and the glamour. It doesn't show the guys who become compulsive and ruin their lives." "My 13-year-old son has totally given up video games for poker — but he plays for chips, not money," said Lisa Scarinci of Allendale, N.J., whose son has poker sleepovers and reads almost nothing but poker books. "He's learning to negotiate and psyche out his opponents and anticipate the other guy's next move."
Stores are flush with Las Vegas knockoffs: poker chips, poker tables, poker lamps, poker key chains, poker clocks, poker T-shirts, poker shot glasses, poker-print curtains and scores of poker books. Even stores that don't usually sell toys are cashing in on the craze, aimed mostly at young men and even teen boys.
Around the poker table, players get ready to drop their cards to start the hand. The game's popularity, among men in particular, has soared over the past year — aided by the "World Poker Tour" television show and the rise of Internet poker games.
Poker fans in America may number close to 100 million, with 13- to 18-year-old males the fastest growing group.
"I've been in the toy industry for 20 years, and I've never seen interest like this," said Scott Kling, vice president of sales for the United States Playing Card company, which makes World Poker Tour and Bicycle cards and chip sets. "Unlike Cabbage Patch Kids and Ninja Turtles, this phenomenon is cross-generational: tweens, college kids, adults. Our poker business is up over 100 percent from last year."
One of this year's hottest holiday gifts is the official World Poker Tour tournament set, which sells for $149 at www.worldpokertour.com. The show on the Travel Channel ignited America's passion for poker.
Brookstone's Professional Poker Set is available at Brookstone in Ward Centre for $125.
