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Copyright 2005 BBC News
December 9, 2005
HEADLINE:
The Big Poker Gamble
Author: Phillip Kemp; BBC Money Programme
Body:
The business of online
poker is booming, giving players the chance to win a fortune
from the comfort of their own front room.
More than $1m (£575m) are staked every minute by enthusiasts
like Jane Foster, or Ms Fortune, as she's known online.
"It's grown and grown, and it's done very well for me,"
says Ms Foster, a single mother of three from Manchester who is
studying for a degree in IT.
"That $30 that I put in two-and-a-half years ago has grown
into thousands over the last couple of years."
And because she can play at home, and more importantly at night
when her children are asleep, she gets to spend more time with
them during the day.
"It helps me with all the extras I could never afford.
"I couldn't afford to redecorate the house. I couldn't afford
to take the children away on holiday on a student's income. I
couldn't afford to have a car. So it's given me the opportunity
that I couldn't have otherwise."
Jane agreed to put $100 into a new poker account for the Money
Programme to see how much she could make in a month.
Place your bets on how well she did.
A high stakes business
It is not just players like Ms Foster who have been betting heavily.
Investors in the online poker business have also been playing
high stakes.
In June 2005, the founders of Partypoker, the world's largest
online poker site, decided to sell their shares on the London
Stock Market, sharing almost £1bn between them.
But the bets are risky for investors.
Online poker is illegal
in some countries, including the United States, where the authorities
say 90% of Partypoker's players are based.
Mark Rausch, former head of computer crime at the US Department
of Justice, told the Money Programme that the owners of online
poker sites are breaching the rules and taking a huge risk, something
Partypoker disputes.
"I would be very wary about investing in a company where
their primary business is to do something that's considered to
be illegal in the country where they're promoting it," says
Mr Rausch.
Winners and losers
But there are still millions of players with their money willing
to take the risk of playing on the sites, in the hope of winning
big.
The growth in the online game is both fuelling, and riding on
the back of, a boom in the game in the 'real' world
Chris Moneymaker, his real name, was a small-time accountant
from Tennessee when he qualified online to play in the 2003 World
Series in Las Vegas.
He took on some of the biggest names in poker
to win $2.5m.
"You got to see me, an average guy, go up against the best
in the world and beat them and it gives everybody hope that they
can do the same thing."
Doug Speed is one such player who understands the "Moneymaker
Effect", which has inspired thousands to take up the game.
Mr Speed won £40,000 in his first year studying Maths at
Oxford University.
But the game was not without its downturns.
"In about a month, I managed to lose about $25,000. Thankfully,
that was money I'd won the previous months, but it was just money
I was chasing. It just kind of shows, there is a dangerous side
to it."
Busted flush
Mr Speed is reassessing his future as a professional poker player.
And he might not be the only one thinking of throwing his cards
in.
In September 2005, just 10 weeks after offering shares on the
London Stock Exchange, Partypoker announced that their player
numbers were not as good as expected.
Their shares plunged by 30% and investors lost out.
Since then, the figures have perked up, but although the share
price has risen again they are still worth far less than when
they were at their peak.
With attracting and keeping players now key to the future of
online poker, television coverage has become ever more important.
Barry Hearn became famous for promoting sports like boxing, football
and snooker but he has discovered a new passion.
"I have never seen a phenomenon like the explosion of poker,"
Mr Hearn says.
"Three years ago, I would think that poker - of the eight
sports I was involved in - was firmly in eighth position. Today,
it's by far the number one"
Not everyone can win
Ms Foster, or Ms Fortune, is a player the online poker sites
can count on for the time being.
Although she initially lost $70 of the $100 she started with,
she finished up making nearly $2,500 in 45 hours of playing time.
"That's most people's normal working week, so for sitting
at home and doing something I enjoy, that's fantastic," she
says.
But even the poker companies admit that only 15% of players win,
making Ms Foster one of a lucky minority.
As most players and investors have found to their cost, putting
money into this compelling game can be a high-risk, rollercoaster
ride.
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