Poker Mania!

Odds are pretty good you'll find a poker game being played amid multiple cameras in a smokeless, open, well-lit and (usually) profanity-free setting, at a table ringed by B-list actors and actresses, or professional gamblers whose exploits have turned them into celebrities in their own right. On programs such as the "ESPN World Series of Poker Tour," the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour," Fox Sports network's "Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament," E! networks' "Hollywood Hold 'Em" and Bravo network's ubiquitous "Celebrity Poker Showdown," viewers have learned to recognize the top gamblers such as Chris Moneymaker, Doyle Brunson and the stone-faced Johnny Chan.

Besides learning whether or not their favorite sitcom actors are any good at the table, obsessed viewers are increasingly trying their own luck, either online or at one of many casinos or card rooms found in about two dozen states around the country. These venues are spreading the allure of gambling far beyond the traditional neon hubs of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J.

Now, major casino operators such as MGM Mirage (MGG), Harrah's Entertainment (HET), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Aztar (AZR) and Station Casinos (STN) are upping the ante to attract poker players, even though they don't bring in as much money as legions of slot machine arm pullers and hit-and-bust blackjack fans.

"You're basically renting a seat at the table" when you play poker at a casino, says Lawrence Klatzkin, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., who credits the recent poker craze as a big inducement for new and repeat casino players. His research shows that in 1999, 21% of American adults had visited a casino in the previous year, a total that increased to 26% by 2004. "Poker has definitely been a big factor in that," he says. "Having it on TV and on the Internet has made gaming more socially accepted, and that means it's seen as less of a sin."

With a strengthened hand, the casino sector is working to pull in more domestic players, and readying for big bets on expansion into overseas markets. That could sweeten the pot for investors as well.

A recent Goldman Sachs survey of slot-machine manufacturers, which include WMS Industries (WMS), Aristocrat, International Game Technology (IGT) and Alliance Gaming (AGI), show that floor space for poker and other table games is a growing priority: Whereas 3% of respondents said they planned to decrease their slot machines in 2004, the number grew to 5% this year, with 38% saying they would reorganize floor layouts to sustain or increase their slots, while still having room to expand other games.