TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

It is a new form of nirvana called TV poker and by cable television standards -- or anyone else's, for that matter -- its growth has been nothing short of phenomenal.

The World Poker Tour television series on the Travel Channel has transformed the great American card game into a televised sports sensation. Since airing in April 2003, it now averages 5 million viewers each week, according to the casino-management company Lakes Entertainment.

That makes it the Travel Channel's most-watched series ever. Even as the tour's first season is being shown for the third time, the numbers just keep on growing.

And Vinnie is there in a heart beat.

"I really look forward to Wednesday night on the Travel Channel," says Mr. Furtado, a local card sharp and professional gambling consultant for the movie, "Passionada."

"And I'm not surprised at the game's sudden popularity on TV."

Along with the Travel Channel, the cable sports channel ESPN has repeatedly shown hour after hour from the WPT, transforming it into America's newest spectator sport.

And the Bravo cable network jumped on the television poker bandwagon earlier this month with folks like Ben Affleck and Martin Sheen appearing in "Celebrity Poker Showdown," one of several televised poker programs and specials that are drawing big audiences.

With more than 50 million regular players across the country, poker is more popular than golf or billiards. More than 1.6 million viewers tuned in for the first episode of "Celebrity Poker Showdown," according to television ratings reports. It was the second-highest debut for a show on Bravo.

And when cable television strikes a new and hidden chord in America's viewing habits, you can bet that network TV is sure to follow.

Thus, NBC has announced plans to air a new two-hour poker special on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1. The show is titled "The Travel Channel World Poker Tour Battle Of Champions," and will feature top players facing off for a six-figure grand prize. It begins at 4 p.m.

The game of choice on most of the shows is no-limit Texas Hold 'Em.

"Oh, God, has that game ever taken off," says Mr. Furtado, who notes that he has won a couple of small tournaments, himself. "The most popular is definitely Texas Hold 'Em. Even more so now."

Poker veterans will tell you that the game couldn't have emerged as a surprise hit on cable television without one technological advance -- a small camera that fits into the edge of the card table and lets viewers at home see all of the players' face-down cards.

Foxwoods was the first to sign with the WTP and will be continuing with the tour, tentatively set for a Nov. 2004 taping.

"The most common comment I have heard from people who watch it is, 'I can do that,' " said Kathy Raymond, director of poker operations at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn., the leading gaming and entertainment resort in the Northeast. "Seeing how I was the one who initiated the WTP team-up, I felt if done correctly, it would result in an awakening of the public to the sport."

In Texas Hold 'Em -- a relatively easy game to learn --each player is dealt two cards face down. Cameras concealed in the table allow only the home viewer to see these two hole cards in a player's hand.

Next, the dealer turns over three cards (called the flop), then a fourth (the turn) and a fifth (the river) on the middle of the table. These are community cards that all the players can use to make their best hand.

"One of my son's friends learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em two months ago," says Mr. Furtado. "He's a college graduate who watched all the shows and read the books and he won five grand in a recent tournament."

The TV program has brought to light the game of poker, and at Foxwoods, players have responded in a big way.

"Uh, where do I start?" Ms. Raymond asked. "We are close to a 100 percent increase to last year in capacity and revenue. Typically, we are full-out all week. We are running poker tournaments six days a week, including 7-card stud, limit Texas Hold 'Em and the game of choice, no-limit Texas Hold 'Em."

Foxwoods features 58 poker tables within the room and six adjacent tables for a total of 64.

"I think poker has always been ingrained in the American psyche, but before it was played out in private homes by the fireplace, and in back-room halls," Ms. Raymond said. "The average American would rarely venture out to a casino to play poker. We have ventured over that label of intimidation. Right now, the TV programs have teamed up the American sport of poker with the American Dream -- to win big.

"It's become entertainment as well as a sport."

In addition, the Internet has made it easier to obtain information about poker while giving computer users the opportunity to play whenever they like. Part of poker's appeal is that anyone can play. You don't have to be a pro to compete against some of the best players.

In fact, in the incredible final of the 2003 World Series of Poker, Chris Moneymaker, a 26-year-old accountant playing in his first live poker tournament, won the ultimate championship -- $2.5 million in first-place money and the coveted World Championship bracelet.

Mr. Moneymaker's total cash investment to get to the $10,000 main-event seat, via the Internet, that led to the $2.5 million pot of gold? Forty bucks.

"I couldn't have written a better script if my life depended on it," Ms. Raymond said. "A no-name amateur from middle America enters the most prestigious poker tournament in the world for next to nothing and ends up winning the world title and $2.5 million. Oh, and by the way, his name is Moneymaker. How perfect is that?"

Thus, the aptly named Mr. Moneymaker now joins a pantheon of legendary card players who are rapidly becoming household names in many American homes -- the scholarly Howard Lederer and his sister Annie Duke, Erik Seidal, the flashy Johnny "The Master" Chan and Scotty Nguyen, quiet Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, the outspoken Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott, cagey veterans Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier and the intense, young man they call the "Tiger Woods of Poker," Phil Ivey.

"I played with some of these guys at Fowoods, Binion's and the Orleans in Las Vegas," says Mr. Furtado. "There was Hellmuth, who I don't like, Scotty Nguyen, and Phil Ivey, who I do like.

"My favorite players are Howard Lederer and Sam Farha -- quiet, conservative players. I hate it when players wear sunglasses. I've also played with Telly Savalas, Jerry Orbach and Gabe Kaplan -- all good guys."

The first time around, the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour offered a total prize pool of $10 million. That amount is expected to triple for the second season, which is now being shot. The entry fees are higher, and so is the number of players willing to take their chances.

At Foxwoods recently, Mike Sexton, host of the WPT on the Travel Channel, and Andy Bloch, a poker player who placed third in last year's inaugural WPT event at Foxwoods, team up to host a free Texas Hold 'Em seminar. A total of 150 people showed up for the day-long seminar.

"Usually, people are in and out of these seminars, but at this one, no one budged," Ms. Raymond said. "I can see TV still luring the public for the next five years. By that time, we will already have established the game as a sport.

"And that sport is here to stay."