Poker is driving tremendous interest in the global gaming community. Leading stats portal Statista conducted extensive research into its popularity worldwide. One particular finding stands out: In 2024, 10,366 poker tables were used in gaming locations worldwide.
Approximately 7,000 tables are in the US and Canada, indicating the lion’s share of global interest. Across Europe, 2,700 poker tables exist in gaming locations. In December 2023, officials from the legendary WSOP (World Series of Poker) claimed that poker’s health is tremendously strong despite the large sports betting landscape.
Against this backdrop of outsized interest in poker games and the spillover into online poker, we examine the topic of today’s post. But before we get there, we must pay tribute to the catalysts in the current poker boom. Much of it began in the early 2000s, with legendary WSOP winner Chris Moneymaker, who entered an online poker satellite tournament and won a prestigious seat to the World Series of Poker in 2003.
After Moneymaker’s decisive Main Event victory, interest in online poker exploded. Suddenly, scores of players were signing up to play online poker. Over the years, legendary sites were crowned, like Zynga Poker—the premier social poker hub. It continues to reel in millions of players worldwide. Top online poker games include Texas Hold’em, and various formats like SNGs, Ring Games, and star-studded online poker tournaments.
Incidentally, Moneymaker was the first player who won a seat via an online satellite game to win the illustrious WSOP contest. His meteoric success shattered long-standing myths about online poker and catapulted it into the mainstream. WSOP Senior VP Ty Stuart has this to say about the burgeoning popularity of poker:
Predominantly, the content is absorbed now through streaming, through social media and other means. By some of these accounts, there’s certainly more poker content out there than there’s ever been. More people watching than there’s ever been. I think if you look into the health of poker, you would have to say it’s tremendously strong.
ALSO READ: gamerawrr.com/: The Ultimate Destination for Gamers
Poker Supers Stars on X
David Williams is a well-known poker player and WPT world champion. He’s also a MasterChef season finalist. With 52,200 followers, David Williams (@dwpoker) continues to inspire thousands of fans with his poker prowess and incisive commentary.
Phil Hellmuth is masterclass! He’s a poker legend with an unbeatable pedigree. As a 17-time world champion of poker, New York Times, best-selling author, TV host and more, Phil Hellmuth (phil_hellmuth) is the real deal. He has 330,500 followers on X, and he’s a powerful motivational speaker and force for good in the online poker world.
Patrik Antonius currently resides in Monaco, Monte Carlo. He’s a professional poker player with 56,300 followers. A dynamo of online poker, he has a developed following and mad skills in the game.
Doug Polk ranks highly among the online poker community. His handle @DougPolkVids is insanely popular on X, with 179,7000 followers.
Daniel Negreanu – could well be the gold standard of poker excellence online. He has 568,100 followers on X. He has amassed $52 million in live tournament winnings, as well as 6X WSOP bracelets. That’s RealKidPoker all right!
Much of the credit for online poker’s rise to fame and fortune must be given to the casual gamers who became full-time entertainers, driving poker’s popularity through the roof.
Hollywood Titans Who Love Playing Poker Online & In-Person
The top celebrity poker players include the following shortlist of Hollywood heavyweights:
- Tobey Maguire – The Spider-Man actor was trained by Canadian poker ace Daniel Negreanu (6-time WSOP bracelet winner). In the mid 2000s, Tobey Maguire was one of several characters who regularly played high stakes poker at the Viper Room
- Jennifer Tilly – Jennifer Tilly, a.k.a. Jennifer Ellen Chan, is a US actress and poker maestro. She learned the game from her dad. In 2005 she won her first WSP bracelet, while winning $158,625 in cash. She dominated the Ladies’ NL Texas Hold’em event.
- Rafael Nadal – Sports superstars simply don’t get any bigger than Rafael Nadal. Known as the King of Clay, Nadal is a super poker player. In 2014, he scooped up all the prize money after beating Brazilian football ace, Ronaldo.
- Norm MacDonald – this Canadian stand-up comic is also an actor, screenwriter, and avid poker player. Back in 2007, he won $14,608 at the WSOP. He finished in 20th place from 827 players. He also competed hard to make it to round two of the $5,000 World Championship NL Hold’em.
- Jason Alexander – Jason Scott Greenspan come also known as Jason Alexander, is the world-famous George Costanza of Seinfeld fame. He has played in many poker tournaments, including the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Although he was eliminated on the second day in the WSOP, he did really well in the Bravo Celebrity Poker Showdown.
These poker celebs are driving tremendous influence in the game. Their star power may fade over time, but online poker is trending bullish well into the future!
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/world-series-of-poker-officials-believe-games-health-tremendously-strong-despite-large-sporting-landscape
