Friday, May 21, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Benny Binion hit it big with poker

Norman Chad is back as ESPN's commentator and analyst for this year's World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe. Photo by John Locher.

Benny Binion probably never figured his little poker deal would turn into this kind of a full house.

His big idea a half-century ago was to crown a poker king and generate buzz at his casino, Binion's Horseshoe.

From 613 entries three years ago to almost 2,000 when the cards start flying Saturday, Binion's World Series of Poker has boomed into unimagined heights of popularity.

ESPN analyst Norman Chad has his own theories on how it happened.

"Equal parts Internet and television," said the Los Angeles-based syndicated sports humorist, whose poker savvy and wit helped attract millions of viewers during last year's TV coverage.

"Ten years ago, you didn't have the Internet sites. Now, so many people play at home. And people who might have been afraid to go to a card room don't feel intimidated anymore," said Chad.

A change in ESPN's coverage helped bump interest to another level.

"Before last year, we never saw the hole cards," he said. That gave viewers a greater vested interest.

"The cherry on top of the cake, though, was Chris Moneymaker," said Chad, referring to the 2003 winner.

An amateur, Moneymaker qualified by parlaying a $40 Internet tournament fee into a seat in the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Championship.

The appropriately monikered Moneymaker won $2.5 million. This year's first prize could reach $4.5 million.

"That element brought in another layer of people," Chad said. "What ESPN discovered was that it didn't matter whether they put it (the World Series show) on at 3 p.m. or 3 a.m., it spiked the ratings of what was on before it.

First lady luck

First lady Laura Bush, fresh from a stop in Las Vegas this week, told Jay Leno she has never dropped a nickel into a slot machine.

So, pressed Leno, maybe she took in the Chippendales male revue?

"Jay, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," she deadpanned.

Later, when Leno asked about any disagreements with the president, she had a ready answer: ''What happens in the White House stays in the White House.''

The Scene and Heard

The Suncoast is launching a battle of the bands contest Tuesday, with the winning group receiving a $250,000 contract to work at various Coast properties. Thirty six bands entered the competition, which ends in September. Three bands will compete from 4-8 p.m. May 25-26 and June 1-2 and every Wednesday after that. ...

Rapper Petey Pablo ordered six bottles of Cristal, 15 bottles of Moet, and two bottles of Patron tequila at the Vegashotspots.com after-party Saturday at the House of Blues following the Antonio Tarver-Roy Jones title fight. ...

May I recommend ...

The World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe, where the marquee event starts a weeklong run Saturday. Next year could be its historic last hurrah downtown.

Sightings

Ben Affleck, raking in some big blackjack pots in the Palms high limit room Tuesday and Wednesday, warming up for the World Series of Poker, where he's a 450-1 long shot.

The Punch Line

"Texas Dolly is hotter than a widow woman's love." -- Amarillo Slim, on fellow poker icon Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, in "Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived"

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.