The world's best poker player does math quickly and doesn't like his odds in this week's World Series poker.
Thanks to the poker craze created by TV and the Internet and the stunning storybook victory of a young unknown last year, as many as 2,576 people are vying for a record $5 million top prize this time.
"When I started playing in 1987, I had a vision that if you became one of the best players you could expect to win," said 40-year-old Howard Lederer, who has pioneering stares and number-punch thoughts that make others believe him to be the best in the game. "Even if I'm the favorite, I'm still 200-1."
The days of hundreds of professionals and countless amateurs competing in the best poker competitions are over. From "Spider-Man" actor Toby Maguire to former Oklahoma beauty queen, everyone was betting on becoming the next poker king at the 35th World Series Poker Championship on Friday at the Binions Hotel & Casino.
Last year, 839 men and women each received two cards and competed in an unlimited Texas holdup event where they made the best poker hands they could, using those cards and five extra normal cards with their faces on the table. Chris Moneymaker, a aptly named accountant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, won $2.5 million in prize money.
Making money was considered "Dead Money," a man doomed to lose early in the poker world. Instead, his Cinderella story is recognized for changing the game.
The moneymaker made it to the finals after paying $40 for a qualifying internet match. For those who are less fortunate in an internet satellite tournament or Binion's match ahead of the World Series, a purchase fee is $10,000.
After his amazing victory, the 28-year-old moneymaker became a poker celebrity. His face appears in poker magazines, and people ask for autographs.
Leaders also point to the internet in establishing grounds for interest in poker.
Andy Bloch, a 34-year-old poker player who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Law School, believes that there is another factor: "Two letters: TV. TV is a great game for television."
ESPN reported on the finals in 2003 and has repeatedly reported on the Moneymaker's performance. This year, the network plans to air 22 hours of coverage.
Other networks have capitalized on the craze as well. Travel Channel offers a "World Poker Tour," and Bravo offers a "Celeb Poker Showdown." 동행복권파워볼
The World Poker Series has come a long way since cowboy gambler Benny Vinnion started a poker competition in 1971 when the world's best player and winner Johnny Moss took home $30,000.
Today the World Series consists of over 30 events involving various variations of poker, including pot limited omaha and seven card studs.
The much-anticipated No-Limit Texas Holdem final was decided last week before it began on Saturday.
In unlimited betting, players can bet all the chips on their cards at once, ensuring high-stakes behavior and large-scale losers. And the pain of others makes for great reality TV.
For the defending champion, the moneymaker lasted just three hours before losing his chip stack to an opponent who landed one of only two cards that could have beaten him.