Poker Fever Labeled ‘Epidemic’

According to the executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, the phenomenal popularity of poker and its effects on college age youth is ‘epidemic.’ Edward Looney attributes the speed and strength of the poker wave to the glitz and glamour the game of No Limit Texas Hold'em is given by such popular TV shows as Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown. However it became so popular, poker is defiantly the craze of the day, with Hold’em tournaments being held nightly on college campuses across the nation. Even online poker rooms are taking a collegiate spin on their marketing.Absolute Poker recently hosted an online poker event that paid the winner’s college tuition for a semester, and other sites offer special bonus to members of certain fraternities. Looney is concerned that the strength and glamour of the craze will result in more gambling addicts.