September 23, 2009 (CAP Newswire) — As the game of poker continues to get more and more popular around the globe, Las Vegas has also seen an increase in revenues from the game even as many other sectors of the land-based casino industry continue to suffer in the face of the global economic downturn.
According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Nevada’s poker rooms pulled in $155.7 million in revenues in 2008. “That is more than the $136 million gained by the state's 185 sports book and almost twice the $80 million won by the state's 96 race books,” writes Bruce Camenga in the article.
The article cites 2003 as the year that the “poker boom” took hold, and claims that poker games in Nevada have more than doubled since then.
Even in 2008, when most other games suffered their worst years, the setback for poker that year was only 4.6 percent in Nevada, compared to an overall gaming revenue drop of 9.7 percent.
This boom is also helping online poker rooms to excel, and will likely continue to offer great opportunities to the online poker affiliate industry. According to the American Gaming Association, “11 percent of Americans played poker in casinos or online.” The AGA estimates that 10 to 15 million Americans play in live games, while about 15 to 20 million play on the Internet.