They sip flavored martinis, pass carefully crafted hors d'oeuvres and chat amiably between hands. It might not look like a game of Follow the Queen, but it is, new millennium style. And with the porkpie hats, Sinatra on the stereo and women aplenty, one thing's for sure -- this is not your dad's poker party.
Card playing is back in a big way, as an alternative to hitting the bar scene and an updated version of in-home board game nights of the '90s. It's also a hipster haven, a chance to revel in and celebrate all things Vegas, circa Dean, Frank and Sammy.
"There's a sexiness to it," said Blair Taylor, a talent agent who recently started playing poker at a friend's house in Encino. "It's upgraded itself from that frat boy kind of vibe. It's hip in an under-the-radar way."
Part of the card playing resurgence comes from an unlikely source: television. While it was once considered even less telegenic than bowling, it's all the rage on several network and cable channels, thanks mostly to the glam Rat Pack trappings and the lipstick cameras that let audiences peek at all the cards.
Shows such as "Celebrity Poker Showdown," airing on NBC and sister channel Bravo, are drawing substantial audiences. Same for ESPN's "World Series of Poker" and the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour." NBC, Fox and the Game Show Network also have gaming-related shows in the works.
Card clubs in the area are benefiting, with the El Dorado in Gardena seeing a 25% jump in poker playing in the last year, said its owner (and Hustler magazine publisher and former California gubernatorial candidate) Larry Flynt.
"People who don't know anything about poker want to learn to play now," Flynt said. "I attribute all of that to the televised games." Flynt himself, before he bought the El Dorado and gave it a $30-million makeover a few years back, used to host legendary high-stakes all-weekend-long poker parties in his home, flying in Vegas dealers just for the events.
Card mania in Los Angeles has meant that new groups are popping up every day and longtime parties are getting a boost in attendance, local players say. The groups vary in age and skill, some cutthroat and others casual.
A game that Valerie Shavers, a graphic designer, played recently fell somewhere in between. "The whole group was pretty competitive," she said. "It got loud and crazy." Betting goes from pocket change to serious bank. There are many versions of poker, including Omaha, 3-5-7 and Follow the Queen, but most people these days, like their TV counterparts, are playing Texas Hold 'Em.
