Poker

The worldwide poker industry appears to have hit every possible inside straight, flush and full house that it could, accumulating a large pot of cash in the process. But as this holiday season nears an end, the industry's luck seems to be running out as boxed sets of cards and chips are discounted, ratings fade for some poker-themed television shows and shares of a poker-linked stock slump.

Poker isn't allowed in school, so eighth grade would-be card sharks ditch telltale chips, gather at lunch and use push-ups as currency: "I see your five push-ups and raise you 15." Faced with the same dilemma, high schoolers bet bags of potato chips and cookies from their lunches, or toothpicks that they can quickly stuff into their pockets if the principal happens along. Ask any teens or tweens and they'll tell you poker is in.

Is this a deal or a bluff? An investor group headed by two-time World Series of Poker champion Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson has made an unsolicited $700-million bid for WPT Enterprises Inc., owner of the "World Poker Tour" television show and online casino, WPT said Friday. The offer for WPT "does not specify any terms" beyond the price, said W. Todd Steele, chief financial officer of the Los Angeles company. "We assume there are other investors but they are not named."

"At the end of the day, being a professional poker player is a little disheartening because it's your job as a poker player to surround yourself with the most moronic people you can find on a daily basis. Rich and stupid is best. " That's Phil Gordon, the 6-foot-4, camera-ready former co-host of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," cooling his heels in the Bel-Air Room of the Golden Nugget, down at the far end of the Las Vegas Strip. He's in town on this summer day in 2006 for the World Series of Poker, getting underway over at the Rio. But what brought him downtown was the chance to jump-start his acting career in "The Grand," the latest satirical sendup from Zak Penn and the team behind "Incident at Loch Ness," which did for Werner Herzog documentaries what "This Is Spinal Tap" once did for rock docs.

Jerry Yang, a psychologist and social worker from Temecula, hit the biggest jackpot that Las Vegas had to offer this week. The 39-year-old Laos native rose from the back of the pack to win $8.25 million early Wednesday in the No-Limit Texas Hold'em competition at the 38th annual World Series of Poker, after four days of card-playing that started July 6. When the finals began at noon Tuesday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Yang was in eighth place out of nine players. At 4 a.m.

Jeff Madsen approached his 21st birthday earlier this summer with a predictable sense of anticipation over the doors that would suddenly open for him. No, not barroom doors -- Las Vegas casino doors. It seems Madsen, of Brentwood, has been making the most of his legal transition to adulthood. Over the last three weeks, he's won nearly $760,000 in the World Series of Poker tournament at the Rio hotel.

So you're the backup point guard for the newly crowned NBA champions. How are you planning to spend your post-title summer? For Jordan Farmar, the answer is: playing golf and poker. On July 20, he will host the Jordan Farmar Celebrity Golf Classic at Sherwood Country Club, with Jack Nicholson. Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza are among the participants. All proceeds will go to the Jordan Farmar Foundation, which supports various children's charities in Southern California.

When trying to convince lawmakers that her career is more than just a card game, professional poker player Annie Duke refuses to fold. "What I do is not gambling," she said. The world-champion player joined other poker hotshots lobbying Wednesday on Capitol Hill, hoping to persuade members of Congress that poker, like chess and mah-jongg, is a game of skill -- and not, like roulette, a casino game that leaves players' fortunes to chance.

It's a weekday afternoon in the poker room at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and something strange is going on: It's packed. The 30 tables wedged into a far corner of the casino are filled, mostly with young and middle-aged men clicking chips and shuffling cards, as a line of people waiting to ante up spills out the door. "The game has been revived," said Bill Thompson, a public administration professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and author of a gambling encyclopedia.