Television and film
Prior to poker becoming widely televised, the movie Rounders (1998), starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, gave moviegoers a romantic view of the game as a way of life. Texas hold 'em was the main game played during the movie and the no-limit variety was described, following Doyle Brunson, as the "Cadillac of Poker". A clip of the classic showdown between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel from the 1988 World Series of Poker was also incorporated into the film.More recently, a high-stakes Texas Hold'em game was central to the plot of the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, in place of baccarat which was originally the casino game central to the story in the novel from which the film was based.
Hold 'em tournaments had been televised since the late 1970's, but they did not become popular until 1999, when hidden lipstick cameras were first used to show players' private hole cards on the Late Night Poker TV show in the United Kingdom.Hold 'em exploded in popularity as a spectator sport in the United States and Canada in early 2003, when the World Poker Tour adopted the lipstick cameras idea. A few months later, ESPN's coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker featured the unexpected victory of Internet player Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who gained admission to the tournament by winning a series of online tournaments. Moneymaker's victory initiated a sudden surge of interest in the World Series, based on the egalitarian idea that anyone – even a rank novice – can become a world champion.
In 2003, there were 839 entrants in the WSOP Main Event, and triple that number in 2004.The crowning of the 2004 WSOP champion, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, a patent attorney from Connecticut, further fueled the popularity of the event among amateur (and particularly internet) players.In the 2005 Main Event, an unprecedented 5,619 entrants vied for a first prize of $7,500,000. The winner, Joe Hachem of Australia, was a semi-professional player.This growth continued in 2006, with 8,773 entrants and a first place prize of $12,000,000 (won by Jamie Gold).
Beyond the World Series, other television shows – including the long running World Poker Tour – are credited with increasing the popularity of Texas hold 'em.In addition to its presence on network and general audience cable television, poker has now become a regular part of sports networks' programming in the United States.
Literature
Twenty years after the publication of Alvarez's groundbreaking book, James McManus published a semi-autobiographical book, Positively Fifth Street (2003), which simultaneously describes the trial surrounding the murder of Ted Binion and McManus' own entry into the 2000 World Series of Poker.McManus, a poker amateur, finished 5th in the No-Limit Texas Hold 'em main event, winning over $200,000.In the book McManus discusses events surrounding the World Series, the trial of Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish, poker strategy, and some history of poker and the world series.
Michael Craig's 2005 book The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King details a series of high stakes Texas hold 'em one-on-one games between Texas banker Andy Beal and a rotating group of poker professionals. As of 2006, these games were the highest stakes ever played, reaching $100,000–$200,000 fixed limit.
Online poker
The ability to play cheaply and anonymously online has been credited as a cause of the increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em.Online poker sites both allow people to try out games and also provide an avenue for entry into large tournaments (like the World Series of Poker) via smaller tournaments known as satellites. The 2003 and 2004winners of the World Series No Limit Holdem Main Event qualified by playing in these tournaments.
Although online poker grew from its inception in 1998 until 2003, Moneymaker's win and the appearance of televisions advertisements in 2003 contributed to a tripling of industry revenues in 2004.
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