KEY POINTS:
Three years ago only 50 people entered New Zealand's national poker champs to vie for $30,000 and less than half the players were Kiwis.
This year there was more than 150 people, 90 per cent of whom were from New Zealand, and a pool of $340,000.
The worldwide phenomenon has hit New Zealand and it's something SkyCity Entertainment Group, this country's largest casino operator, wants in on.
Poker is already SkyCity's most popular table game at the Auckland casino but Ejaaz Dean, SkyCity's new table game boss, wants to lift the image further by hosting a million dollar tournament.
That's the minimum prize money he reckons it will take to get the big punters to come Downunder.
"I think SkyCity has the fundamentals in place to host such a tournament. But we will have to offer at least a million."
Dean, who has more than 20 years experience in the casino business, recently emigrated from Australia which has seen an explosion of poker as a sport after Australia's Joe Hachem won the world series in 2005.
An estimated 400,000 Australians joined poker leagues after the win.
But Mick Ryan, who runs the New Zealand Poker Champs out of Christchurch, says it's not as easy as just having the prize money.
You have to run it professionally, otherwise the players just won't come back.
Even getting the prize money together can be a challenge in New Zealand, Ryan says. He says it is difficult to increase prize money because under gaming law New Zealanders are banned from promoting gambling.
This means casinos cannot advertise poker websites.
Ryan reckons this cost him a million dollar advertising contract with Full Tilt last year alone.
"If we can't attract sponsorship we can't attract the players."
One reason poker is such an attractive game for casinos is its ability to earn them a steady income.
Casinos take a percentage of the pot players put into. This is around 10 to 15 per cent of the pot capped at $10 or $15 no matter the size of the stake.
The key way to increase takings is to increase the number of tables at which poker is played.
Poker's popularity as a sport has stemmed from the card game making it on to television.
"In traditional poker you are not allowed to see a person's hand," says Dean. TV has allowed viewers to get involved and learn the tricks of the trade from the pros as they can see the hand."
In Britain there is an entire channel devoted to poker and in the US it is the third most watched sport on television after car racing and American football. "That and the Hollywood celebrities have attracted people to the perceived glamour of the industry."
Stars such as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Paris Hilton have all been keen players with Affleck picking up US$356,000 ($454,000) in a tournament in California.
THE HOUSE WINS
* The take from poker is steady.
* Casinos take a percentage of the pot players put in at around 10 to 15 per cent.
* This is capped at $10 or $15 no matter the size of the pot.
