ARTICLES
Why all the excitement over Poker?
Poker's new upsurge in popularity is due to televised
showings of championship poker tournaments, such as The World
Poker Tour and The World Series of Poker. This has resulted in
millions of people all over the world playing either online or
at land based casinos. Even movie stars and professional
athletes are getting into tournament action. This really became
evident when actor Ben Affleck won $356,400 and a tournament
title at Commerce Casino's California State Poker Championship
in June 2004.
And big business likes poker too. Bear Stearns estimated that
annual revenue from poker was $4.5 billion in 2003. Another
analyst group feels 2005 revenue will exceed $10 billion.
PokerPulse.com stated that $200,463,154 .00 was wagered at online
poker rooms in a 24 hour period on March 13, 2005.
People see the excitement and money that is involved in poker
tournaments by watching poker on TV, which is one reason the
perception of poker gambling went from being played in dark
rooms to a preferred status. The seasoned professional players
are excited about this as well. They are not winning as many
tournaments as they have in the past due to the influx of
many new players, but they are winning more than ever because
of their...
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The History of Horse Racing
It is hard to imagine in today's world that one of our favourite sports, horse racing, has been around for thousands of years. It has been noted as being an organised sport as far back as the Greek Olympics in 638 BC.
Horse racing really came into its own when in the 12th century English horses were bred with Arabian horses. This breeding programme produced sturdy horses that had amazing speed. It was around this time that a more modern version of racing began with racecourses opening and rules and standards established.
Newmarket in Britain was the very first venue for horse racing and is now known all over the world. King Charles II arranged horse races in open fields and the winner would be given a prize.
Horse racing changed during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), the races involved several horses and racing spectators could bet on their favourite horses. It was, at this time, that Queen Anne founded the famous Ascot course and horse racing became a professional sport.
In 1750 the Jockey Club was formed at Newmarket where the "elite" of the horse racing circles met. The club controlled racing and...
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