University of Poker
The game is Texas Hold'em and the blinds double every fifteen minutes. At the stroke of 7:00 pm, 25 men light a stogie, sip their drinks, and toy with their official chips. Everyone knows the rules, no one is a novice. After all, they play like this at least twice a week. As time goes by, the sharks at the table take the competition out one-by-one, leaving over a hundred bucks to the victor.
So, you may ask, why is this game different than any other? Listen to this. The average age of the players is 19 years old. The winner is a 1st year Communications major. The drinks are filled with Diet Vanilla Coke. And we're not in a casino, we're in a testosterone filled frat house at UCLA. That's right folks, poker has officially invaded the college campus.
"Poker has exploded. It wasn't like this two years ago," explains Sarah, a college freshman. Perhaps it's due to the continuing publicity the game is receiving these days, with the broadcast of celebrity poker tournaments, the World Poker Tour, and as one student described, "that awesome show Tilt". Whatever the reason, poker is hot, and UCLA is infected with the fever. In fact, at a college that educates around 40,000 students a semester, one source reports that close to 40% of the population is actively playing poker. "It's everywhere. The dorms. The frats. The apartments. We're a poker crazy campus." Explains 2nd year student, Jameson.
Spending only a few hours at the university, I met some big stake gamblers (talking tens of thousands of dollars!), witnessed a fraternity poker game, and was even questioned by campus security. So, how much money are these kids really spending on games? What are they playing? What's happening to their schoolwork? Do their parents know? What is the deal?
First things first, gambling is banned at UCLA. No gambling at all can take place on campus grounds or housing. That doesn't stop the university from banking in on the poker phenomenon. School sponsored poker games and casino nights often take place on campus where students play to win prizes such as iPods, free trips, and so forth. But, as is also the case with alcohol at universities, just because something is banned doesn't mean it is nonexistent. Says 3rd year student Edward, "We used to play in the dorms all the time with chips since we weren't allowed to use real money. But then we'd change it for real money later!"
Thus, it is up to the students to do it themselves. Group of friends, fraternity brothers, neighbors, they all seem to put together low stake Texas Hold'em games each week. "On Wednesdays, we play here with the boys of the house. It's nothing big. The pot ends $20-$100 bucks," tells Chris, a member of fraternity Theta Xi. Adds Theta Chi brother Luke, "The buy-ins stay low." Students obviously don't have much money to spend on gambling because most don't even work.
For him maybe, but the truth is there are many students who turn their friendly play into a full time obsession. Just ask 3rd year student Nick who grins, "Poker is much more lucrative than playing video games." Digging deeper into UCLA, one can find a more intense poker society. Though it is true that on-campus games remain pretty cheap, many college players have found alternate ways to play high stake games, especially in Los Angeles. At least three operative casinos can be found within only a half hour of campus. Admits 21-year-old Alex, "Because I live so close to Hollywood Park, I take my big stake games there. I play 100, 200 no limit, 15-30 to 20-40 limit, and multiple tourneys." Alex, who's been sneaking into Indian casinos since he was 17, admits he's not the only UCLA student who does this. "You see familiar faces at the casinos. I played poker with a tennis player from UCLA just the other day. It was nice sharing bad beat stories and what professors to take.