Poker Popularity Produces Prodigious Profits

Poker News - February 28th, 2010 - Written By Bonnie

When considering the profitability of poker, most people would think of the winners of such tournaments as the World Series Poker Main Event or the big World Poker Tour events. In February, however, a big cash out came to the owner of a website - Poker.org.

While .com websites typically sell for much more than those ending in .org, the overwhelming popularity of poker had driven the selling price of Poker.org to astronomical levels. Busting the previous record for a .org, held by engineering.org, which sold for $198,000, Poker.org had sold for a whopping sum of $1 million dollars.

Currently, Poker.org is an empty shell of a website. Estimates on launch have yet to be released.

The increasing popularity of poker stems not only from the nationally televised events, but also largely due to USA Online Poker Rooms. Since Chris Moneymaker's victory in the 2003 World Series Of Poker Main Event, online poker had been receiving heavier media attention. The media attention stemmed from the fact that he was the first player to ever become a world champion after qualifying through online poker rooms.

Not only is this a testament to the popularity of online poker, but also to that of the .org name. While .com's still control the market, the smaller class of website is gaining pace.