Casinos Start Courting the Poker Crowd

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles looking at the changing face of Atlantic City's gaming industry.

At 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, 23 of the 34 poker tables at the Borgata -- Atlantic City's hot new hotel and casino -- are packed with customers, with a line forming near table No. 24, which is about to open for business.

The crowd around the poker tables is a boon for the Borgata. Casino critics, who also like to take the occasional jab at Atlantic City's aging clientele, believe poker is the game to revitalize the city's fortunes. Poker is popular, especially among men between the ages of 25 and 54, a demographic that Atlantic City craves.

The bet behind poker isn't that young men will lose their shirts at casinos like the Borgata, but that they'll come -- wallets packed with cash and credit cards -- and stay overnight, eat dinner and throw a few back at the casino bar. ...