At the heart of the action but no agony or ecstasy

Vegas is hosting the 40th World Series of Poker this year but the dominance of poker is a result of a recent, perfect storm.

The fact is that if it were not for the internet and televised poker the gamewould be a minority pastime compared to its current global status.

Cult Channel 4 show, Late Night Poker brought Texas hold'em to the attention of the masses in 1999, and the internet gave viewers who liked what they saw the chance to play.

 
Late Night Poker broke new ground when it allowed viewers to see the hands each player held via pocket cameras. The television audience witnessed traps being set, bluffs being called or expertly executed - they were omniscient.
 
Remarkable events are best witnessed live - the television bit tended to come later. No one will dissuade me that the sanitised television coverage of Glastonbury for example is a fair substitute for being at the festival oneself.

TV viewers might avoid the queues, the smells and the mud - but surely what makes these memorable events so memorable is the mixture of highs, lows and raw experience.

Wednesday is the final table of  event 54, a $1,500 no-limit hold'em event. On Thursday there will be a celebrity strewn charity event and then on Friday the Main Event.

Over the next few days I will bean impartial observer. Thanks to Everest Poker I will be in the midst of the action; but the lucky ones will be the players - many will experience agony, some ecstasy but all will draw something from the adrenalin rush associated with the biggest gaming event on the globe.