Anyone who thought the poker craze would die down lost that bet. Three years ago, Chris Moneymaker, an unknown who had never played in a major tournament, showed novice players and those who had never picked up a deck of cards anyone could win big, as he did at the World Series of Poker.

Since then, it's likely there's at least one poker show on television on any given day. It's also turned the recreational game into a booming business for Foxwoods Resort Casino.

And industry experts don't believe that will stop any time soon.

"It hasn't plateaued. It's still peaking," said Vin Narayanan, managing editor of Casino City, a group that studies casino trends and issues.

Foxwoods opened a new poker room this year with state-of-the-art amenities and 114 tables, making it the largest poker room in the world.

"We're still seeing new players on a daily basis here," said Michael Ward, Foxwoods' poker tournament director.

Ward said Seven Card Stud was the most popular game the casino had before television poker took off. Now players are flocking to play

Texas Hold 'em, because they can study the play of professionals on television.

Steve Lipscombe, founder and chief executive officer of the World Poker Tour, has been central to giving poker players a chance to watch the game on television. The Travel Channel shows two World Poker Tour tournaments a week and, he said, while ratings are down a bit, they're still competitive.

"They have definitely plateaued," Lipscombe said.

Lipscombe said World Poker Tour was getting 6 million to 7 million viewers per week for two shows. Now it's at about 3 million to 5 million, about the ratings of a professional basketball game, something Lipscombe likes to use as a comparison because he markets his show as sports.

"Those are still particularly extraordinary numbers, especially on the Travel Channel," Lipscombe said. "We'll take that."

Poker's television popularity has caused one problem for Lipscombe, though. Some of the smaller shows are paying the networks to broadcast their tournaments, something Lipscombe won't do.

His Professional Poker Tour has been postponed indefinitely because he can't work out a deal with the Travel Channel that would have the network pay for the show.

"We're still negotiating, but we're not going to deficit finance it," Lipscombe said.

That probably won't hurt the popularity of poker, but a new federal law might.

The Unlawful Gambling Internet Enforcement Act, signed into law this year, stops payments to offshore and out-of-the-country gambling Web sites. The secretary of the treasury and the Federal Reserve System are working out rules for how to implement the law.

Narayanan said online poker helped spike interest in the game. He said many people who weren't good enough poker players to enter large tournaments have built confidence playing online.

Foxwoods has seen that, with hundreds more participants in its World Poker Finals, being held this week.

But Narayanan said the new law could stop casual online players from getting more interested in the game.

"You'll be able to stop the casual gambler. But a person who really wants to do it, you won't stop," Narayanan said. "Players are finding other rooms to play in."

Narayanan said the new regulations could have another effect, however. He said if people can't play online, they might head to places such as Foxwoods to get into games.

Sean McFadden, 31, of Norwich said he plays two or three times a month at Foxwoods and got sucked into the poker craze by watching it on television.

"Like Chris Moneymaker, anyone can do it," McFadden said.

McFadden added at this year's World Poker Finals warm-up tournaments he's seen more players than ever.

"This tournament grows every year," McFadden said.