Unlike Chess or Football, Poker is a game where an amateur can rise to
the highest levels in practically no time and walk away with millions
of dollars. What attracts people to poker is the same thing that
attracts them to the lottery, the possibility that they could win a
very large sum of money via an activity that is largely luck based. .

Does that possibility exist in Chess or Football? Of course not. There
is 0% chance I'll be drafted in the NFL and there is a 0% chance that
I'll win the 2007 Wikj aan Zee. But with Poker, all it takes is $10,000
to purchase a seat at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and give
yourself a shot at becoming an instant multi-millionaire. Just look at
who wins.

The 2004 WSOP Champion is a middle-aged, balding, overweight patent
attorney who walked away with $5,000,000 from a single event. The 2003
WSOP Champion is a 20-something CPA named Moneymaker whose only
previous experience was playing Poker on the Internet, and he won
around $2,500,000.

When people watch Poker, they can realistically envision themselves up
there. The same is not true about any other sport.