Sunday, February 13, 2005

Another Sign that Poker is Growing

Here is an excerpt of an article in today's LA Times titled "The game's afoot with high-end tables":
People make millions playing poker now, and millions watch them on TV. We envy the sunglasses, those piles of chips -- and that cool poker table.
You want one, and furniture makers are listening.
What they're hearing, though, is that style is as important as function.
Game tables also must be stylish, able to blend with upscale furnishings, or convert from game table to regular table.
And, as befits an era of entertainment centers with $10,000 plasma TVs and Surround Sound, many of the offerings are priced to match.
Fedde Furniture in Pasadena, Calif., for example, carries large game tables by Maitland-Smith in the $3,000 to $5,000 price range, with matching chairs at about $500 each. Smaller tables are closer to $2,000.
As manager Melinda Kinney explained, Maitland-Smith, based in High Point, N.C., makes collector-quality pieces. Customers who have spent thousands on a room for entertaining want furniture of equal quality, and price is not a factor, she said.
For people seeking quality and function but who also must weigh price, I.M. David Furniture offers tables for about $1,000, with matching chairs for about $500.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that 65 companies planned to show game tables at a trade show in 2004 in North Carolina, compared with just seven in 2000.

The entire article is available at http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/221598-9948-053.html

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