The Chicago Tribune reports that record numbers of people played online Texas Hold’em poker on the same day New York City’s transit system was shut down by a strike this week.
Marty Wallace, chief operating officer for DoylesRoom.com, told the Tribune reported that the site usually has 3,000 to 3,500 people playing during business hours, but Tuesday, the count jumped as high as 6,500 players. “At first we didn’t know what was going on with the flood of players we were getting from New York City,” he said.
BetOnSports.com’s poker room experienced a similar windfall: “30-35 percent increase in both free-play and real-money games, and it was a clear connection to the New York transit strike,” said spokesman Kevin Smith.