Why is it that a lot of people seem to believe that poker is going to end in the near future? IMO, it is only going to get bigger and bigger, especially when we consider that Asia has yet to enter the internet scene but will shortly as their standard of living continues to dramatically increase. Billions and billions of players are coming. Get ready to take their yuan, yen or rupees! (As the US dollar is tanking, you'll want those currencies anyways).

Individual casino's will come and go, but gambling lives forever. It's as much a part of the human existence as are sexuality and drugs. I don't believe that poker is going to go anywhere soon. No way, it's too much fun and too accessible.

Also, I don't get this notion that just because there are poker books means that the players are going to be so much better. If everyone is reading the same books, then it just means the weaker players will be playing exactly the same game. (BTW, the weaker players never get the books, they just want a formula for certain hands so they know what to do.) Does anyone here think televised WSOP or WPT increases a player's skill? "Me watch lots o' TV poker and me read lots o' books, but me no get better." This is the story of every poker player who does not take the game seriously and work at it. (Prodigies like Stu Ungar excluded, maybe.)

So, IMHO, I don't see the poker doomsayers as having any validity in their prognostications.