Many might associate poker with old-time cowboys like Amarillo Slim, who won back in 1972. But since the poker boom of the early 2000s, the pinnacle of the sport has been dominated by a generation of youngsters who learned the game playing online. Though women play poker, and made up 4 percent of the field at the World Series main event, none has won it.) A federal crackdown on online poker in the United States in 2011 helped lead to the fading of the poker boom and made playing much more difficult for the next generation of teenagers and 20-somethings. Qui Nguyen broke through for the comparatively older crowd with a win in 2016 at 39, and John Cynn won last year at 34.

Source: New York Times July 17, 2019 15:11 UTC