Recent Poker Discovery

The most recent poker tournament was such as success for ESPN that, especially in the final couple of weeks, ratings exceeded those for ESPN's popular SportsCenter news show and the typical NBA game, Potts said.

"They just couldn't stop watching," she said. "Guys say they learn from it and women said it was entertaining. Even at 3:30 in the morning, we were pulling ratings almost as strong as that night's SportsCenter, which is huge."

ESPN hopes to top that this year by expanding the number of episodes on the World Series of Poker and to repackage last year's tournament into a "best of" series on poker moves, Potts said.

Coming in June, the Discovery Channel will air "American Casino" yet another reality show exposing the behind-the-scenes operation of a casino -- in this case Green Valley Ranch. The cable channel, known for its nature and do-it-yourself shows, will also air its documentary on the takeover and remaking of the Golden Nugget by former dot-com entrepreneurs Tim Poster and Tom Breitling.