"Which means gamblers with hot money will be standing around waiting. Which means the casino loses a chance to make more money. Which means Malka is annoyed.

"…Most of the gamblers in his Las Vegas-style room represent the poker old guard: aging white men sitting around faded green tables. But thanks to the game's exploding popularity in recent years -- due largely to televised poker tournaments -- the crowd aboard the floating casino has changed.

"'We've seen a large increase in all ethnic backgrounds. More of everyone,' says Malka, who runs all the poker rooms for SunCruz Casinos, a gambling cruise line with ports in Daytona Beach, Port Canaveral and Key Largo.

"…Casino cruises have long attracted a diversity of gamblers, but it's been only recently that the game has become less homogeneous. Indeed, on a Friday and Saturday night, one of the most diverse places in Central Florida is offshore, on one of Port Canaveral's two offshore casinos. The difference now is that more players are wandering upstairs to the poker room.

"…Soon after, as the cruise line turned toward home, an electrical contractor from Kissimmee would win the crown -- almost four hours after the tournament began…"