An estimated 55 percent of male college students and 27 percent of female students gamble on card games, according to a University of Minnesota study by Ken Winters.

And with new advancements in the field, University of Wisconsin students are handed many ways to partake in the longtime hobby.

Developments like the "lipstick camera" has brought poker directly to homes through such televised events as Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, ESPN's World Series of Poker and the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour.

The World Series of Poker reported that in 1982 the tournament had 52 participants. By 2002, 7,595 people participated in the tournament. Prize money for the tournament from 1992 to 2002 has increased from $7,769,000 to $19,599,230.

Some students, like UW freshman Timothy Hallowell, are enticed by televised poker.

He said watching poker shows makes him want to play poker.

"When you're watching, you love making the decisions for what you think they should do," Hallowell said.

Although online gambling has grown in popularity with sites like PartyPoker.com, Hallowell said being able to read the other players is an essential part of playing poker.

"I don't want to [play online] because I can't see [competitors'] faces," he said.

UW sophomore Brian Maher, who uses online gambling services, said playing online is mostly for entertainment purposes.

"It's more time consuming than I would like it to be," Maher said.

As poker popularity expands, University Housing must uphold the Wisconsin state law that does not allow gambling on state property. Any individual living in campus housing may not gamble, according to a University Housing student handbook all residents receive.

Some students living in a residence hall do not abide by this law, however.

Hallowell said he does not think that students will ever stop playing despite these restrictions.

UW freshman Brandon Schultz said if the game did not involve finances it "wouldn't matter."

"I think it's actually better," Schultz said. "Ideally, that's how I'd play. I think it's better just to have a good old time."

UW freshman Nicholas Crevcoure said University Housing should offer its own tournaments with prizes.

The University of Minnesota study says residence hall policies on gambling are necessary.

"It is surprising that a high-risk group largely ignored in this research are college students," the report states. "The college years may represent a heightened risk for developing gambling problems."

Schultz said he agrees with University Housing's position on gambling.

"It's okay [to have University Housing involved] because you can get people throwing serious money," Schultz said.