A hot button issue in online poker has always been its effect on land-based casinos. Well it appears that we’re getting closer to an answer. The oft-stated argument is that online poker hurts casinos, and Black Friday’s consequences are creating ripples throughout the casino industry which may bring a conclusion to the argument.

Since the FBI on Black Friday blocked the major American poker sites, American online poker players have had nowhere to turn. It appears that in Gardena, California at the Hustler Casino, online poker players have been showing up for live play in large crowds. Manager Craig Kaufman said that the online players stood out, “Like zebra around a bunch of cows. [Online players] take 3-to-1 odds on something where regular folks need 5-to-1.”

One of Hustler’s shift supervisors who used to be an avid online poker player, Steve Eisenberg, said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I could try my luck with the remaining sites but some are shady, and who knows if they’ll be shutting those down next week anyway. I could play more in the club but that’s difficult with the kids.”

The six major casinos of Gardena, California host more poker players than the entire Las Vegas strip, and could reasonably be viewed as a barometer for whether or not online poker players will return to (or debut at) live play. The major casinos, including the Commerce, have so far reported significant booms in the number of daily players.

Poker Hall of Fame inductee Barbara Enright commented, “I never left the house to go play poker unless it was for a tournament. So I’m going to have to go out to the casinos a lot more often. The games there are going to get much better.” It is too soon to tell if this is a temporary spike or if casinos truly will prove once and for all that online poker hurts their business. For now, the casinos will enjoy the influx, and we will wait and see.