DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
When Oscar Santana gets home from school everyday, the Brooklyn teenager dutifully does his homework, then boots up his computer for an evening of Texas Hold 'em.
For Oscar, and a growing number of students, playing the popular poker game online is swiftly becoming a new American pastime - with potentially dangerous consequences.
"I could spend a good two hours playing poker on the computer," said Santana, an 11th-grader who lives with his parents and two siblings in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
But the soft-spoken member of Edward R. Murrow High School's national championship chess team insists he's got his game-playing under control.
"I can tell myself when to stop," he said. "Since I have been playing, I haven't lost. I really don't worry about getting addicted. I just love playing."
Santana, 17, says he never watches TV, preferring to spend his free time honing his poker skills on PacificPoker.com.
Even though all online poker sites are located offshore (the U.S. Department of Justice says online gambling, a $9 billion a year business, is illegal), players must be at least 18.
To get around the rule, one of Santana's college buddies lets him play for real money on his PartyPoker.com account once a week. "I'm up $15,000 in play money, and $400 in real money."
His parents, Rosa and Oscar, know he plays poker. Rosa Santana said she does not like her son playing for money, but doesn't mind if he plays for fun, as long as it doesn't get out of hand.
"I tell him I'm watching him," she said. "Because like with anything, it starts off slowly, like fun, but it can creep up on you and you can get hooked."
Several experts interviewed by the Daily News said the problem, fueled in part by the popularity of professional and celebrity poker tournaments on TV, is growing despite restrictions to limit underage gambling with real money.
"This is a new phenomenon. There is no research out there yet on youth and online poker addiction," said Rina Gupta, co-director of a youth gambling research center at McGill University in Montreal. "But what we do know is that poker, including online poker, has caught on like wildfire."
"It's definitely a potential for concern and problems down the line," said Gupta. "We are getting a tremendous amount of requests from the states for prevention information. They call and say, 'I am a counselor in a school, there are a lot of kids playing poker. Help!' "
The News found kids as young as 11 playing poker online for play money.
Students at a private school in Riverdale said they play Texas Hold 'em online on nongambling sites to hone their skills for when they play for money with their friends. "It's easy to do when you have a free period at school," said one student.
Researchers and therapists have found an increased probability that youngsters who engage in poker on play-money sites will eventually play for cash. Worse, they say, success on the practice sites can mislead kids into believing they'll win money if they play for real.
Therapist Heiko Ganzer, who specializes in gambling addiction, said when he was summoned to a Long Island school by a worried staffer last month, he asked 150 boys how many had ever gambled. To the surprise of the teachers - but not Ganzer - 90% of them raised their hands.
Still, Ganzer, a member of the New York Council on Problem Gambling, was taken aback when he wandered into the auditorium and noticed four kids playing online poker on their laptops in the middle of the school day.
"This generation is in love with poker and computers," he said. "And parents and teachers generally don't have a clue what's going on."
A recent study by the International Center for Youth Gambling at McGill of 1,100 children ages 12 to 17 showed that 42% play gambling games online, but not for money, while nearly 6% play for real dough. The remaining children said they do not gamble online.
And a national study published last month by the Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania found an 84% increase in weekly card playing by young males ages 14 to 22 from 2003 to 2004.
The study also found that young weekly card players were also more likely to gamble frequently on the Internet, even it they are under 18.
"The rise in weekly card playing among young persons is worrisome," said Dan Romer, director of the Adolescent Risk Communication Institute. "These latest results suggest that the fad among teens is real and raise concerns that more young people will experience gambling problems as they age."
Alan Goodleaf, chairman of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission near Montreal, which licenses many online gaming sites, said most underage gamblers are "sanctioned by their parents. . . . We do whatever we can to stop it, but parents still rule their children - supposedly."
Alex, a 17-year-old Stuyvesant High School student who declined to give his last name, said his parents established his online account.
"I used to play Texas Hold 'em everyday in multiple tournaments," he said. "I pay my parents from my money and they opened the account for me. I'm down a few hundred dollars."
Many online sites aggressively try to limit underage gaming, but critics say it's not enough.
PokerRoom.com offers a link to CyberPatrol, which blocks children from accessing specified Web sites.
Gibraltar-based PartyPoker.com, the most-used online poker site, posts a lengthy disclaimer with specific tips for parents on how to prevent minors from logging on and gambling.
But, experts agree, the responsibility ultimately rests with parents.
"The truth is when my son is on the computer, I can think he is doing his longterm essay on Hemingway," said Pamela Hogan, an upper West Side mom of a 10th-grader. "But maybe he is really playing poker. I trust him, but I guess we've all got to pay more attention."
WARNING SIGNS
Experts say it can be difficult to detect if your child is gambling. Here are some questions to ask adolescents:
1. Is gambling more important than school?
2. Do your friends gamble a lot?
3. Do you try to prevent family or friends from knowing how much and how often you gamble?
4. Do you ever say you won when you lost?
5. When you lose, do you feel you must bet as soon as possible to win back your losses?
WHERE TO GO FOR HELP
If you think your child has a problem with gambling, call the New York State Council 24-hour hotline at (800) 437-1611. Or click on: www.nyproblemgambling.org
