This week, Tilt, a poker drama from producers David Levien and Brian Koppelman, premieres on ESPN, prompting an obvious question: Why should it fare any better than the 1998 poker drama Rounders, a film they wrote and which folded quickly? Well, maybe Rounders flopped thanks to an overdose of foresight. The recent symbiotic joining of poker and fame�most evident on Celebrity Poker Showdown�has since turned the game into a small-screen phenomenon. Here�s a guide to who�s responsible.

Steven Lipscomb
The Innovator
ESPN�s broadcast the World Series since 1994, but the game became truly TV-friendly when Lipscomb, the producer of World Poker Tour, placed tiny cameras in the table in 2002. Now you can see the players� cards�lending high drama to those pasty poker faces.

Chris Moneymaker
The Everyguy
Moneymaker became a hero to unknown zhlubs everywhere when, after paying $40 to enter a satellite tournament, he bested a field of 839 players to win $2.5 million at the 2003 World Series of Poker�a tale that, right down to his surname, would seem ludicrous as a plotline on Tilt.

Nicole Sullivan
The Underdog
Sullivan was once known as a regular on MADtv and The King of Queens. Then she won the first Celebrity Poker Showdown. Now stars from SNL�s Seth Meyers to NASCAR�s Jeff Gordon can juice their Q ratings by playing their way to the final table.

Annie Duke
The Pretty Face
The top female pro, Duke, with her good looks and gunslinger�s name, is being groomed as a crossover star. (Lisa Kudrow�s producing a sitcom about her life.) Duke also moonlights as a private coach to certain poker-loving celebrities.

Ben Affleck
The Idol at the Table
Last year, Affleck became the first big star to win a major tournament, taking the California State Poker Championship. Now he�s earned a seat among the pros at the World Poker Tour championship in April�a cameo that should goose the ratings significantly.

Benny Binion (deceased)
The Godfather
A mob-tied Texan who owned the Horseshoe casino, Binion started the World Series of Poker in 1970 as a pure publicity stunt, enlisting a handful of sharks for a showdown. The Series is now broadcast on ESPN and last year drew 2,576 players�though many pros skip the winners-take-all tourney in favor of lucrative casino money-games.