WATERLOO -- Drew Newhoff is all in.

He pushes his chip stacks into the middle of the table and stares into the eyes of the other player. Two-time World Series of Poker Champion Marcus Knief has seen this move before and he's not taking it lightly. He lifts up the top corner of his two queens and glances at the three cards laying face up in the middle of the table. This hand could determine who will be taking home the $2.5 million prize. A ten, a jack and an ace of spades lay between the two players while the staring contest continues. Knief knows Newhoff may hold a king and queen of spades, the highest 5-card poker hand possible: a royal flush.

"The hardest thing about (Texas) hold 'em is knowing when to call and knowing when to throw the cards away," says Knief as he pauses for contemplation.

Flinging the cards from his hand, Knief folds.

Newhoff pulls in his pot.

Not bad for a couple of kids playing on a parent's kitchen table.

In reality, Newhoff didn't have the flush and he didn't just win $2.5 million. The closest he has come to a World Series Poker Championship was when he watched an amateur win it on television last May. These boys are just a couple of high school seniors playing for the glory of the game and the buck of the bluff. The stakes are kept low, in accordance with state law. According to the Code of Iowa, games between individuals are allowed as long as "no participant wins or loses more than a total of $50 … at any time during any period of twenty-four consecutive hours or over that entire period."

Knief and Newhoff may not fit the profile of future world champions, but neither did Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker Champion.

"He's a working class guy, not a professional," says Meskwaki Bingo and Casino floor manager Chris Birch. "After he won the series, people realized you don't have to be a professional. He showed that anyone can win."

Moneymaker shocked the world when he sat down at a Vegas no limit hold 'em table with 838 of the very best poker players in the world and won. The 27-year-old from Tennessee began his run to fortune by winning a $25 online poker tournament and a seat at the WSOP. Less than one year later, Moneymaker was sitting with the all-time leading money winner, Johnny Chan, to his right and "The Tiger Woods of Poker," Phil Ivey, to his left.

It took just the right amount of luck and skill to elevate the amateur past the pros and into the limelight. Some poker players and fans believe Moneymaker single-handedly saved the game from disappearing entirely.

"There's been a lot more interest lately," says Birch. "The poker industry was under the radar for a couple of years and professionals wanted to get people involved."

Little did any of the pros know it would take the luck of an amateur to pocket-rocket poker's popularity. Following Moneymaker's televised win, you can't flip the channel without catching a hold 'em match on cable.

The Bravo Network picked up Celebrity Poker Showdown, a series that followed the cards and punch lines of celebrities like Ben Affleck, David Schwimmer and Coolio as they competed for various charities. Both ESPN and the Travel Channel added World Series play and replays to its programming lineup, and it was the Travel Channel's most watch program.

"These people see all these stars playing on television so they want to learn," says Meskwaki's Birch.

Meskwaki Casino's poker room features eight tables, six of which are hold 'em tables. Every Wednesday the casino hosts a no limit Texas hold 'em tournament with 96 players seating all eight tables.

"When the underdog wins, everybody wants in," says Knief.

Knief, 18, learned to play poker as a sixth grader by watching his older sister thumb through aces and kings. Now he plays daily, for three, sometimes six hours in succession. Knief is no Chan, but he could be a Moneymaker.

"Learning how to play is the easy part," says Knief. "Learning to play well is where it gets difficult."