Sony had delayed the European launch (originally set for March) to meet demand from other regions. The PSP will be launched in South Korea on May 2, 2005; followed by a joint launch in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan on May 12, 2005.

Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began in 1970. It was also during that decade that the first serious strategy books appeared, notably The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky (ISBN 1880685000), Super System by Doyle Brunson (ISBN 0931444014), and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro (ISBN 0897461002). Broadcast of poker tournaments for cable and satellite TV distribution, such as with the World Poker Tour, has added additional popularity to the game, as has the introduction of online poker.

Like most card games, the dealer shuffles the deck of cards. The deck is then cut, and the appropriate number of cards are dealt face-down to the players. In a home game, the right to deal the cards typically rotates among the players clockwise, whose position is often marked by a button (any small item used as a marker, also called a buck).

In 1995, Electra started appearing in television programs such as Nickelodeon's All That and then in May of 1996 she appeared in Playboy magazine. This led to an increasing role as a television personality on various shows, including regular roles on MTV's Singled Out and Baywatch.

In addition to support from other divisions inside the company, Sony is negotiating with various studios with regards to releasing their content on the UMD format. Movies were first made available in April 2005 and the first batch included House of Flying Daggers, xXx,Hellboy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and Resident Evil: Apocalypse from Sony Pictures, along with Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Pirates of the Carribean from the Miramax wing of Disney Pictures. Sony has also gained the support of Lions Gate Films, and Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures currently have plans to release movies on UMD Video. [2] (

In some countries, notably in northern Europe, coffee parties are a popular form of entertaining. Besides coffee, the host or hostess at the coffee party also serves cake and pastries, hopefully homemade.