The New Yankee Workshop (1989)

Season 18: Episode 4

Poker is the game to be playing right now and Norm has a special project in mind for its legions of fans when he sets out to find and build the ideal table. To find out what the locals are using, Norm interrupts a neighborhood poker game for a look at their table and comes away unimpressed. Although the one he finds supports eight players, their chips, their drinks, and the cards, it is profoundly ugly and shaky. Norm decides to build an improved version. Norm creates his eight-sided table of mahogany and mahogany veneer plywood and places it on a sturdy pedestal. Rethinking the traditional felt covering typically used on these tables, Norm chooses a state-of-the-art synthetic fabric that offers a much-improved covering. He even finds brass cup holders, which are recessed into the top for holding beverages. The finished table is a winner.