Poker News

Poker After Dark Season 6 Kicks Off with Commentators III

Season 6 of the popular NBC poker program “Poker After Dark” kicked off this week with “Commentators III.” In a somewhat surreal scene, announcers from popular poker programs took to the felts at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Each player started with 20,000 in chips and blinds at 100-200. Dan Gati replaced Full Tilt Poker’s Ali Nejad in the booth, as Nejad took to the felts as part of the kickoff week. He raised with A-J in the first hand shown and received no action, turning over his two cards to prove that he always has a hand. Also appearing as part of “Commentators III” this week are Howard Lederer, “High Stakes Poker” hosts Gabe Kaplan and Kara Scott, “Poker2Nite” anchor and UB.com pro Joe Sebok, and Mark Gregorich.

In one hand, Nejad raised to 650 pre-flop with K-J and Lederer made the call with 10-J. The flop came 8-9-6, giving Lederer an open-ended straight draw, and the action went check-check to a four on the turn. Lederer led out for 875 and Nejad quickly mucked, prompting a flurry of references to a set of fours. During the last “Commentators” week, Nejad busted with a set of fours against Kaplan’s set of tens.

Nejad then ramped up his charm, telling the assembled panel of announcers, “I had something special to do today in honor of Joe [Sebok] finally making a TV table.” He produced a tray of champagne classes and gave one to each competitor. Sebok has a bevy of televised final table bubbles in his career, including a ninth place finish in the 2008 World Poker Tour (WPT) Festa al Lago, a seventh place finish at the 2007 Legends of Poker, and a seventh place finish at the 2007 Bay 101 Shooting Star; WPT final tables are played six-handed. He finished fifth in the 2006 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic for $99,000.

On his tendency to bubble, Sebok told “Poker After Dark” host Leeann Tweeden, “Unfortunately in poker, I became more famous for missteps than good steps.” It was later revealed that Sebok and Nejad attended the University of California, Berkley at the same time, leading to a discussion as to whether the two had ever met. Kaplan then flopped the nuts with K-J on a board of 10-Q-A. Nejad, who held Q-J for middle pair and a gutshot straight draw, bet 850 after Kaplan checked. Kaplan raised to 2,100 and Nejad folded.

Twenty-five minutes into the kickoff episode of “Poker After Dark” Season 6, the first river card was dealt. Sebok led out for 550 with Q-3 on a board of 4-8-Q with two spades. Kaplan put in a raise to 2,150 with 3-4 of spades and Sebok called. The turn was another queen, giving Sebok trips, and the action went check-check. The river was a four, giving both players full houses. Sebok bet 2,700 and Kaplan wisely folded. Sebok became the new chip leader after scooping the pot of 7,900.

Scott, who was largely quiet throughout the episode, donned a CardRunners logo for her first “Poker After Dark” appearance. She exclaimed, “I’m playing with Gabe Kaplan! It’s really exciting!” Amid discussion of the upcoming Heath Ledger movie, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” Sebok raised to 1,100 with A-K and Gregorich called with pocket nines. The flop fell 7-3-10 and Sebok made a continuation bet of 1,600. Gregorich called and a six came on the turn. The action went check-check as Sebok let his foot off the gas and a four came on the river. Both players again checked and Gregorich scooped the 6,000-chip pot.

In one of the final hands shown on Monday night’s episode, Gregorich held pocket rockets and raised to 1,200 pre-flop. Sebok came along with 5-6 of clubs from the big blind and the flop came Q-6-8. Sebok checked, Gregorich fired out a bet of 3,000, and Sebok folded.

“Commentators III” continues all week on “Poker After Dark.” The franchise airs late nights at 2:05am ET on NBC and is sponsored by Full Tilt Poker, whose logo appears in the center of the felt.

Sixth season of Poker After Dark is here!

NBC’s popular Poker After Dark is back. The first episode was aired yesterday and can be watched at the NBC’s website.

The first week is called “Commentators III” and you can find familiar faces sitting at the table. There’s Howard Lederer, Gabe Kaplan, Joe Sebok, Ali Nejad, Mark Gregorich and Kara Scott playing a 6-max $20k sit and go. Winner takes the whole $120.000 pot.

You can watch the first episode here.

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Sixth season of Poker After Dark is here!

Poker After Dark Season 6 Kicks off January 4th

Fans of the popular NBC poker franchise “Poker After Dark” won’t have to wait long after the clock strikes Midnight this evening to catch the show’s sixth season, which debuts on Monday night, January 4th, at 2:05am ET.

Ali Nejad and Leeann Tweeden will reprise their “Poker After Dark” announcing and hosting roles, respectively, as the show enters season number six. The first week is entitled “Commentators III” and, while the name isn’t very catchy, the action on the felt should be nail biting. Howard Lederer, Gabe Kaplan, Joe Sebok, Nejad, Mark Gregorich, and Kara Scott will all play in “Poker After Dark’s” Season 6 premiere. Sebok, who hosts UB.com’s “Poker2Nite,” and Scott, the new floor reporter for GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” are making their “Poker After Dark” debuts. You can catch “Commentators III” beginning on January 4th.

A total of 13 shows were filmed for Season 6 of “Poker After Dark,” including six-handed freezeouts and three different buy-in cash games. Followers of 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champion Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad will be able to catch the youngster on a special “Nicknames” episode that also features Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Erick “E-Dog” Lindgren, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, and Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth. Obrestad, a Betfair pro, turned 21 in September and is finally old enough to gamble legally on U.S. soil.

A $50,000 buy-in cash game features a star-studded lineup of Brandon Adams, Todd Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Matusow, Esfandiari, and Hellmuth. A press release distributed by Poker PROductions notes, “Any time Matusow and Hellmuth play against each other in a cash game, the insults alone make for must-see-television.” A high-stakes $150,000 buy-in cash game will see Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Patrik Antonius, David “Viffer” Peat, Eli Elezra, Kaplan, and Alan Meltzer take to the felts. The six are staples of “High Stakes Poker” and one mounts the comeback of the century.

One of the more notable freezeout themes is “Lonesome Shark,” which features Lindgren, James Akenhead, Esfandiari, Matusow, David Williams, and Brad Booth. What do they all have in common, you ask? All six are poker’s most eligible bachelors and the heads-up battle in this episode is one of the longest of the season. Mixed Martial Arts will take center stage shortly thereafter in a show featuring UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, Antonius, Strikeforce fighter Dan Henderson, former UFC champion Randy Couture, Lederer, and Lindgren.

Here is the schedule through April for new episodes of Season 6 of “Poker After Dark” according to NBC.com:

Week of January 4th - Commentators III
Howard Lederer, Gabe Kaplan, Joe Sebok, Ali Nejad, Mark Gregorich, Kara Scott

Week of January 11th – Nicknames
Annette Obrestad, Mike Matusow, Antonio Esfandiari, Erick Lindgren, Phil Laak, Phil Hellmuth

Week of March 15th - Cash Game $50,000 buy-in, Part 1
Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Brandon Adams, Todd Brunson, Mike Matusow

Week of March 22nd – Cash Game $50,000 buy-in, Part 2
Todd Brunson, Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Brandon Adams, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson

Week of April 19th - My Favorite Pro
Craig Ivey, James Ashby, Steve Bartlett, Phil Hellmuth, Jens Voertmann, Chris Ferguson

Week of April 26th - He Said, She Said
Erica Schoenberg, Jean-Robert Bellande, David Grey, Karina Jett, Mike Matusow, Annie Duke

Additional dates for new episodes will be announced in the future and re-runs of popular shows will also air over the first four months of 2009. “Poker After Dark” will take a hiatus during the weeks of February 15th and 22nd due to the Winter Olympics, which NBC owns the rights to.

“Poker After Dark” and “High Stakes Poker,” both products of Poker PROductions, were filmed in October at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. The latter begins airing on GSN on Sunday, February 14th.

Returns

Filming of 13 different shows concluded in October at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas featuring a mixture of well-known regulars from previous seasons and thirteen players making their Poker After Dark debut.

Ali Nejad, returns to provide commentary and Leeann Tweeden is back for her third season as the show’s host.

Seven of the new shows will follow the traditional Poker After Dark week-long six-handed winner-take-all freezeout format while the remaining six will feature cash games of varying buy-ins that will each air over a two-week period.

Producers say there are first-time winners, matches that end in dramatic fashion, huge swings, plenty of laughs and many other memorable moments.

The season will kick-off Jan. 4 with a Poker After Dark staple: The “Commentators” episode, featuring Nejad and High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan along with newcomer Joe Sebok from Poker2Nite and Kaplan’s new co-host Kara Scott.

A “Nicknames” episode will follow that includes Annette “The Huntress” Obrestad’s Poker After Dark debut and great names like Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Erick “E-Dog” Lindgren, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, and Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth.

The first cash game episodes to air will feature a $50,000 minimum buy-in and players including, Todd Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Matusow, Esfandiari, and Hellmuth.

In what could be the first win for an amateur on Poker After Dark a “My Favorite Pro” episode will air including online qualifiers Craig Ivey from Australia, James Ashby from Alabama, Jens Voertmann from Germany, and 2009 Howard Lederer Charity Event winner Steve Bartlett playing alongside Hellmuth and Ferguson.

In a match similar to the “Battle of the Sexes” theme of Season 2, a “He Said, She Said” episode will include Erica Schoenberg, Jean-Robert Bellande, David Grey, Matusow, Annie Duke and Karina Jett, making her Poker After Dark debut.

The next cash game show has a $100,000 minimum buy-in and includes some of the biggest cash players in the world. Here Hellmuth will take on Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Gus Hansen, and Laak.

A “Lonesome Shark” show will feature bachelors Lindgren, James Akenhead, Esfandiari, Matusow, David Williams, and Brad Booth and there is a “Mixed Martial Arts” show featuring Bruce Buffer, Dan Henderson, Randy Couture and Patrik Antonius.

The third and final cash game has a $150,000 minimum buy-in and includes Dwan, Antonius, David Peat, Elezra, Kaplan, and Alan Meltzer.

Finally, the season wraps up with a “Charity in Mind” show, highlighting the charity work of players including Phil Gordon, Jennifer Harman, Andy Bloch, Duke, Lederer and Ferguson.

Season 6 begins Jan. 4 in Poker After Dark’s regular 2:05 a.m. timeslot on NBC.

For more information and the entire schedule, check out the Poker After Dark page on NBC’s website.

Visit PokerListings.com

Overheard at High Stakes Poker Season 6 Taping

Last week, the sixth season of GSN’s cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker” was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. Some of the game’s best turned out for the three days of taping and sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss their thoughts headed into the suite.

Barry Greenstein will once again raise money for charity during Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker,” which will feature tournament hostess Kara Scott conducting interviews from the floor and Gabe Kaplan flying solo in the booth sans A.J. Benza. Greenstein is set to utter the most feared three words in all of poker sometime during the sixth season, “bing, bang blaow,” for charity. He told Poker News Daily, “One of the problems with it is that it’s like trash talking. Normally, it’s not classy to beat someone in a big pot and then talk trash. Each of the last couple of years, with the ‘Math is idiotic,’ I beat Tom Dwan and drew out. With the ‘lol donkaments,’ I told Erick Lindgren ahead of time that I was going to do it.” For uttering popular phrases throughout the years, Greenstein has truly earned his nickname as the “Robin Hood of Poker.”

Besides “High Stakes Poker,” Daniel Negreanu has taken to the television airwaves for the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” which returns this Sunday following NFL football on Fox. Negreanu discussed how the show has been received so far: “We couldn’t be happier. It came in off ‘Face the Ace,’ which got bad ratings. ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ was one of the highest rated shows and did amazingly well. The time slot is perfect following football and the production quality is so much better. Everything has a game show feel.”

On the mind of “High Stakes Poker” newcomer Dennis Phillips was the win by fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Cada in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Phillips finished third in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament last year to the tune of $4.5 million; Cada’s win this year was worth $8.5 million. Phillips explained, “He was 21 and just won $8.5 million. He has a good head, talks well with the media, and wants to promote poker. We just need to make sure it goes the right way and he and I will be talking off and on.” PokerStars has produced several recent WSOP Main Event champions, including Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Cada (2009).

Phil Laak, who was an alternate for the sixth season of “High Stakes Poker” and wound up filming, told Poker News Daily about his experience at the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table, which unfolded at the Rio: “It was the second time in 10 years that I went to see it. I had never been in the Penn and Teller Theater in my life and I haven’t seen the show either.” Laak and Antonio Esfandiari instigated a number of prop bets during Season 5 of “High Stakes Poker,” one-off events that producer Mori Eskandani has apparently frowned upon during the show’s most recent installment.

Besides Phillips, another newcomer to the GSN poker series this time around is Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis, who final tabled the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP in 2009. Veldhuis told Poker News Daily how he stacks up against the talented competition: “I’ve played with these guys before, so I’m comfortable with them and I’m comfortable with my game. I just hope I can win some money because the show is a small sample. There’s going to be really high variance and I won’t have a lot of hands. It’s gambling, so in that respect, I think it’s higher stakes.”

Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker” will begin airing on Sunday, February 14th on GSN.

Poker2Nite Debuts on Fox Sports Net

Wednesday night marked the first episode of the UB.net poker news show “Poker2Nite.” The new franchise stars PokerRoad personalities Joe Sebok and Scott Huff and airs at 11:00pm ET on Wednesdays on Fox Sports Net.

Last night’s show began with a discussion of the major news item of the week, the win by Joe Cada in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Cada became the youngest champion ever of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament at age 21 and turned 22 on November 18th. In the final hand of the tournament, which was replayed on “Poker2Nite,” Cada shoved with pocket nines and Maryland logger Darvin Moon made the call for his tournament life with Q-J of diamonds. The two were off to the races with $3 million in real money on the line. In the end, Cada emerged victorious. He told “Poker2Nite’s” Lacey Jones after play had concluded, “I knew the odds of winning it were a long shot.”

Huff gave his take on the emergence of Cada: “The kid immediately goes out and does a lot of live interviews. He’s accepted a number of mainstream media appearances and it feels like he’s ready to step into the spotlight and be an ambassador for the game.” Huff and Sebok then debated whether it was fair that the winner of the Main Event had a “job” to promote the game. Sebok stated, “It’s an opportunity. I would snatch up that job in a second.” Sebok took 56th in the 2009 Main Event, earning $108,000.

Attention then turned to the departure of WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, who resigned from his post just days after Cada was crowned the newest World Champion. Pollack’s legacy includes the introduction of the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, the November Nine, and a reduction in the number of player complaints. Sebok, who was one of several pros who weighed in following Pollack’s departure on social media sites like Twitter, told “Poker2Nite” viewers, “Jeffrey Pollack definitely changed the game for the better.”

UB.net logos appeared in the background and in commercials during each break. The new site was launched earlier this week replacing Ultimate Bet, which was long known by the two-letter acronym. “Poker2Nite” is featured on the front page of UB.net and UB.com and a press release announcing the new site called the series “a new television show that is truly about poker, not just another reality or game show.” Huff and Sebok are veterans of the media side of poker through their work with PokerRoad Radio. Both bring an energetic demeanor to the silver screen and looked at home in front of Fox Sports Net television cameras.

Dana Workman, who has appeared in various sitcoms on ABC and FOX, gave her Weekly Misdeal and Huff and Sebok examined which fans at the tournament in Las Vegas were the rowdiest. Cada’s won the contest, as the youngster’s cheering section came decked out in yellow shirts and screamed loudly throughout the marathon festivities. The younger age of Cada’s fans may have contributed to their excitement, as supporters of Antoine Saout and Steven Begleiter, who were dressed in blue, appeared to be of an older age.

Joining the show as its first guest was San Jose native and ESPN poker announcer Lon McEachern, about whom Huff jokingly claimed, “I brought him on to force him to pass the torch.” McEachern, who first broadcasted the WSOP on ESPN in 2002 alongside Gabe Kaplan, told “Poker2Nite” fans, “It’s an event now. To have that many people watching nine guys sit and play cards was incredible. To come from the obscure beginnings to where it is now has been the ride of a lifetime.”

In addition to its 11:00am ET debut each Wednesday night, “Poker2Nite” re-airs on Thursdays at 4:00pm ET and Fridays at 11:00am ET and 6:00pm ET. Check local listings for full details.

Season 6 of High Stakes Poker filming starts

As you read this, a collection of multi-millionaires are sat around a poker table winning six-figure pots as Gabe Kaplan commentates solo and Kara Scott plays the part of eye-candy around the table.

High Stakes Poker, GSN Officials Preview Season 6

Making waves in the poker world this week has been the announcement of the “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 cast. Set to debut in February on the cable station, “High Stakes Poker” will feature Gabe Kaplan alongside new co-host Kara Scott.

During the first five seasons of the high-dollar cash game show, A.J. Benza provided color commentary with Kaplan. Now, Scott, a television veteran, will furnish insight and interviews from the poker room floor. On the change from Benza to Scott, GSN Vice President of Programming and Development David Schiff told Poker News Daily, “We’re into the sixth season and we felt like it was time to freshen it up. Our feeling was that we wanted viewers to be in the room with the players. Gabe and A.J. did a good job, but they were disconnected from the action.”

Scott is one of only two women to cash in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in back-to-back years and, as such, provides a unique level of insight. She’s fresh off bringing the PokerStars.net Ante Up for Africa charity tournament to life on CBS in the United States and serves as eye candy for ESPN announcer Norman Chad. Schiff explained the allure of hiring Scott, as opposed to other rumored co-hosts like Shana Hiatt and Vanessa Rousso: “Kara is really the full package. She’s a great player and has had deep runs in the Main Event the last two years. We think she can add a lot of insight to the broadcast.”

Seventeen players have been announced as part of the “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 cast, including newcomers Dennis Phillips, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, Lex Veldhuis, Andreas Hoivold, and Sammy “Any Two” George. On the stable of pros lined up for Season 6, “High Stakes Poker” Executive Producer Mori Eskandani told Poker News Daily, We are going to have possibly the most colorful and strongest cast we’ve had to date.” The newcomers will take to the felts alongside regulars like Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, and Antonio Esfandiari.

Also in the mix for Season 6 is WSOP November Nine member Phil Ivey, who has only appeared once in the show’s five previous seasons. Schiff examined the addition of Ivey to the impressive lineup of poker pros and recreational players: “Arguably, this is the best cast of players we have ever had. To have Phil Ivey off the November Nine and all of the other great players, I think it’ll be great poker action.” The series premieres on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET and replays twice each night.

“High Stakes Poker” features a $200,000 buy-in and, as such, includes a bevy of well-known tournament players battling it out in a cash game. Eskandani explained, “We’ve never seen Dennis Phillips in cash games, yet he’s done super in tournaments. Now, he’s coming out to the cash game world to throw punches with the best of them.” Last season’s broadcast featured recent WSOP Main Event winners Peter Eastgate and Joe Hachem; neither will take to the felts this time around.

Music mogul Allan Meltzer, who is among the regulars at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio, will likely be one of the only so-called “recreational” players on the sixth season of “High Stakes Poker.” During Season 5, “The Notebook” Director Nick Cassavettes and “The Simpsons” Co-Creator Sam Simon were among those who challenged poker superstars like Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius. Eskandani explained the dearth of recreational players this season: “This year, Meltzer will be playing, but we didn’t want to go to the same recreational players we always went to. Several that we went to ended up having cold feet.”

“High Stakes Poker” will film from November 11th to 13th at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas.

High Stakes Poker Season 6 Cast Released, Kara Scott Confirmed as Co-Host

In a press release distributed by cable station GSN on Thursday, Kara Scott was confirmed to be the new co-host of “High Stakes Poker,” replacing A.J. Benza. In addition, a list of 17 players was revealed.

Scott replaced Benza, who had flanked “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan in the “High Stakes Poker” announcing booth for the first five seasons. Scott’s role will not be play-by-play; instead, the television personality and expert poker player will “report from the High Stakes Poker suite, interviewing poker players about poker strategy, big hands, and the table dynamics,” according to network officials. The show will take on the same feel as NBC’s “Poker After Dark” for its sixth season. The two franchises are produced by the same company, Poker PROductions.

Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker” will begin airing on Valentine’s Day – Sunday, February 14th, 2010 – at 8:00pm ET. Encore presentations will air at 11:00pm ET and 2:00am ET on Sunday nights, meaning that poker fans have three chances to catch new episodes every week. Each of its contestants coughed up $200,000 of their own money as a minimum buy-in.

Five players are making their first appearance on “High Stakes Poker,” including Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko. The youngster has been on a tear on the live poker circuit despite only weighing in at 21 years of age. Timoshenko was born in the Ukraine and won the 2009 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship for $2.1 million. In September, Timoshenko took down the Main Event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for another $1.7 million and is a former winner of the Asian Poker Tour’s (APT) Macau feature tournament.

Also making his debut on GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” is Dennis Phillips, who gained notoriety by making back-to-back deep runs in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Last year, Phillips finished third in the $10,000 buy-in gala for $4.5 million after entering the final table as the chip leader. Phillips came armed to the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio with a throng of followers donning red St. Louis Cardinals baseball caps and white button up shirts. This year, Phillips finished 45th for $178,000 after being sent to the rails when an opponent made a flush with A-K suited; Phillips also held A-K.

High-stakes cash game player Sammy George will be right at home in the Golden Nugget when filming of the GSN poker franchise kicks off next week. George, who has earned the nickname “Any Two,” was scheduled to face off against Tom Dwan in the live version of the Durrrr Challenge in London back in September. However, the festivities never took place, although organizer Eddie Hearn noted that the mano-a-mano live contest may occur in December in Las Vegas. Dwan will take to the felts once again as part of “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 after making his debut last season.

Returning to “High Stakes Poker” after a two season hiatus is WSOP November Nine member Phil Ivey, who currently appears on the cover of “ESPN: The Magazine.” Ivey last appeared on the GSN series back in Season 3 and is seeking his third WSOP bracelet of 2009 when the Main Event resumes on Saturday from the Rio. Ivey has career tournament winnings in excess of $12 million and is the horse of many pros in this weekend’s Main Event final table.

Andreas Hoivold and Lex Veldhuis will both be appearing on “High Stakes Poker” for the first time during Season 6. Returning to the program are Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Allan Meltzer, and Daniel Negreanu. The season will once again be taped at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas from November 11th to 13th.

Kara Scott to be Named New Host of High Stakes Poker

According to several industry insiders, poker podcasts, and online sites, poker player and announcer Kara Scott will take over for A. J. Benza as co-host on the popular GSN poker program “High Stakes Poker.”

Poker News Daily has been able to confirm through several industry insiders that there is “a deal worked out” for Scott to flank Gabe Kaplan when the high-stakes cash game picks back up for its sixth season on November 11th at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. According to Poker News Daily’s sources, the only obstacle is Scott obtaining a permit that would allow her to work inside of the United States. As a foreign national, this document is critically important, as without such documentation, Scott would face criminal charges.

The ESPN poker show “Inside Deal” has discussed the issue and listed Scott as the top contender. A thread on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo has all but crowned Scott as the heir apparent to Benza. For the record, and possibly because of the hurdle of the working documents, neither GSN nor the producers of “High Stakes Poker,” Poker PROductions, has announced that Scott has been hired.

Since Benza announced in October that he would not be back for the new season of the show, there has been speculation that “High Stakes Poker” was looking at a female to team with longtime poker player Kaplan. Whether in the booth breaking down the hands in play or serving as a hostess who would interview players while the game was in action, many poker insiders and forum posters have commented that the show is moving in the direction of another poker television program, “Poker After Dark” (also produced by Poker PROductions).

With these thoughts in mind, there have been various ladies of the game that have drawn attention as the new replacement. One of the first names bandied about as Benza’s replacement was poker professional Vanessa Rousso, which also raised diverse opinions on the internet. Once Poker News Daily broke the news that Rousso would not fill the role, the return of former World Poker Tour (WPT) hostess Shana Hiatt gained steam. It took an announcement from her publicist at Creative Management Entertainment Group to squash those rumors.

Even poker professional Daniel Negreanu, who has played in every edition of “High Stakes Poker” and claims knowledge as to the new host, put up such other names as current WPT hostess Amanda Leatherman as well as Sabina Gadecki, Kimberly Lansing, Lacey Jones, Tiffany Michelle, and even “Big Game” regular Jennifer Harman, who has appeared on previous seasons of “High Stakes Poker.” Negreanu later noted that none would take to the “High Stakes Poker” set for Season 6. Strangely enough, former WPT hostess Courtney Friel, who is a correspondent for Fox News, has not been named as a potential candidate.

As a tournament poker player, Scott has over $500,000 in career earnings, with $453,450 in 2009 alone. She has finished inside the final 250 players in the last two World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events (238th this year, 104th last year) and was the runner-up at this year’s Irish Open. As a broadcaster, Scott has done commentary on the European Poker Tour (EPT), made-for-television poker shows like “Poker Night Live,” and also covered tournament backgammon on television and the internet.

James McManus Discusses the Poker History Book Cowboys Full

Earlier this decade, when poker wasn’t the behemoth that it is today, a noted writer by the name of James McManus accepted a job from Harper’s Magazine to cover the 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Far from looking at it as simply a poker entity and observe the proceedings, McManus decided to dovetail his story of the tournament with the ongoing murder investigation of the late Ted Binion and chronicle his efforts to play. After using a satellite to gain entrance into the Main Event, McManus went on to finish fifth in the $10,000 tournament and chronicled the whole story in what has become one of the poker world’s seminal books in “Positively Fifth Street,” which was released in 2003.

Since then, however, McManus has limited his writing about poker to newspapers and magazines. His last non-fiction book, “Physical: An American Checkup” (2006), looked at the American health care system and pointed out its problems even prior to this year’s debate on the issue. Now, one of the most notable scribes in the business has returned with what might be called the definitive book on the history of the game.

“Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker” was released on October 27th and documents, as best as possible, the development, growth, and history of what once was considered to be America’s game and has since expanded around the world. From the beginning of the creation of playing cards in China and Korea to today’s game, McManus nails the goal of putting a history to a pastime.

“Poker has a long-deserved reputation as the cheaters’ game, but the book reminds us that cheating has been a big part of baseball, football, cycling, boxing, horseracing, marriage, taxes, politics, warfare, and most other human activities,” McManus stated before the interview with Poker News Daily began. “It’s naive to single out poker as being overly luck-based or larcenous, especially when making laws banning some games, while encouraging others. For the State to encourage lotteries and bingo while banning poker is greedy and cynical.”

McManus continued by discussing the theory that poker is luck-based and how his book handles that issue. “I think the book makes it fairly clear how much luck is involved in other games, such as baseball and football, games that few people think of as being determined by luck,” McManus said. “Luck determines the winner of baseball’s World Series about as much as it does the winner of the WSOP.”

PND: After the success of “Positively Fifth Street,” why didn’t you write another poker book immediately?

McManus: Because I was sent by a magazine to get an executive physical at the Mayo Clinic, by another magazine to cover the debate about stem-cell research, and by another to write about emergency surgery my daughter had undergone. It seemed only natural that I would combine this material into a book, which turned out to be “Physical: An American Checkup” (2006).

In the meantime, poker still had my interest. My agent, editor, and I were all surprised that there was no single book on the history of what is clearly America’s card game and arguably the national pastime, especially during the boom years this decade. As such, I continued to research the poker story and it became “Cowboys Full.”

PND: What were some of the problems in writing a book on a subject that doesn’t have a well-known and documented history?

McManus: One problem was that I had no training as an historian; it’s one reason I call it the story of poker, not the history.

Another was that people tend not to keep records of their poker action, especially when they work as blacklegs and swindlers. You’re forced to rely on lore, hearsay, and the work of feature writers such as Mark Twain, who were paid to exaggerate for humorous or dramatic effect. The book addresses this problem directly and makes a serious effort to deduce what was actually going on. The reporting becomes more precise and historically reliable as I cover the last third of the 20th century, especially when famous hands began to be televised.

PND: What was more difficult, the research for or the writing of “Cowboys Full”?

McManus: Most definitely the research. I have 35 years of experience as a writer, but very little as a researcher, although Google and the Amazon search function made the job a lot easier than if I had to do it with microfiche. I also couldn’t have done it without David Schwartz’s hospitality and sage advice at the UNLV Center for Gaming Research or without his marvelous history of gambling, “Roll the Bones.”

PND: You look at poker from sides that the average person wouldn’t consider. When you talked to academics and scientists about poker and its effects on human history, did they understand what you were doing?

McManus: In many cases, I was relying on what people had written. People like John von Neumann, Oskar Morgenstern, David Halberstam, and the presidents and generals in charge of World War II and the Cold War were already dead while I was writing.

At the same time, I interviewed plenty of folks including Todd Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, Linda Johnson, Andy Beal, Crandell Addington, Chris Ferguson, Aaron Brown, Tony Holden, and Gabe Kaplan, who understood some of these issues a lot better than I did before I started talking to them.

PND: What was the most surprising aspect of poker you learned from your research?

McManus: How important its logic and psychology was, and continues to be, to the military and diplomatic strategies deployed in a world in which several countries, including some extremely unstable regimes, have nuclear weapons. In other words, how important poker-based game theory is to life beyond the green felt.

PND: What can the reader take away from “Cowboys Full” other than a grasp of the history of the game?

McManus: That it isn’t just a history lesson. It has dozens of pretty cool stories about actual games: riverboat hustles, friendly games in the White House and the homes of ordinary citizens, $40 million showdowns between Andy Beal and the corporation of Las Vegas pros captained by Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman facing off against Andy while waiting for her second kidney transplant, Stu Ungar making a WSOP final table from the intensive care unit, and Chris Moneymaker’s bluff against Sammy Farha. They’re all there and more.

PND: Now that you have followed up “Fifth Street,” are you finished writing books about poker?

McManus: No, but almost. I’m currently writing the final book of the trilogy. Book one was a memoir about the WSOP, which became “Positively Fifth Street.” Book two is the history of poker, which is “Cowboys Full.” Book three is a novel tentatively titled “The Winter Casino” about a very large tournament played in a city being threatened by an Al-Qaeda cell with a nuclear suitcase device.

Kara Scott To Host High Stakes Poker?

PokerNews is speculating with the rumor that Kara Scott is Gabe Kaplan’s new co-hostess on High Stakes Poker.

There are some rumors circulating that the British born Kara Scott will replace AJ Benza on High Stakes Poker. PokerNews were the first one to tell the news. They didn’t tell where they got the information though.

It seems quite unlikely as Kara Scott has been working really close with Matchroom. On the other hand, Scott has really close ties with HSP’s new main sponsor, PokerStars.

Anyway, HSP will most likely make an announcement within few weeks, so we won’t know for sure until then.

Source: PokerNews

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Kara Scott To Host High Stakes Poker?

Shana Hiatt Will Not Be Next High Stakes Poker Host

Poker News Daily can independently confirm that former World Poker Tour (WPT) and “Poker After Dark” hostess Shana Hiatt will not reprise her role on GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” Instead, it appears that Kara Scott will be signed.

According to Hiatt’s publicist, Creative Management Entertainment Group, the former WPT hostess will not join the cast of “High Stakes Poker.” Hiatt has been taking care of her one year-old child and traveling the world with her husband, Todd Garner. Hiatt was one of the original voices of the game for much of today’s poker playing population, joining Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten on Travel Channel broadcasts. Hiatt departed the WPT scene in 2005.

Hiatt formerly appeared on NBC’s “Poker After Dark” and “National Heads-Up Poker Championship.” Both are franchises of Poker PROductions, the Mori Eskandani-led outfit that also produces “High Stakes Poker.” Consequently, many in the industry believed that Hiatt would sit alongside former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan in the Season 6 “High Stakes Poker” broadcast booth. Poker PROductions is in the midst of preparing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event for airing on cable station ESPN in early 2010.

Former host A.J. Benza, whose dismissal by GSN executives sparked a considerable amount of controversy, noted in a blog post that the next “High Stakes Poker” host would actually be a hostess. In a post authored by Kaplan on Friday, the ousted host explained, “I hope the chick they get to do some table interviews during the three-days of play at the Golden Nugget really, truly compliments and adds a great dose of comedy that was apparently lacking up in the booth manned by Gabe Kaplan. Does GSN realize they have apparently copied ‘Poker After Dark,’ the show that feels like a marriage between a Xanax and a Valium?”

On a Mediocre Poker Show podcast, Benza fingered Scott as his replacement. Scott is a sponsored PokerStars player and has taken on commentary duties for European Poker Tour (EPT) events. She finished in the top 250 in both the 2008 and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events and won the PartyPoker Sports Stars Challenge in early 2008 for £26,000. She is fresh off hosting the PokerStars.net Ante Up for Africa tournament that aired on CBS and was filmed during April’s EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final in Monaco.

Poker PROductions and GSN officials could not comment on who would be the next host of “High Stakes Poker” because contract negotiations are ongoing. A GSN representative told Poker News Daily, “We can’t announce the new co-host until his/her deal has been signed and finalized, which hasn’t happened yet.”

In threads on Full Contact Poker, site front man Daniel Negreanu, a member of Team PokerStars Pro, commented, “I like how a guy says he’s 99% sure it’s Vanessa [Rousso] when I’m actually 100% sure it’s not! It’s not Amanda [Leatherman] or Lacey [Jones] or Tiffany [Michelle] either. It’s not an actress either. I can tell you who it isn’t but can’t tell you who it is. Fun game for me!” Negreanu also reinforced that the next hostess is not Hiatt, Sabina Gadecki, Kimberly Lansing, or Jennifer Harman. Poker News Daily can also independently confirm that Leatherman will not be the considered, although she told us she’s love the opportunity.  PokerStars will sponsor “High Stakes Poker” for Season 6.

The show is set to begin filming its next cycle in November from Las Vegas. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the search for the next “High Stakes Poker” host.

Kara Scott to Host High Stakes Poker?

With the news from GSN that co-host AJ Benza will not return alongside former actor turned poker pro Gabe Kaplan for season six of High Stakes Poker, rumours have been flying as to who his replacement could be – the only thing we know is they have breasts.

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Joe Cada

This week’s installment of the ESPN.com poker franchise “Inside Deal” featured 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Joe Cada. Laura Lane and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee host the show.

The news segment of ESPN “Inside Deal” began with Lee praising World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton for his election to the Poker Hall of Fame: “I think it’s tremendously well-deserved. Mike has had a phenomenal career. A lot of people think of him from the WPT, but remember, he is a very well-accomplished player.” Sexton is the lone representative of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Others who were up for consideration included Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Daniel Negranu, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Attention then turned to the letter authored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner petitioning for the delay of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. Lee explained what would happen if the current deadline stood: “The impact would be devastating. We’re fearful that the banks will err on the side of caution and ultimately block payments that the online sites would give.”

Making headlines this week was the news that the GSN staple “High Stakes Poker” had dropped host A.J. Benza for Season 6, allegedly replacing him with a female correspondent. Lee explained, “I’m a little surprised. For five years, A.J. and Gabe Kaplan have seemed to have a good rapport, so I’m surprised they’re making this switch.” Poker News Daily broke the news that Vanessa Rousso, the presumed frontrunner for the job, would not be Benza’s replacement. Other possible fill-ins include former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt, Kara Scott, Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Cada, who could become the youngest Main Event winner ever if he takes down the feature tournament next month, then joined the show. He noted how his life has changed as a result of the increased exposure as a member of the November Nine: “I’ve been playing poker my whole life, so the only thing that’s changed for me is the media.” Cada is primarily a cash game player, only hitting up the tournament scene online on Sundays. He purchased a 2,400 square foot house at age 19 as a gift to himself and is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

Heading into the 2009 WSOP, Cada found himself on a $150,000 downswing. He sought the aid of two longtime cornerstones of the poker industry, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber. Cada recalled, “I was lucky enough to have them back me and I’m very grateful for that. I knew I could win before I came in.” Josephy, a former Ultimate Bet pro, and Sheets will receive 50% of Cada’s earnings. The top prize in Las Vegas is $8.5 million.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss a series of dream teams. News broke last week that Dream Team Poker would return with tournaments at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles coinciding with Monday Night Football. Feldman’s “Dream Team Young Guns” consisted of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. “Dream Team Lady Luck” was comprised of Shannon Elizabeth, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and Jones. Finally, Feldman unveiled “Dream Team Old Guard:” Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow. Cada added that his ultimate Dream Team would be Ivey, Patrick Antonius, and Dwan.

Finally, Cada revealed that on Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his stack had dropped to 20% of the average before he clawed back. He knocked out between 10 and 15 players en route to the final table and, upon heading to Connecticut to film ESPN “Inside Deal,” dropped some dough at the Foxwoods blackjack tables.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Poker Community Speculates on High Stakes Poker’s Next Host

With the news that A.J. Benza will not be returning for Season 6 of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” gossip waves have hit the poker community about who the next host of the highly popular cash game program will be.

Benza, who hosted “High Stakes Poker” for the show’s first five seasons, made an appearance on the “Miserable Men” show on Sirius Satellite Radio last month and claimed that he was being replaced by a female to join Gabe Kaplan in the commentary booth. He later confirmed in his blog that he was being dropped for a “chick” in the upcoming season.

“I hope you like the female they toss in front of you,” said Benza. “And I hope the repartee between she and Gabe works likes ours did.”

Several members of the TwoPlusTwo online poker forum were infuriated by the decision and put together a petition to bring Benza back to the show. At the same time, rumors involving the next host have been circling the discussion boards and several names are being thrown around.

PokerStars will be the new sponsor of the show for Season 6, so early rumors of the new host included PokerStars Team Pro members Vanessa Rousso and Vicky Coren. Rousso, however, denied any likelihood of that happening, telling Poker News Daily, “I’m not sure where the rumor started, but I’m not the new co-host of HSP.”

Fellow PokerStars Team Pro member Daniel Negreanu commented on the subject yesterday at FullContactPoker: “Guess who KNOWS the answer to this? YES ME!!!! LOL. Relax people, Gabe will be doing the commentary alone, but there will be a female addition to the crew, not for strategy discussion, and you all know her and everyone likes her.”

Several poker buffs feel that former World Poker Tour (WPT) host Shana Hiatt is the favorite for the job. Hiatt worked for three seasons on the WPT and also hosted NBC’s “Poker After Dark” and “National Heads Up Poker Championship.” An avid poker enthusiast, Hiatt left the show in 2008 due to pregnancy.

One particular poster on TwoPlusTwo went into depth in their logic behind GSN’s potential decision to hire Hiatt: “From Negreanu’s comments it looks like they’re bringing in the PAD format, a hostess on the floor with only Gabe in the commentary booth. This sounds like an improvement to me. Gabe’s been the voice of the show all along, he’s funny by himself and he can explain things in layman terms for the novices… I’m going to guess that the host is Shana. She’s had the baby, Leeann (Tweeden) has settled on Poker After Dark, so (producer Mori Eskandani) is giving her HSP.

Poster “blink20″ agreed with his assessment: “If they booted (Benza) and somehow get Shana Hiatt on this show, then it would be the greatest move ever! SHANA FTW one time!”

Another female being mentioned as a possible replacement is television personality, journalist, and poker pro Kara Scott. Her selection would make sense on multiple levels, as Scott worked with PokerStars as a host for the European Poker Tour (EPT) in 2007 and 2008. More recently, Scott hosted the PokerStars Ante Up for Africa event, which aired on CBS earlier this month. She is also an accomplished professional at the tables. She was the only woman who cashed in both the 2008 and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, taking 104th in 2008 and 238th in 2009. She also finished second at the 2009 Irish Open, winning €312,600.

Many in the online poker community feel as though Scott would be perfect for the position, filling both the “eye candy” and poker knowledge requirements that regular viewers are looking for.

Other potential fill-ins being mentioned include WPT host Amanda Leatherman, model and Absolute Poker spokesperson Lacey Jones, and actress and poker player Shannon Elizabeth.

GSN is expected to make an official announcement by Friday. Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker” is scheduled to begin filming in November and will air in February.

Doyle Brunson Blasts Face the Ace, Million Dollar Challenge

In a recent blog entry that appeared on DoylesRoom.com, site namesake Doyle Brunson blasted two poker franchises to hit television airwaves in recent months: NBC’s “Face the Ace” and FOX’s “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.”

As talk show host Jim Rome would say, any time a person begins a sentence with “No disrespect intended,” someone is going to be disrespected. On the two poker game shows, which air on network television stations on weekend afternoons, Brunson commented, “No disrespect intended, but these poker shows are awful. Full Tilt’s ‘Face the Ace’ and Poker Stars ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ are so bad, it’s embarrassing. There is no skill involved in either show and I can’t imagine getting an audience that will watch the shows.” Both series saw online qualifiers take to the felts to play heads-up against heralded poker pros.

“Face the Ace” began airing on August 1st and originally claimed the 9:00pm ET hour on Saturday night. It aired for two episodes in prime time before a planned decision to move the poker franchise to afternoons on the weekend day. The first episode of the Steve Schrippa-hosted show featured Don Topel taking home $200,000, but it mustered just a 0.4 rating with a 2 share, which meant that only 1.59 million viewers had tuned in. Its competition included “America’s Most Wanted” and the movie “Red Eye,” which aired on ABC.

One week later on August 8th, Topel lost the $1 million match to Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith and walked away with nothing. The news was equally grim for NBC, which saw the second installment of “Face the Ace” generate a 0.3 rating with a 1 share, the equivalent of 1.46 million viewers age 18 to 49. “Face the Ace” airs once per month on the network, with future one-hour episodes scheduled to be shown on October 31st, November 14th, December 12th, and January 2nd. NBC also broadcasts the National Heads-Up Poker Championship as well as “Poker After Dark,” which airs Monday to Saturday at 2:05am ET.

The “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” premiered last Sunday following NFL on FOX coverage, or around 4:30pm ET in most markets. Daniel Negreanu serves as the face of the franchise, helping contestants battle PokerStars-sponsored sports figures and pros in the first two rounds. Then, Negreanu transitions from friend to foe, taking contestants on heads-up in the third round with $100,000 on the line. All $100,000 winners advance to the Table of Champions, whose victor faces Negreanu for $1 million. Last week, Father Andrew Trapp earned $100,000 after defeating former NBA star John Salley and professional poker player Vanessa Rousso.

“Million Dollar Challenge” returns this Sunday following the NFL on FOX. Then, like “Face the Ace,” it will air once per month, with November 22nd, December 13th, and December 27th serving as its remaining dates. “Face the Ace” and “Million Dollar Challenge” exclusively feature Full Tilt and PokerStars pros, respectively.

Brunson also commented on the recent departure of A.J. Benza from GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” On the televised ring game series, Brunson explained in his blog, “As I travel around, the High Stakes [Poker] cash games are the ones all the fans talk about and I agree with them that they are by far the most interesting. Speaking of that, I read where A.J. Benza is being replaced on GSN’s High Stakes Poker show. That’s too bad, I like A.J.’s subtle sense of humor. Vanessa Rousso is named as his likely replacement. I’m pro-Vanessa so I think she will fit in nicely with the old comic Gabe Kaplan.” Rousso told Poker News Daily that she is not the next host of “High Stakes Poker.” To clear the air, GSN is scheduled to make an announcement by the end of the week.

Did PokerStars Get Rid Of AJ Benza?

According to Pokerati, PokerStars is the new sponsor of High Stakes Poker. Team PokerStars Pro Dennis Phillips revealed the breaking news in his radio show yesterday.

Dennis Phillips also revealed that he and Phil Hellmuth are going to play in the new season of High Stakes Poker.

In his blog, Daniel Negreanu tells that Gabe Kaplan will be handling the analysis and commentary solo, and the new co-host will be someone that everyone knows and likes.

There was some rumors earlier that Vanesso Rousso would be the new host, but Rousso herself has stated that she’s not the new member of the HSP crew.

We can add a new rumor on top of that. Daniel Negreanu and Jennifer Harman are really close friends, so it just might be that Jennifer Harman will be the co-host of Gabe Kaplan. We’ll see.

The new face of High Stakes Poker?

Source: Pokerati

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Did PokerStars Get Rid Of AJ Benza?

Next High Stakes Poker Host is Not Vanessa Rousso

Poker News Daily can confirm that Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso will not be the next co-host of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.” The revelation comes on the heels of the news that longtime host A.J. Benza will not return for Season 6.

A cryptic message posted on Rousso’s Twitter feed set the industry ablaze with rumor that she would be the next host of “High Stakes Poker” alongside Gabe Kaplan. The entry, which was posted last Tuesday, read, “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge is wrappppped! Woot! Meetings today about another TV project, will keep you all posted.” Rousso is one of four PokerStars pros to compete on the FOX “Million Dollar Challenge” franchise, joining Chris Moneymaker, Barry Greenstein, and the show’s front man, Daniel Negreanu. The show debuted following the NFL on FOX last Sunday.

When prompted for comment on whether she would make her GSN debut when “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 begins airing in February, Rousso told Poker News Daily via e-mail, “I’m not sure where the rumor started but I’m not the new co-host of HSP.” Rousso was the runner-up in the 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which aired on NBC, falling to Huck Seed in the finals. That event saw the 26 year-old poker whiz defeat Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Paul Wasicka, Daniel Negreanu, and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier en route to the final pairing.

Just before the National Heads-Up Poker Championship began, Rousso inked an agreement to become the next Go Daddy Girl. She joined a star-studded lineup of faces that represent the domain name reseller, including Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, and Candice Michelle. Rousso has a wealth of poker experience under her belt, including final table bubbles in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship during Season IV and the Southern Poker Championship during Season VII; those earned her a combined $342,000.

In a recent blog entry posted on DoylesRoom.com, site namesake Doyle Brunson commented on the future host of “High Stakes Poker,” saying, “Vanessa Rousso is named as [A.J. Benza’s] likely replacement. I’m pro-Vanessa so I think she will fit in nicely with the old comic Gabe Kaplan.” Benza reported that the next host of “High Stakes Poker” would be female. Other rumored replacements include Kara Scott, Shana Hiatt, and Leeann Tweeden.

GSN officials expect to release more information on Friday as to the future co-host of “High Stakes Poker.” The cash game is scheduled to begin filming in November from Las Vegas.

High Stakes Poker Axes AJ Benza

According to his personal blog, A.J. Benza revealed that GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” will return for Season 6 featuring Gabe Kaplan and a female co-host. New episodes will begin airing in February on the popular cable station.

A flood of support from fans of Benza follows his High Stakes Poker blog entry, which was published on Sunday. In it, he noted that on a conference call last week, GSN executives Barry Nugent and David Shiff hinted that Benza might be replaced by a female co-host. Benza, as expected, did not take the news lightly, telling the two GSN “suits” on the call, “If you got the best pizza in town for 5 seasons, why try and add licorice to it?” The fifth cycle of “High Stakes Poker” began airing in March and featured a veritable “who’s who” of the poker world, including Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Laak, and newcomers Peter Eastgate, Joe Hachem, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies.

Facing the possibility of being replaced, Benza reminded GSN officials that he publicizes the show on his own watch “because GSN has never set up not even as much as a radio interview for me.” Benza also asked if Nugent and Shiff were fathers, which the former host explained in his blog entry that they were. He continued, “So surely they would know the hardships of losing a top-rated gig while raising little children in the process. (Oh and did I mention that I have a son who is a Freshman in college). So armed with my track record on giving GSN 5 seasons of a No. 1 rated show, I decided to hit them in the spot where it’s supposed to make a father go mush.”

Benza told Nugent and Shiff that he would take a pay cut to remain the host of Season 6 of the popular poker cash game show, which survived a management change at GSN that resulted in the network declining to pick up its option to carry Season 7 of the World Poker Tour (WPT). Consequently, WPT officials were left scrambling to find a new television partner in the middle of 2008 before finally settling on Fox Sports Net, which will also air the eighth season of the WPT. Benza lamented, “I just want to put it out there y’all. This is the kind of shit that goes on in Hollywood.”

On his future, Benza told readers that he will have a face to face meeting with Nugent: “I will have my meeting with Nugent - and I promise I won’t stab him with a butter knife. He and I go way back to my E! days, and honestly, he’s a good guy.” As to who will sit alongside Kaplan in the “High Stakes Poker” booth this season, Benza hinted, “I hope you like the female they toss in front of you. And I hope the repartee between she and Gabe works likes ours did.”

As expected, the online poker forums have been buzzing with the news that Benza may soon find his way out of “High Stakes Poker,” although no official announcement has come down from GSN. Speculation on Benza’s replacement has ranged from Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso to ESPN announcer Norman Chad’s crush Kara Scott. Despite not necessarily footing the bill as “eye candy,” posters on the TwoPlusTwo forum clamored that Ali Nejad, who hosts “Poker After Dark” and the “National Heads-Up Poker Championship” on NBC, should be considered.

On October 6th, Rousso posted a curious Twitter entry that read, “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge is wrappppped! Woot! Meetings today about another TV project, will keep you all posted.” Just before the start of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in Las Vegas in March, Rousso inked an agreement to become the newest GoDaddy Girl, joining Danica Patrick, Anna Rawson, Marina Orlova, and original site symbol Candice Michelle.

We’ll keep you posted right here on Poker News Daily.

Host A.J. Benza bounced from ‘High Stakes Poker’; who’s Gabe Kaplan’s new sidekick?

They weren't Batman and Robin, but A.J. Benza and Gabe Kaplan did develop some nice chemistry on GSN's "High Stakes Poker" over the past five seasons.

AJ Benza Out From High Stakes Poker

AJ Benza is getting booted from High Stakes Poker after five seasons. The new co-host for Gabe Kaplan is going to be a woman.

According to Benza, some of the executives of the GSN Channel told the news to him last week. Benza seems to be very upset about the decision and he even would have confinued on the show with a major pay cut.

High Stakes Poker has been one of the most popular shows on GSN for years. Let’s see how it goes after this.

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

AJ Benza Out From High Stakes Poker

The Nightly Turbo: Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, WPT App, and Gabe Kaplan’s New Sidekick?

While this may not be the only place to get your poker news for the day, it is the best place. We're glad your back for another edition of The Nightly Turbo and we hope with all the time we've saved you the last couple of months, you've worked on...

Phil Hellmuth Coaching Jeff Shulman for WSOP Main Event Final Table

The conclusion of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is now just six weeks away and an $8.1 million first place prize will be up for grabs. Poker News Daily has learned that CardPlayer Editor Jeff Shulman is receiving training from Phil Hellmuth.

Hellmuth is an 11-time WSOP bracelet winner, tops in the industry. For 19 years, “The Poker Brat” held the record as the youngest Main Event winner ever at age 24 after taking down the feature tournament in 1989. However, Peter Eastgate shattered that mark last year at the tender age of 22. Hellmuth holds a record 75 in the money finishes on the felts of the WSOP, well ahead of Men “The Master” Nguyen’s second place total of 65. He owns $6.1 million in career WSOP earnings and is a front man for the popular online poker room Ultimate Bet.

Now, Hellmuth will lend his services to Shulman, who holds the fourth largest stack when play resumes at 19.6 million. Shulman told Poker News Daily, “I thought about it for a long time and Phil and I talked about it over the summer. It dawned on me that I wasn’t playing the way I wanted to. Phil and I have a very interesting style of play and we’re somewhat similar. I was looking for someone who could help me without changing my game. That’d be the last thing I’d want to do.” Shulman is making his second appearance at a Main Event final table this decade, as he finished seventh in 2000.

Shulman will don CardPlayer and SpadeClub logos when the feature table resumes on November 7th. The November Nine member shared his take on what aspect of his game needs improvement: “One of the things I’m not good at is short-handed play at final tables. Phil is willing to [help me with] that and I’d like to have him work with me.” The 2009 Main Event is Shulman’s fourth WSOP final table and his first since 2005, when he took seventh in a $5,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em event ultimately won by Dan Schmiech. The tournament’s talented final table also featured Gabe Kaplan, Joe Sebok, Annie Duke, and Greg “FBT” Mueller.

Hellmuth’s poker outbursts have been well-chronicled. His trademark “idiots from Northern Europe” comment has been repeated numerous times during WSOP on ESPN coverage this year. Hellmuth was eliminated when action from Day 4 aired last night and uttered the phrase, “These are some of the worst players in the world over here. It’s just unbelievable.”

Shulman, meanwhile, characterizes himself as quiet at the tables. He told Poker News Daily, “Our demeanors are very different. It makes me laugh watching Phil deal with people, whereas I’m pretty sure I don’t say a word to anyone the whole time. We have totally different personalities, but I need to treat the WSOP Main Event final table like it’s a big deal. If you had Phil as your coach, you’ll get a lot of attention and be successful.”

All but one of the November Nine has signed with an online poker site, as logger Darvin Moon is the lone holdout. The chip leader has been dubbed the tournament’s “wild card,” with many in the industry pulling for Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey to take home the title. Here’s how the field will stack up when play resumes on November 7th:

1. Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
2. Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
3. Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
4. Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000
5. Joe Cada - 13,215,000
6. Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
7. Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
8. Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
9. James Akenhead - 6,800,000

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP Main Event coverage.

Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game Features $1.1 Million Pot

Full Tilt Poker’s Million Dollar Cash Game featured a $1.1 million pot during its fourth season, which will air on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom in January. The season includes commentary from poker pro Robert Williamson III.

Some of the game’s top cash game aficionados hit the felts for the Full Tilt Poker spectacular, which recently completed filming in London. Now, the city will play host to the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities, which officially kick off today with a £1,075 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. Headlining the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Cash Game roster was none other than Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who was joined at the table by several sponsored pros of the online poker site, including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

The general public recently nominated Dwan for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class, although a committee stripped him of his eligibility on the grounds that he did not stand the test of time. Dwan is currently battling against Antonius in the Durrrr Challenge online, with Antonius nursing a $34,000 lead after 23,197 hands. The two tangled early on in the Million Dollar Cash Game in London, getting it in pre-flop for a $500,000 pot. Antonius held pocket kings against Dwan’s pocket aces, but a king on the flop gave the veteran a set and the win in the hand. Online, it’s been a seesaw battle between Dwan and Antonius, with “durrrr” posting 3:1 odds that he could beat any player in $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em over 50,000 hands.

Dwan reclaimed his losses in a hand against Cyril Mouly. Then, the largest pot in televised poker history occurred. In it, Dwan raised pre-flop and Ivey re-raised from the small blind. The flop fell Q-3-5 with two clubs and Ivey led out for $40,000. Dwan made the call to see the four of hearts hit the turn. Ivey once again bet, Dwan pushed the action to $240,000, and “The Tiger Woods of Poker” shoved over the top. Coverage provided by Full Tilt Poker noted that Dwan snap-called the all-in, turning over 6-7 for the nuts. Ivey, meanwhile, showed A-2 for a smaller straight. Ivey was drawing dead on the river, shipping the massive $1.1 million pot to Dwan.

Dwan was involved in the largest single pot in “High Stakes Poker” history as well. In it, the youngster cracked Barry Greenstein’s pocket aces holding K-Q of spades. The flop came Q-4-2 with two spades, giving Dwan a flush draw to compliment top pair. On the flop, Dwan led out for $28,700, Greenstein raised to $100,000, and Dwan re-raised to $244,600. Greenstein quickly shoved and the two agreed to run the board once. The turn was another queen, improving Dwan to trips, and Greenstein could not spike an ace on the river. The pot was worth a colossal $919,000.

The Million Dollar Cash Game is an invitation-only event that requires a minimum buy-in of $100,000. On the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker,” which aired earlier this year on cable station GSN in the United States, the price tag was $200,000. The GSN cash game franchise is set to return in February for Season 6, although the host venue and player lineup are not yet known. Season 5 featured a cast that included Dwan, Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Greenstein, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. The show is hosted by former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza.

Full Tilt is in the midst of holding its Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), which concludes with a $55 buy-in Main Event on Sunday. The tournament features a $500,000 guarantee and is hosted by noted pro Eli Elezra.

A Poker Pro Mortgages His Life For a Trip To Vegas!

It is probably wrong to call Bo Fric a poker pro in a sense that we normally know it. He has never had big success in poker, actually he is almost broke. He calls himself “just a regular guy who likes to play poker”.

Mister Fric himself.

Many, or should I say all, poker players dream of a trip to Las Vegas to play the Main Event of WSOP. Fric, a fan of Eli Elezra (because he wears his hair the same way like Fric), is going to fulfill that dream and many others on this summer in a project he calls “My Poker Bucket List”.

Here is the list what Fric is planning on doing in Las Vegas:

# Take Doyle Brunson out for dinner
# Shoot craps with Phil Ivey
# Play Golden Tee, Wii, and Pool with Daniel Negreanu
# Win a hand in Bobby’s Room
# Have lunch with the Canadian heroes: Daniel, Brad, Gavin and Nenad and FBT
# Train MMA with Team Cardrunners and a UFC star
# Play a $10,000 hand of blackjack
# Have a drinking contest with Gavin Smith
# Go club hopping with Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak
# Play the main event
# Go to a gentlemen’s club with Layne Flack
# Drive cart for Patrick Antonius or David Benyamine in high stakes golf match
# Learn to pick up Asian women from Barry Greenstein
# Play a game of pickup basketball with Nenad, Grinder, Huck, J.C. and others
# Go suit shopping with Sammy Farha
# Get business advice from Eli Elezra and Howard Lederer
# Drink coronas with Scotty Nguyen
# Play Mike Matusow in a match play golf game
# Sweat $5,000 sportsbet with Erick Lindgren
# Spend an afternoon at the spa with Tom “Durrr” Dwan
# Play Chinese Poker with Poker Road crew Ali, Gavin, Joe, and Huff.
# Appear on Poker Road Radio
# ATV with the Poker Road Crew
# Cash in a WSOP event
# Ride in a Bugatti with Guy Laliberte
# Play Video Poker with Archie Karas
# Take a helicopter ride with Chris Moneymaker
# Go stockcar racing with Gus Hansen
# Take a balloon ride with Sam Grizzle
# Get Joel some female help
# Play Rock Band with Evelyn Ng
# Play blackjack with Andy Bloch
# Practice Yoga with Allen Cunningham
# Go out for an evening of swing dancing with Chris Ferguson
# Practice Buddhism with Andy Black
# Visit Fremont St. with Gabe Kaplan
# Meet the guy who got breast implants for a prop bet
# Get marriage advice from Norman Chad
# Have a smoke break with Eugene Todd
# Get publishing advice from Dan Harrington
# Host the world’s largest poker pro paintball game

Well, that is a long list to accomplish and he will need a lot of money to do all the stuff. Fric is planning on filming his trip and make a documentary about it afterwards and of course a book. But there are few problems in his plans:

1. I don’t know any of these people on a personal level and really don’t know how to begin.

2. I currently have a slight negative balance in my bank account, $30,000 in credit card debt, and less than $3,000 liquid cash.

3. I don’t know the first damn thing about writing a book or filming a documentary.

Mortgaging a house is a good start for making money. If you want to help Fric in this plan and find more information about him, check out the website of the Poker Bucket List and sign as a member for free.

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

A Poker Pro Mortgages His Life For a Trip To Vegas!

Tom Dwan, Dario Minieri Dominate High Stakes Poker

This week, a new group of eight players took to the High Stakes Poker felts. The two youngest combatants at the table, Dario Minieri and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, stole the show, which is in its fifth season and airs on GSN.

On the first hand of the night, poker pro Eli Elezra took a stand against Dwan’s aggressive nature. Dwan held 8-6 offsuit and made it $3,000 pre-flop. Radio executive Alan Meltzer called holding K-9 of clubs and Elezra made the call with A-2 of diamonds. The flop came 10-5-4 with two diamonds, giving Elezra the nut flush draw. He led out for $16,000, Dwan raised to $46,200, Meltzer got out of the way, and Elezra shoved for $196,800. Dwan promptly folded and Elezra scooped the pot, hoping to slow down the youngster. The two played together during the first heat of High Stakes Poker Season 5.

A few hands later, David Peat, a brand new face on High Stakes Poker Season 5, held Q-9 of spades and called the big blind. Doyle Brunson called with 5-4 of clubs and Minieri checked his option in the big blind with 9-5 of hearts. The flop came Q-3-9 with two hearts, giving Peat top two pair and Minieri middle pair a flush draw. Minieri led out for $2,600, Peat raised to $9,000, and Minieri made it $23,500. High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan commented, “This is a fairly unusual move here to put in that third bet with a queen-high flush draw.” Peat came over the top of Minieri’s bet for $105,000, prompting the Italian World Series of Poker bracelet holder to get out of the way.

Minieri would also come up on the short end of a hand against Elezra. In it, Elezra peaked down at pocket kings and bet $4,000 pre-flop. Minieri raised it up to $13,000 with A-9 of hearts and Elezra just called. The flop came 8-8-K, improving Elezra to a boat, and the action went check-check. A queen fell on the turn. Elezra checked, Minieri bet $14,500, and Elezra made the call. The river came an ace, giving Minieri aces-up. Elezra bet $35,000, which was about half the pot, and Minieri promptly folded. Elezra added $93,600 to his stack by virtue of the win.

Peat and Minieri tangled once again in a hand where Elezra made the first live straddle of the evening for $1,600. Minieri looked down at pocket tens and raised to $5,500. Peat, who held A-4 of diamonds, re-raised to $16,500 and Minieri made the call. The flop came J-A-2, giving Peat the lead in the hand, but the action went check-check. A five fell on the turn, again leading to both players checking. On the river, which was a six, Peat bet $25,000 and Minieri tossed his cards into the muck. It was one of several top-notch reads by Minieri throughout the episode, which drew praise from Kaplan.

Meltzer and Mike Baxter locked horns late in the show. In the hand, Dwan made the price of poker $3,000 holding A-10, Meltzer called with A-7 of diamonds, and Baxter called holding Q-J. The flop came 9-3-6 with two hearts. Meltzer led out for $6,000, Baxter raised to $16,000, Dwan got out of the way, and Meltzer called the extra $10,000. The turn was a king. Meltzer checked this time, Baxter bet $25,000, and his opponent folded, giving the man nicknamed “Silent” his first pot of High Stakes Poker Season 5.

In the final hand, Dwan and Elezra once again went at it. Dwan made it $6,000 to go with 7-3 of diamonds pre-flop, Meltzer made the call with A-3 of clubs, and Elezra called with A-10 of spades. The flop came 8-4-A with two diamonds, giving Dwan a flush draw against Elezra’s and Meltzer’s top pair. Dwan made a $14,000 continuation bet, Meltzer called, and Elezra bumped the action to $45,000. Dwan asked for a count before calling and Meltzer mucked. The turn was the jack of hearts and the action went check-check. A king on the river led Kaplan to conclude that Dwan is “very likely to bet here because he is Durrrr, he has seven-high, and he knows that Eli’s hand probably isn’t very strong.” Dwan fired out $57,300, which was less than half the pot, and Elezra called. The dealer shipped the $246,600 in the middle to Elezra in the richest pot of the episode.

New episodes of High Stakes Poker air at 9:00pm ET on GSN every Sunday night.

Dwan Takes $221,000 Pot off Negreau on High Stakes Poker

Sunday night saw Tom “durrrr” Dwan once again take center stage on GSN’s High Stakes Poker. This time, he took down a $221,000 pot against Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu. Next week, a new group of eight players takes to the felts.

Several hands into Sunday’s episode, Antonio Esfandiari peeked down at pocket nines and called the big blind of $800. Patrik Antonius, who had already posted the big blind due to missing several hands, made it $4,800 with A-J of clubs and Esfandiari called. The flop came A-6-10 with two clubs, giving Antonius top pair and a flush draw to boot. Esfandiari checked, Antonius fired out a bet of $7,000, and Esfandiari called. The turn was the five of hearts and Esfandiari once again check-called a bet from Antonius, this time of $19,000. High Stakes Poker Host Gabe Kaplan noted, “Antonio is kind of stumped.” The river was the ace of spades, improving Antonius to trips. Esfandiari checked and Antonius bet $41,000, inducing a fold and scooping the $105,800 pot.

Dwan and Negreanu squared off in a hand that served as an omen of things to come. Dwan made it $3,000 pre-flop with K-Q and Negreanu made the call with A-6. The flop came A-9-J and Negreanu check-called a $5,700 bet from Dwan. The turn was a queen, pairing Dwan and meaning the youngster would need to catch a K, Q, or 10 on the river in order to win the hand. Negreanu bet $11,000 and Dwan called. The river came a 10, giving Dwan a straight. Negreanu checked, Dwan bet $28,800, and Negreanu folded. Dwan raked in the $70,200 pot, prompting Kaplan to comment, “Dwan has played excellent on High Stakes Poker, but he’s also gotten lucky.”

Dwan showcased his skills again. This time, Phil Laak called the $800 big blind with J-10 of hearts and Dwan, who held pocket eights, bumped the action to $4,000. Laak called and the flop came 6-9-6 with two hearts. Laak checked, Dwan bet $6,300, Laak raised to $21,300, and Dwan called. On the action on the flop, Kaplan explained, “It’s very possible in Tom Dwan’s mind that Phil Laak is slow-playing an overpair.” The turn was a six, giving Dwan a boat. Laak checked and Dwan asked for a count before also checking. The river was the eight of hearts, giving Laak a flush, but also improving Dwan’s full house. Laak checked and Dwan bet a scant $9,400 into a pot of over $60,000. Laak asked to see both of Dwan’s cards if he folded and Dwan agreed. Then, “The Unabomber” flashed one of his cards, prompting Dwan to inquire if the hand was dead. Laak eventually called, shipping the $72,200 pot to Dwan.

The very next hand featured Negreanu against Laak. Pre-flop, Negreanu, who held K-J, made it $2,500, Laak called with 8-5 of spades, and 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Joe Hachem called with pocket fours. The flop came K-5-8. Hachem checked, Negreanu bet $6,500 with top pair, Laak called with bottom two, and Hachem got out of the way. The turn was a nine. Negreanu checked, Laak bet $18,500, and Negreanu raised to $43,500. Kaplan explained, “I think Daniel Negreanu decided to check-raise here because he feels Phil might be steaming from the last hand.” Laak made the call to see a deuce fall on the river. Negreanu checked, Laak bet $54,200 immediately, and Negreanu folded. The pot was worth $163,700.

In the largest pot of the episode, Laak called the big blind with K-Q, Howard Lederer called with pocket sixes, Dwan bet $5,400 with A-Q, Negreanu called with A-8 of hearts, and the table called around. The flop came Q-A-2, giving Dwan top two pair. The action checked to Dwan, who bet $14,300; Negreanu called with top pair and Laak and Lederer both folded. The turn came a deuce. Negreanu checked, Dwan bet $34,600, and Negreanu raised to $84,600. On Negreanu check-raising an opponent for the second straight hand, Kaplan commented, “If Dwan had anything but the kind of hand he has, it would be a good play by Daniel.” Dwan called to see the river come a four. The action went check-check, giving the $221,400 pot to Dwan.

Next week, a new heat of players will take to the High Stakes Poker felts. It includes Doyle Brunson, David Peat, Dario Minieri, Eli Elezra, and two holdovers from the current group of eight: Dwan and Laak. New episodes of High Stakes Poker air at 9:00pm ET on Sundays on GSN.

Tom Dwan (durrrr) Returns to High Stakes Poker

This week’s installment of GSN’s High Stakes Poker saw the triumphant return of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who abruptly replaced “The Simpsons” co-creator Sam Simon after two hands. New episodes of High Stakes Poker air on Sundays at 9:00pm ET.

The first two hands of Sunday’s show featured Simon tangling with the world’s top poker pros. To kick off the episode, Simon peeked down at pocket aces, but limped for $800. Consequently, Daniel Negreanu (who held 10-2 of hearts), Antonio Esfandiari (who held 8-5), and Patrik Antonius (who held A-9) all played. The flop came 3-K-K, preserving Simon’s lead in the hand. Esfandiari led out for $4,100, Simon made it $16,000, and Esfandiari quickly folded. It was the first pot that Simon had scooped during Season V of High Stakes Poker.

The very next hand, Simon limped with A-Q found himself in a family pot with everyone except “The Notebook” director Nick Cassavetes. Seven players watched the flop came A-2-8. Negreanu led out for $3,600 with 4-5, Antonius called with A-2 for aces up, and Simon called with top pair. The turn came a six. Simon and Negreanu checked, Antonius bet $12,000, and both of his competitors called. A five fell on the river. Simon and Negreanu once again checked and Antonius fired out a bet of $37,000. High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan commented, “I think Antonius is putting Sam Simon on the kind of hand that he has.” Simon proceeded to tank, with Kaplan explaining, “Amateurs have a really hard time getting away from aces. If he had K-Q and there was a king out there, he might have an easier time.” Simon called, shipping the $128,000 pot to Antonius.

After the hand, Simon abruptly left the show; no explanation was given for his departure. In exchange, the field watched as Dwan sat down. Dwan competed in the first heat of High Stakes Poker Season V and defined the game’s flow. In a massive pot that ensued, Antonius straddled, Laak led out for $6,000 with A-J, Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer called with pocket eights, and Antonius called with 10-4 of spades for a discount. The flop came 3-2-4 with one spade and Laak bet $16,000. Lederer, who has been playing tight throughout the season, folded and Antonius called with top pair. The turn came the king of spades, giving Antonius a flush draw. Antonius checked, Laak bet $37,300, and Antonius called. Kaplan noted, “These two guys have played very hard at each other.” The river was the queen of diamonds. Antonius checked holding the best hand, Laak fired another bullet of $80,000, and Antonius tanked. On Laak’s bet, Kaplan observed, “Phil Laak bet really fast. Usually, that’s an indication of bluffing.” Antonius made the call and scooped the $287,400 pot, one of the largest to date on the fifth season.

The final hand of the show appropriately involved Dwan. The youngster had been relatively quiet until this point, but became involved in a sizable hand against Lederer. In it, Lederer bet $3,500 with A-K, Dwan raised to $11,300 with 8-6 offsuit, Lederer made it $36,300, and Dwan asked for a count. “Durrrr” pushed it to $65,600, leading Kaplan to exclaim, “Durrrr just 4bet Howard with an 8-6 offsuit.” Lederer made the call and the flop came 3-2-Q. The action went check-check, leading to an eight on the turn. Once again, both Dwan and Lederer checked to see a nine fall on the river. Lederer checked and Dwan checked behind, flipping over a pair of eights for the win. Lederer looked at the six in Dwan’s hand and noted, “I saw the six and just assumed there was another one.” The pot was worth $134,000.

The episode featured Dwan and others at the table explaining to Antonius what the rules of the Durrrr Challenge were. The filming took place at the Golden Nugget in December, whereas play between Dwan and Antonius in the online contest began in February. Next week’s episode features Dwan once again wreaking havoc on the table. Antonius and Dwan also go head to head for a major pot on High Stakes Poker.

Antonio Esfandiari Does 47 Pushups on High Stakes Poker

Although the age-old game typically takes center stage on GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” a prop bet between Antonio Esfandiari and “The Notebook” director Nick Cassavetes stole the televised cash game show this week.

Sunday night marked the second episode with the second group of contestants. The players have been relatively quiet so far, focusing more on prop bets than poker, but in the second hand of the show, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu raised to $2,500 with 5-6 of spades. Patrik Antonius made the call with A-10 to see a flop of 4-3-8 with one spade. Negreanu bet out $4,000 and Esfandiari called. “High Stakes Poker” commentator Gabe Kaplan noted on Antonius’ call, “He feels if he catches an ace or ten, he’ll have the best hand and could take down the pot.” Sure enough, the turn was the ace of spades. Holding both flush and straight draws, Negreanu bet $10,000 and Antonius called. The river was the four of spades, giving Negreanu a runner-runner flush. Negreanu checked, Antonius bet $18,000 and Negreanu just flat called, taking down the $71,800 pot.

Several hands later, the two tangled again. Antonius peeked down at pocket sevens and raised to $3,500. Negreanu made the call with K-J of clubs and the flop came J-2-J. Negreanu checked, Antonius bet $5,000, Negreanu raised to $17,500 with trips, and Antonius called. The turn came an ace and Negreanu check-called $27,000. The river was a nine. Negreanu once again checked, but this time Antonius checked right behind him, shipping the $98,000 pot to “Kid Poker.” Negreanu had won two straight pots and was looking to right the ship after losing two buy-ins during the first six episodes of “High Stakes Poker” Season 5.

Esfandiari won $1,000 off Cassavetes in a pushup prop bet. The famed director did not think “The Magician” could perform 35 pushups. After a heated debate as to what constituted a full pushup, three plates were placed underneath Esfandiari and had to be hit each time. Cassavetes was edgy during the contest, yelling, “Your chest has to touch the ground!” If Esfandiari broke a plate, he automatically forfeited the bet. In the end, Esfandiari easily surpassed the 35 pushup mark, ultimately tallying 47 according to an official counter provided by GSN. Other side bets discussed during the show included what rating Cassavetes would give the original “Matrix” movie and at what age Esfandiari was the number one newspaper salesman. Neither bet played out during the course of the one hour show, whose new episodes air at 9:00pm ET on GSN every Sunday.

In the final hand of the evening, Phil Laak raised to $3,600 with 10-7 of spades and 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Joe Hachem called with K-3 of hearts. The flop came 2-6-5 rainbow, giving Hachem an inside straight draw. The action between Laak and Hachem went check-check and the turn came a three. Hachem bet $3,000 and Laak raised to $13,200. Kaplan speculated on what went through Laak’s head: “You don’t have a four. I have an overpair and I know it’s good.” Hachem called Laak’s raise and the river came an ace. Hachem tanked before firing out a $20,500 bet. Kaplan added, “I don’t believe Joe Hachem thinks he has the best hand. He knows if he checks and Phil Laak bets, he has to throw his hand away.” Laak folded, giving the $56,100 pot to Hachem.

As part of an ongoing stipulation, all hand winners had to expose one card. In the final hand, Hachem flipped over his king, prompting a bet of $500 from Esfandiari that the other card was a four. Hachem promptly turned over a three, Laak did his best Phil Hellmuth impersonation and angrily walked away from the table, and Hachem added another $500 to his stack.

Next week, “The Simpsons” co-creator Sam Simon leaves the show, prompting the arrival of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, whose willingness to gamble created the largest pot in “High Stakes Poker” history of $919,000 earlier this season.