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03 11th, 2010
Although the entire incident was caught on tape and broadcasted around the world through social media outlets like Twitter and YouTube, German police still have no leads and no suspects in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin armed robbery.
According to the Berlin-based Berliner Zeitung newspaper, the suspects may have fled the scene in a swank black Mercedes. The Associated Press, a global media goliath, added that the crooks escaped through a nearby shopping mall before hopping into a getaway vehicle in a rare “Oceans 11”-like daytime casino heist. Meanwhile, as the story has gained attention around the world, the Toronto Star reported that the bandits looted EPT Berlin to the tune of $335,000. However, all prize money was ultimately paid out.
According to Bild.de, there are no new clues and no suspects in the case, which featured four gunmen assault the registration desk at EPT Berlin. No one was harmed during the incident, which marked one of the most bizarre series of events in modern tournament poker history. According to Berliner Zeitung, police in the German metropolis were busy examining every shred of evidence they could get their hands on, including footage from hotel surveillance cameras at the Grand Hyatt and a bevy of player and staff cell phone cameras.
Meanwhile, according to the same German news outlet, witnesses claimed that the gunmen threatened tournament staff with a hand grenade, although the Blog reported that only pistols and a machete were present. Even claims of an inside job surfaced after The Local and the New York Times both reported that an accomplice inside of the Grand Hyatt might have tipped the assailants off as to the timing of the attack.
The German news media quoted a police spokesperson as saying that it was obvious from flyers and publicity material when the end of registration was and therefore an “inside job” may not be likely. The attack occurred at 2:15pm local time on Saturday as a roomful of poker players competed for a €1 million top prize in the EPT’s first visit to Berlin.
Meanwhile, Bild.de noted that a security guard who tackled one of the thieves was 6’8” tall and had a shoe size of 14. Tournament participant Frank Betsch told local media, “I could see everything very well since, at the time, I stood on the side of the room because I wanted to watch the ladies game that had just started. I have never seen such a crime scene. I heard a sound and thought, ‘That was a gunshot.’”
The Star revealed that German Police Chief Rainer Wendt chastised PokerStars, the tournament’s organizers, for not having enough security. Purportedly, its guards were unarmed and a bevy of cash was on-hand at the registration area.
A unique insight into the poker robbery came from 10-time () bracelet winner , who commented in a recent blog on that he’s been through five heists during his lifetime: “The guys that robbed the EPT in Berlin made a nice score. They took 800,000 Euros at gunpoint. I’ve been there and done that 5 times in my life and believe me, it’s no fun. I’ll bet everybody that was there will remember it for the rest of their lives.”
American poker player Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee took down the EPT Berlin Main Event for €1 million. Then, MacPhee appeared in interviews on CBS’ “The Early Show,” BBC, and CNN. The burglary even received face time on ESPN’s original series “Around the Horn.” Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the EPT Berlin robbery.
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03 10th, 2010
Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka picked up the game in the dorms at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign while earning a degree in economics and business management.
He soon started playing live here at Bay 101 when he was at home and online while at school, quickly taking to the game, booking massive scores and winning packages to play in high-stakes events all over the world.
However, a year and a half of following the PokerStars European Poker Tour and his first half a dozen shots at WPT glory did not bear even a single cash.
Then suddenly, one year ago right here at home, things turned around in a big way.
He booked his first WPT cash at the 2009 Bay 101 Shooting Star before moving on to make third at the hotly contested 2009 World Series of Poker $5k Six-Max event.
Then, when Jaka finished second at the Bellagio Cup this past summer and third at December’s Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, he took the lead in the World Poker Tour’s Player of the Year race and hasn’t given it up yet.
Add in a final table appearance at the inaugural PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s $25k High Roller Bounty Shootout and the San Jose native has cashed for almost $2 million in live tournaments over the past 12 months.
“It’s kind of ironic, considering I played so many of these tournaments and then all of the sudden I start doing really well, but it’s really just variance,” he said. “Obviously I’m constantly improving a little bit, but I don’t think there’s been anything drastic.”
Despite the rough start, having played thousands of tournaments earning over $1 million online before he ever stepped foot on the high-stakes live tournament stage, a 24-year-old Jaka says his confidence never wavered.
“I always thought I was good enough to be at the top of these things and win a few,” he said. “It’s always been just a matter of time.”
Now in the midst of the kind of successful run that would turn even the most seasoned pro green with envy, he’s still missing one thing: A major tournament victory.
“I’m definitely ready for a win,” he said. “It’s frustrating getting second and third so I’m definitely hungry.”
Yet he seems to understand opportunities like this won’t last forever.
“I’m obviously running amazing this year and it’s not going to keep going, I understand that,” he said.
In the end, Jaka’s just hoping to keep playing his best and let the chips fall where they may, especially here at home.
“This is my hometown,” he said. “So this tournament is a little more personal for me. I grew up playing here. It brings back so many memories and I still recognize so many of the dealers here from like four or five years ago.
“It would be really nice to do well here.”
Action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star continues through March 12. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings’ and .
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Round 2 of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship plays out today from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and will see the field trimmed from 32 to 16. Among those players still in contention is .
There was a question as to whether Brunson would even be able to play in the unique heads-up tournament after undergoing extensive dental surgery shortly after the Super Bowl last month. However, the front man did more than just show up to the Strip casino’s event in his backyard, he advanced to the second round. After an upset by GoDaddy Girl in the opening round in 2009, Brunson defeated Brock “t soprano” Parker to advance in 2010.
In the pairing’s final hand. Parker was all-in with a wired pair of eights and Brunson showed A-Q of diamonds, setting up a race situation. The queen came as the window card and Brunson never looked back. Now, he’ll play actor and Ante Up for Africa co-founder Don Cheadle in the round of 32. Cheadle bested J.P. Kelly in the first round. Kelly won bracelets on both sides of the Atlantic last year after taking down a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event in Las Vegas and a £1,000 No Limit Hold’em event in London.
In a clash of the titans in the first round, ’s faced off against UB.com troublemaker . Like the match-up between Parker and Brunson, this one also came down to a race. Lederer moved all-in pre-flop with pocket tens and Hellmuth made the call with A-K of hearts. The flop came K-5-2, giving Hellmuth top pair, top kicker and a running 9-K sealed Lederer’s exit. This was Lederer’s fourth straight first round elimination in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
Next up for Hellmuth is another industry giant, Annette “” Obrestad. The winner of the 2007 () Europe Main Event, Obrestad outlasted former baseball great Orel Hershiser in first round action on Friday. The 2010 cycle of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship is Obrestad’s first appearance on the program, which will air on NBC. Obrestad Twittered on her next foe: “Won my match. Guess who im playing tomorrow…. Thats right… @philhellmuth. Sigh lol.”
Also advancing to the second round is 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up . Coverage found on PokerNews noted that the table featuring Moon and Caesars qualifier Bill Huntress was “the quietest table on set.” Huntress was all-in after a flop of Q-4-A with three clubs and showed J-8 of spades for what ESPN poker announcer Norman Chad would dub “nuclear squadoosh.” Moon showed K-10, including the ten of clubs, for straight and flush draws. He also, rather amazingly, held the best hand. The turn and river fell a nine and seven, respectively, ending any hopes of the qualifier making it through to the next round. Moon’s second round opponent is Poker News Daily Guest Columnist .
All but one qualifier of the seven who entered was eliminated in first round play, as Stephen Quinn upset yesterday. Here are the second round match-ups for the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship:
Clubs Bracket
vs Leo Wolpert
vs
vs
Stephen Quinn vs
Spades Bracket
vs
vs Gabe Kaplan
Jason Mercier vs Pieter de Korver
vs
Hearts Bracket
vs Eli Elezra
vs
Doyle Brunson vs Don Cheadle
Phil Hellmuth vs Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad
Diamonds Bracket
vs Sammy Farha
vs Jerry Yang
Darvin Moon vs Annie Duke
Paul Wasicka vs
The action resumes inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas at 1:00pm PT and will play down to a field of 16. A winner of the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship will be determined on Sunday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.
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03 5th, 2010
The two PokerStars pros have both been hot over the last 12 months with millions of dollars in combined tournament earnings.
Some of the other marquee first round matches include Phil Hellmuth vs. Howard Lederer, Peter Eastgate vs. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Brock Parker vs. Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey vs. Gavin Smith.
In total there will be 32 heads-up matches played in the first round.
NBC once again separated the players into four brackets – Hearts, Clubs, Spades and Diamonds – with the winner of each bracket booking a seat in the semifinals.
The tournament begins today at 1 p.m. PT.
Here is the complete line-up for the first round of the 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Championship:
Clubs:
Patrik Antonius vs. Chris Moneymaker
Leo Wolpert vs. Eric Baldwin
David Williams vs. Joe Cada
Erik Seidel vs. Huck Seed
Dan Ramirez vs. Erick Lindgren
Peter Eastgate vs. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
Stephen Quinn vs. Ted Forrest
Dario Minieri vs. Jamie Gold
Spades:
Gavin Smith vs. Phil Ivey
Richard Edwards vs. Scotty Nguyen
Shawn Rice vs. Joe Hachem
Gabe Kaplan vs. Johnny Chan
Daniel Negreanu vs. Jason Mercier
Pieter de Korver vs. Mike Sexton
Phil Gordon vs. Tom Dwan
Phil Laak vs. John Juanda
Hearts:
Jesper Hougaard vs. Allen Cunningham
Eli Elezra vs. Greg Mueller
Annette Dworski vs. Craig Ferguson
Kara Scott vs. Dennis Phillips
Doyle Brunson vs. Brock Parker
JP Kelly vs. Don Cheadle
Howard Lederer vs. Phil Hellmuth
Annette Obrestad vs. Orel Hershiser
Diamonds:
Barry Greenstein vs. Vanessa Rousso
Sam Farha vs. Antonio Esfandiari
Jennifer Harman vs. Jennifer Tilly
Jerry Yang vs. Mike Matusow
Darvin Moon vs. Bill Huntress
Andy Bloch vs. Annie Duke
Andrew Wilson vs. Paul Wasicka
Gus Hansen vs. Greg Raymer
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03 5th, 2010
In a Tweet posted on Wednesday by officials from the (), it was revealed that a special All Star Game may be in the works. Its composition and players involved are currently unclear.
A Tweet from the WSOP cryptically questioned, “Which 20 WSOP Bracelet-Holders would you like to see compete in an All-Star game? Stay tuned… #WSOP.” Last year, the WSOP held its first ever Champions Invitational, which featured 20 former Main Event winners vying in a made-for-television tournament for a vintage car. 1983 WSOP Main Event winner Tom McEvoy, a sponsored pro, ultimately came out on top and drove home in a classic 1970 Corvette.
The tournament aired on ESPN, which owns the exclusive rights to the annual Las Vegas spectacle. Others who participated in the grand event included WSOP Main Event champs Amarillo Slim, , Jim Bechtel, , , Carlos Mortensen, , , , , and Jerry Yang.
When prompted for comment by Poker News Daily, Harrah’s officials were equally vague, saying about the Tweet, “It was cryptic for a reason. I’m intrigued, are you?” In December, Harrah’s released the 2010 WSOP schedule, which kicks off with the annual $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event on May 28th. On the same day, a brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship will begin. The event will be televised by ESPN and take on an eight-game format: Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.
Although no word has been handed down, it appears that 20 players, according to a fan vote, will assemble and compete for a grand prize during the 2010 WSOP. Given the internet vote, many posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned the makeup of the field. TwoPlusTwo member “Kevmath” explained, “If they allow voting on the internet, I’m sure someone not as deserving could sneak their way into the field.”
For example, Tom “” Dwan, born in 1986, was nominated by the general public through an online vote to become a nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. A nominating committee was quick to squash his bid, charging that Dwan had not yet stood the test of time, one of the criteria required for entry. Instead, names tossed out by TwoPlusTwo members as possible participants in a WSOP All Star Game include 11-time bracelet winner and popular female pro .
Others called for several side events during the All Star Game, similar to the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Shootout held during basketball’s All Star Weekend. “TheCanoe” explained some possible diversions: “Chip Stacking with Carlos Mortensen, Beer drinking with Scotty, [and] Scooter races with Doyle.”
One poster even tossed out an idea whereby players could rebuy according to the number of bracelets they own, meaning that Hellmuth could buy back in 11 times. Players who would be well off under this setup include (10 bracelets), (10 bracelets), (eight bracelets), (seven bracelets), and Billy Baxter (seven bracelets).
TwoPlusTwo posters also clamored for the women of poker to join the All-Star fray like GoDaddy Girl , UB.com pro Liv Boeree, and Tilly, who has long been associated with Unabomber Poker namesake . Other possibilities include Duke, Linda Johnson, Kara Scott, , Isabelle Mercier, and Maria Ho.
Not everyone was optimistic about the end product. TwoPlusTwo poster “ptartaglio” explained the mindset of some in the online poker community: “These types of tournaments are always horrible. They never have the better players, only the recognized players, and they always turn them into crapshoots. The Tournament of Champions that won wasn’t too bad for TV, but other than that they horrible.” The first Tournament of Champions was held in 2004 and featured earning the winner-take-all $2 million prize. Sexton won the event in 2006.
We’ll keep you posted on the latest WSOP news on Poker News Daily.
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02 23rd, 2010
Familiar faces like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson will be back to compete in the bracket-style head-to-head format for $1.5 million in combined prize money Mar. 5-7.
Plus, several newcomers including PokerListings Blogger and Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, 2009 World Series of Poker champion Joe Cada, 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon, and High Stakes Poker host Kara Scott will be in the field of 64 trying to take down last year’s champ Huck Seed.
“The lineup of competitors for this year’s event is the best yet,” said Jon Miller, executive vice president of NBC Sports.
“Continually bringing together the best of the best to compete in this unique format has made the National Heads-Up Poker Championship one of the most anticipated poker events of the year.”
The event will be taped for broadcast on NBC over six consecutive Sundays in April and May.
The first round opponents for the brackets will be chosen at random during the GoDaddy.com Draw Party held at PURE Nightclub at Caesars Palace Mar. 4.
Below is a list of the entire 64-player field less seven spaces for online qualifiers.
Patrick Antonius
ESPN2’s coverage of the 2009 () Europe Main Event continued on Sunday night, as Team Pro member Jason Mercier delivered knockout after knockout. Two more episodes remain and will air on February 28th.
After receiving a massive bankroll boost courtesy of Viktor Blom to close out last week’s installment of WSOP Europe on ESPN2 coverage, Ian Munns entered as the chip leader with 94 players to go. One-third of the field was American, while one-quarter was British. The feature table on the first episode included Munns, bracelet winner Praz Bansi, and poker veteran Steve Zolotow. Munns set the tone by knocking out James Keys early on with pocket sevens against Keys’ A-K.
Over at Table 2, , Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Leo Margets were camped out. The former sent Kim Wooka to the rails with pocket jacks after turning a set. Elsewhere in the Casino at the Empire, pro Todd Brunson was eliminated with pocket tens against David Docherty’s jacks. Also sent packing was Victory Poker pro , who came out on the short end of a race with A-K of spades against Steve Fung’s pocket tens.
doubled up to 130,000 after his pocket aces withstood A-K. Brunson had only looked at one card pre-flop and, in a scene reminiscent of the Caesars Cup, found a matching ace in the hole upon further review. Defending WSOP Europe Main Event champion was not as fortunate, hitting the rails with A-K against Matt Hawrilenko’s pocket sevens.
Another former champion fell during the first hour of ESPN2’s coverage, as Betfair’s Annette “” Obrestad was all-in with Q-J, but could not overcome the A-K of CardRunners’ instructor Eric Liu. The bubble boy in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event was its 2007 runner-up, Betfair pro John “Kunkuwap” Tabatabai. Peter Gould cracked his pocket aces holding pocket sevens and, just like that, the field had reached the money.
Episode 2 began with David “Devilfish” Ulliott, namesake of Devilfish Poker, hitting the rails with K-9 of spades against former English soccer star Teddy Sheringham’s A-Q. ESPN announcer Norman Chad assessed, “This table just got a little less profane.” Meanwhile, the elder Brunson doubled up again, this time at the expense of Nguyen. Brunson was all-in with A-10 against Nguyen’s A-Q and flopped trips.
Christian “charder30” Harder hit the rails after Thomas Bichon’s pocket queens drew out on Harder’s pocket kings. Nguyen soon followed after turning two pair against Negreanu’s set. Then, Mercier’s reign of terror hit full stride, as he knocked out Fung with pocket tens against A-10. Meanwhile, CardPlayer Magazine owner Barry Shulman, in one of his first appearances on ESPN’s cameras, vaulted to third on the leaderboard after making a straight on the river against Craig Burgess.
As the third episode began, Mercier held the chip lead with 18 players remaining. The feature table consisted of five bracelet winners, while Table 2 housed the field’s young guns. Mercier made a series of well-timed bluffs to catapult his stack, while Brunson departed in 17th place after his Q-9 fell short of ’s A-K. Fellow November Nine member doubled up with pocket fives against Saar Wilf’s pocket sevens after spiking a two-outer on the turn. The hand put Saout in third place.
Sheringham sent Ram Vaswani packing in 15th place with pocket eights against 10-9 before Mercier eliminated him in 14th. In Sheringham’s final hand, the local hero was all-in and dominated with K-Q against A-K; Mercier flopped an ace and never looked back. Akenhead hit a runner-runner flush to oust Tony Cousineau in 13th place and then sent Bichon to the exits with pocket kings against pocket tens. Akenhead, a former train conductor playing on his home soil, claimed the third largest stack when the WSOP Europe Main Event final table reached nine players.
The final knockout belonged to Mercier, who sent Liu away in tenth place. Liu pushed with pocket queens and Mercier made the call with K-J of clubs. Mercier flopped a king and a royal flush draw, boosting his stack to 3.2 million, or one-third of the chips in play.
2009 WSOP Europe Main Event coverage concludes on Sunday, February 28th with two one-hour episodes beginning at 9:00pm ET.
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Unconfirmed reports have actress and “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander playing in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which will air on NBC. Officials from Poker PROductions have not released an official cast list.
Tilly’s better half, Unabomber Poker namesake , commented in a blog entry this week, “Opened my e-mail this morning and couldn’t have been happier. I was cc’ed on an e-mail to Jennifer and she is officially in. This will be her fourth year to play the NBC heads up tournament at Caesar’s this March 4th – 7th.” Laak added that he awoke before Tilly saw the e-mail and chose a creative way to share the news: “I said, ‘Your only hints are that it’s good news and it has to do with an e-mail that I read this morning.’ She thought for about 10 seconds and then said, ‘Am I playing the NBC Poker Heads Up?’ and I said, ‘Wow, 1 question and you nailed it.’”
Laak claims that 2010 will mark Tilly’s fourth appearance in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. However, it will actually be her fifth, as Tilly has competed in each running of the event since 2006; she has never made it out of the first round. Four years ago, the Academy Award nominee faced off against () titleholder Paul Phillips in the first round, ultimately falling. Phillips, however, did not survive past the second round.
In 2007, it was a clash of the titans in the opening match of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, as Tilly battled then-reigning () Main Event champion . Tilly once again dropped her first round match and Gold succumbed to Poker’s in the round of 32. In 2008, Tilly battled fellow female pro in the first round, but could not come out on top. Gowen went on to lose to Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi in the second set of matches.
Last year, Tilly drew 2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine member in the first round. The match ended with Ivey taking down the title, but falling to Team Pro member and 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship runner-up in the second round. Rousso stormed through opponents that included , Ivey, Victory Poker pro Paul Wasicka, , and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier to reach the finals against eventual champion .
On the February 3rd installment of the UB.com poker news show “Poker2Nite,” actor Alexander revealed that he’ll return to the National Heads-Up Poker Championship felts in 2010. Alexander relayed to show hosts Joe Sebok and Scott Huff what he tells his pro opponents: “If I lose to you, no big deal. If you lose to me, your career will never be the same.” Alexander has only appeared in the Heads-Up’s 2008 edition and fell to Seed in the first round. Seed owns the best record in National Heads-Up Poker Championship history at 18-4 and is the only player to cash in every season.
Two years ago, National Heads-Up Poker Championship officials established automatic bids to the invite-only tournament. Although not every person who qualifies will make time in their schedule to play, here’s how the bids stack up for the series’ 2010 running:
Previous five National Heads-Up Poker Championship winners: Huck Seed (2009), (2008), Paul Wasicka (2007), (2006), (2005)
Previous two National Heads-Up Poker Championship runners-up: Vanessa Rousso (2009), (2008)
Defending National Heads-Up semifinalists: Sammy Farha, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier
Any player who has cashed in the past four consecutive years of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship: Huck Seed
Previous three WSOP Main Event Champions: (2009), (2008), Jerry Yang (2007)
Defending WSOP Main Event runner-up:
Multiple WSOP bracelet winners from the previous year: Phil Ivey, , Brock “t soprano” Parker, Greg “FBT” Mueller
Defending WSOP Player of the Year: Jeffrey Lisandro
Defending WSOP Heads-Up Champion: Leo Wolpert
Defending WSOP Europe Main Event Champion: Barry Shulman
Reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year: Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier
Reigning European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final Champion: Pieter de Korver
Reigning CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year: Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin
Reigning Bluff Magazine Player of the Year: Jason Mercier
Reigning All In Magazine Player of the Year: Phil Ivey
Online and NBC qualifiers
Host venue qualifiers
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Cable station GSN will air an eight-hour marathon of its hit cash game show “High Stakes Poker” leading up to the premiere of Season 6. The action begins at Noon ET on Sunday, February 14th.
If you don’t have a valentine in 2010, don’t sweat. You can curl up beside the fireplace with your remote control and watch eight hours’ worth of highlights from “High Stakes Poker” Seasons 1 to 5 as part of GSN’s I Love Poker Marathon. The highlights will ramp viewers up for the kickoff episode of Season 6, which will air at 8:00pm ET. If you’re at a pricey Italian restaurant with your valentine and miss the premiere, encore episodes can be seen at 11:00pm ET and 2:00am ET on Sunday nights. The eight episodes leading up to the Season 6 premiere are some of the most memorable in “High Stakes Poker” history.
When Season 6 debuts, viewers will only hear Gabe Kaplan calling the action on “High Stakes Poker.” His partner in crime for five seasons, A.J. Benza, will not return for the show’s sixth cycle after a messy divorce from GSN. Instead, seasoned tournament reporter Kara Scott will assume reporting duties from the floor of the “High Stakes Poker” suite. In 2009, Scott became only the second woman in history to cash in the Main Event of the () in back-to-back years. She recently moved to California and is a sponsored pro of the popular online poker site .
An impressive lineup of talent will take to the “High Stakes Poker” felts this season. Those who can be seen when the sixth installment of the show unfolds on GSN include , , , Tom “” Dwan, Eli Elezra, , , , Andreas Hoivold, , , , , and Lex Veldhuis.
Neither Hellmuth nor Ivey appeared on the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker” and will add a considerable level of interest to the show in 2010. Ivey only took to the felts as part of Season 3, while Hellmuth last appeared during Season 4. “High Stakes Poker” was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas in November for the second consecutive season. Just a few days prior, Ivey finished seventh in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, earning $1.4 million.
“High Stakes Poker” has a $200,000 minimum buy-in. Past installments have featured a bevy of heavy hitters including L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, , Sammy Farha, , , and pro . Last season featured the largest single pot awarded in “High Stakes Poker” history, with Dwan and Greenstein pushing their money into the center of the table after the flop came 2-4-Q with two spades. Greenstein held pocket aces for an overpair, while Dwan held K-Q of spades for top pair and a flush draw. The turn was another queen and the river blanked out for Greenstein, shipping the $919,000 pot to Dwan.
This time around, Dwan takes to the felts as a card-carrying member of Team . Dwan signed with the world’s second largest online poker site one week before filming began. The first season of “High Stakes Poker” aired in January 2006 and has become an industry staple. Among those who have made waves on it for charity is Greenstein, who is set to udder the three most feared words in all of poker during Season 6: “bing, blang blaow.” Previous catch phrases for Greenstein have included “Math is Idiotic” and “LOL donkaments.”
Catch the I Love Poker “High Stakes Poker” marathon beginning at Noon ET on Sunday, February 14th.
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02 5th, 2010
The sixth season of the popular show will premier on the Network Sunday Feb. 14, featuring a familiar line-up of renowned poker champions, cash game specialists and promising up-and-comers.
Producers are also promising a brand-new look and feel for the show that puts viewers in the thick of the poker action.
Poker player and former European Poker Tour presenter Kara Scott will join Gabe Kaplan as co-host this season, but not before GSN airs an eight-hour “I LOVE POKER” marathon featuring highlights from past seasons of the show prior to the premier Sunday.
In addition to the usual cash-game action, Scott will report from the High Stakes Poker suite this season, interviewing players about strategy, table dynamics and giving viewers first-hand feedback after significant hands.
Featuring $200,000 minimum buy-in, the new season is promising the toughest line-up ever, including pros Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Andreas Hoivold, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips and Lex Veldhuis.
The premier episode will air Feb. 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET and subsequent episodes will air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET with encore airings at 11 p.m. ET and 2 a.m. ET on GSN.
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