Saturday Night Live alum Norm MacDonald is replacing venerable sometimes-funnyman Gabe Kaplan as the show’s host. Gotta think it’s a good move because I’m kinda-sorta re-interested, suggesting others are too … Might even go outta my way to set the DVR.

Also changing things up this year … the show is being “presented by PokerStars” — meaning no usual cast of Full Tilt Pros. No Lederer, Matusow, Cunningham, or Harman? Please, they were like so 2006-2010. Supposedly the show’s gonna be airing in 3D, too (on GSN). Awesome. Can’t wait to see Doyle Brunson-HD in my living room … close enough to see his hole cards and imagine I’m bringing him a glass of water and some ointment.

(Go technology advances, but at the same time, keep thinking of the not-so-awe-inspiring Jaws 3-D and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience… not to mention PKR!)

Kevmath’s got the 411 over at Bluff, including the complete lineup and a breakdown of where the amateurs got their bankrolls. Also, if you want to know more about Norm and his path to poker and degenerate sports betting, check out Michael Kaplan’s profile on him from 2007.

Likewise, a reminder that Norm didn’t just come to Las Vegas outta nowhere … check out one of my early attempts at podcasting, from the 2006 WSOP: Norm Macdonald gives me personally very practical advice on how to take down single-table satellites — but not without an admission of recruiting minors to ghost on his PartyPoker account:

Norm Macdonald WSOP Satellite Tip

GSN’S “HIGH STAKES POKER™” ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF
SIXTH SEASON, WITH A REFRESHED PLAYER LINE-UP AND A
BRAND-NEW LOOK THAT PUTS VIEWERS ON THE SCENE

Professional Poker Player and Journalist Kara Scott Joins Gabe Kaplan as Co-Host
When the Series Goes Into Production in November;

Season Six of HIGH STAKES POKER Premieres February 14, 2010, Only on GSN

(SANTA MONICA, Calif.) November 5, 2009 – GSN announced today the launch of the highly anticipated sixth season of HIGH STAKES POKER™, featuring a line-up of renowned poker champions, cash game specialists and promising up-and-comers, along with a brand-new look and feel for the show that puts viewers in the thick of the poker action. Acclaimed poker player, TV personality and journalist Kara Scott joins Gabe Kaplan as co-host of HIGH STAKES POKER when the series shoots its sixth season this November at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Scott will report from the High Stakes Poker suite, interviewing poker players about poker strategy, big hands and the table dynamics. Season 6 of HIGH STAKES POKER will premiere on February 14, 2010, airing Sunday nights at 8:00 PM (ET), with encore airings Sundays at 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM (ET), only on GSN.

Featuring a minimum cash buy-in of $200,000, HIGH STAKES POKER is the premier cash game in the history of television. The new season showcases some of the world’s top professional and amateur players; a partial list of the competitors expected to play follows. (Individual player bios can be found at the end of this release. Final player line-up is subject to change):

* Patrik Antonius
* David Benyamine
* Doyle Brunson
* Tom Dwan
* Eli Elezra
* Antonio Esfandiari
* Sammy George
* Barry Greenstein
* Phil Hellmuth
* Andreas Hoivold
* Phil Ivey
* Mike Matusow
* Allan Meltzer
* Daniel Negreanu
* Dennis Phillips
* Lex Veldhuis
* Yevgeniy Timoshenko

New co-host Kara Scott is well-known to European audiences as a poker player and journalist, having been the TV host of the European Poker Tour in 2007 and 2008. As a player, Scott was the only woman to finish in the money in both the 2008 and 2009 World Series of Poker Main Events, and only the second woman in history to do so in back-to-back years. She also finished second in the 2009 Irish Open in Dublin.

Gabe Kaplan, whose knowledge of poker and ability to explain the nuances of the cash game have made him a viewer favorite, returns for his sixth season as the analyst on HIGH STAKES POKER. As a world class poker player, Kaplan has made the final table in six World Series of Poker events, won the Super Bowl of Poker twice and finished third in the WPT 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown. Kaplan is best known for his starring role as the teacher and reformed “Sweathog” on the hit television series “Welcome Back Kotter.” He has also appeared in theater productions, originating the role of “Groucho, A Life In Review,” and starring in the national touring company of the successful Broadway comedy, “Doubles.”

High Stakes Poker (Season Six), Player Bios:

* Patrik Antonius (previous appearances: HSP3, 4 and 5)—The Helsinki, Finland native and former model and tennis player is considered one of the best short-handed high-stakes cash game players in the world. Antonius is known for his cool, calm, calculating style of play at the tables, which has earned him in excess of $2.84 million in lifetime live tournament winnings.

· David Benyamine (HSP2, 3, 4, 5)—The French native and former pro tennis player now lives in Las Vegas and is considered one of the best high-stakes cash game players in the world, especially in pot-limit Omaha. He owns one WPT open title and one WPT invitational title, and won his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo World Championship in 2008. With lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $3.47 million, he ranks #2 on France’s all-time money list.

* Doyle Brunson (HSP1, 2, 3, 4, 5)—At the age of 76, Brunson is perhaps the greatest player of all time, and is the author of several books, including Super System and Super System II. Impressively, he won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1976 and 1977. Ranked 33rd on the all-time money list, he has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $5.87 million. He’s the owner of 10 WSOP bracelets, and has left his mark on the game: the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic was renamed the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2007.

* Tom Dwan (HSP5)—Known to his huge online fan base as “durrrr,” Dwan is considered one of poker’s premier cash game players despite his young age. He made two final tables in the 2008 World Series of Poker (the first he was old enough to play in), and has live career tournament winnings in excess of $1.12 million.

* Eli Elezra (HSP1, 2, 3, 4, 5)—A former member of an Israeli army commando unit, Elezra is a highly successful Las Vegas businessman and entrepreneur who considers poker just a hobby—but boasts lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $1.91 million. He won his first World Series bracelet in 2007 in 7-card stud hi/lo, and also owns one WPT title.

* Antonio Esfandiari (HSP1, 2, 3, 4, 5)—“The Magician” is indeed a former professional magician and has been a regular in this game since the show’s inception. Esfandiari finished 24th in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, and has career live tournament winnings in excess of $3.49 million. He is also the winner of one WSOP bracelet and one WPT title.

* Sammy George (first appearance on HSP)— Born in Baghdad, Iraq, George moved to England when he was eight years old, and is now an extremely successful London businessman who plays in the highest-stakes cash games available. George says he will play deuce/seven like aces if he thinks the psychological make-up of his opponent warrants it. His nickname is “Any Two.”

* Barry Greenstein (HSP1, 2, 3, 4, 5)—Ranked 23rd on the all-time money list, with career live tournament winnings of almost $7 million, Greenstein has been dubbed the “Robin Hood of Poker” for being one of the first players to donate winnings to charity, his favorite being Children, Incorporated. He’s the winner of two WPT titles and three WSOP bracelets, the latest in the 2008 $1500 Razz event. He is the author of Ace on the River, which he signs and gives to any player who knocks him out of the tournament.

* Phil Hellmuth (HSP1, 4)—Known as the “Poker Brat,” Hellmuth was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007. He won his 11th World Series bracelet in 2007, making him the first and only person in history to do so. With 6 cashes in the 2009 WSOP, he now has more World Series cashes (75) and has made more WSOP final tables (41) than any player in history. His career live tournament winnings are in excess of $10.92 million, and he ranks 4th on the all-time money list.

* Andreas Hoivold (first appearance on HSP)—The 37-year-old English native now lives in Kristiansand, Norway, and says if he could change one thing about poker, it would be to legalize live poker in Norway. Nicknamed the “Cartoon Collector,” his card protector is a Mickey Mouse. He won the 2007 EPT Dortmund, good for $880,000, and has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $1.51 million.

· Phil Ivey (HSP3)— Highly regarded by many as the best player in the game today, Ivey ranks 3rd on the all-time money list, with career live tournament winnings in excess of $12.09 million. He’s the winner of seven WSOP bracelets, and one of only five players to win three in one year (2002). He capped off a terrific 2009 WSOP (during which he won two WSOP bracelets) by becoming a member of the November Nine.

* Mike Matusow (HSP2, 3, 4)—Known as “The Mouth” for his trash-talking, Matusow is one of poker’s most recognizable players. He’s the winner of three WSOP bracelets, his latest in the prestigious 2008 $5000 no-limit 2-7 draw event w/rebuys, and has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $7.29 million. His recently released autobiography, Check-Raising the Devil, is a candid look at his life and the many battles he has faced in his rise to stardom.

* Allan Meltzer (HSP5)—The man who once sold pretzels in the street in Brooklyn is now the president of Wind-up Records, the largest independent recording label in the U.S. A successful high-stakes amateur poker player, Meltzer plays with hedge fund managers in New York, the high-stakes crowd in Hollywood, and in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

* Daniel Negreanu (HSP1, 2, 3, 4, 5)—One of poker’s most likeable personalities, “Kid Poker” owns four WSOP bracelets, the latest in a 2008 WSOP $2000 limit hold ’em event, as well as two WPT titles. With his 2nd place showing in the 2009 WSOPE Main Event in October 2009, he now has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $12.42 million and ranks #1 on the all-time money list.

· Dennis Phillips (first appearance on HSP)—The 54-year-old is a former account manager for a commercial trucking company—a company he is now in the process of buying. He was a member of the 2008 WSOP November Nine, and finished 3rd in the Championship Event, good for $4.51 million; he has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $4.76 million. Phillips works with 22 different charities, most notably Multiple Sclerosis, The Pujols Family Foundation, CancerPrevention.org and Juvenile Diabetes. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

* Lex Veldhuis (first appearance on HSP)—Born in Vlissingen, Netherlands, Velhuis now splits his time between Rotterdam and Las Vegas as a jet-setting pro. A former gamer, he currently multitables high-stakes cash games online, where he’s known by his screen name “RaSZi,” and has topped the PokerStars Tournament Leader Board twice. He finished 7th in the 2009 WSOP $40,000 NLHE 40th Anniversary Event, good for $277,000.

* Yevgeniy Timoshenko (first appearance on HSP)—Born in Ukraine in 1988, Timoshenko lives in Seattle, Washington, and is also known by screennames “Jovial Gent” and “Bballer88.” He won the 2009 WPT Championship, good for $2.15 million, as well as the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event in 2009, good for $1.71 million. He has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $3.22 million and is ranked 4th on the 2009 money list.

More details to come…

Audio of the announcement with Dennis, host Paul Harris and poker coach Joe McGowan:

Unconfirmed reports name Vanessa Rousso as his replacement.

AJ has more on the decision at his blog.

HT to sadler40 for the original post on 2+2.

At the moment, there’s about 4,000 registrants already signed up, most of which are on days 1c and 1d, so don’t be surprised if you hear rumors about Monday’s day 1d being “closed” for registrations to add some entrants to days 1b and 1c. Notables who have already been eliminated today include: Jerry Yang, Freddy Deeb, Orel Hershiser, John Phan, Gabe Kaplan, Davidi Kitai and 2009 EPT Grand Final winner Pieter de Korver. The unofficial chip leader is Dragan Galac at 110,000 in chips, followed by by 2006 EPT Grand Final winner Jeff Williams at 106,000.

Other notables with chips: Jason Alexander (84,500), Eli Elezra (84,300), Tom Schneider (57,000), Phil Laak (46,000) and Jimmy Fricke (45,000). Follow the last level of play at the WSOP site here. Chip counts should be available in the early morning hours, but if you want to see who decided to pay their $10,000 today, a list of Day 1a entrants can be found here. More stuff this weekend, so come back to Pokerati often.

Watch Jeffrey Pollack Vlog on Day 1A of the 2009 WSOP Main Event on RawVegas.tv

Still no mention of Gabe Kaplan and/or AJ Benza’s involvement. But I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about there. Seriously.

UPDATE: Since Kevin kinda scooped me on this, I’m deleting the repetitive parts of the press release:

CONFIRMED: GSN says AJ Benza and Gabe Kaplan will both be back.

*** The set is closed to the general public.

PRESS INFO:
No television cameras, tape recorders or digital photographers will be allowed on set during the taping, however, they will be allowed in the press area near the taping. Reporters will be allowed in the press viewing area during taping with monitors and wi-fi internet access. There will also be a one-on-one area for scheduled on-camera interviews to take place during player breaks.

For Immediate Release

GSN ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION DATES AND LOCATION FOR THE 5TH SEASON OF “HIGH STAKES POKER™”

Shoot Dates: December 19-21, 2008 HIGH STAKES POKER Returns To Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino With $200,000 Cash Buy-In

(SANTA MONICA, Calif.) Thursday, November 20, 2008- GSN announced today details on the highly-anticipated fifth season of the popular series HIGH STAKES POKER™ with a cash buy-in of $200,000 – the largest buy-in for an entire run of a television series. Featuring some of today’s most prominent poker stars, production on the new season will take place Dec. 19-21, 2008 at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

Henry Orenstein, Executive Producer of HIGH STAKES POKER, said, “HIGH STAKES POKER, by a wide margin, has become a must-see on GSN for poker players and poker fans all over the world. We are happy to bring back the top amateurs and professionals risking hundreds of thousands of their money in the new season.”

Fellow HIGH STAKES POKER Executive Producer, Mori Eskandani added, “I am very excited about the mix of players that we will bring together for this next season of HIGH STAKES POKER. Viewers are in for a thrill.”

HIGH STAKES POKER, which is entering its fifth season, is the richest cash game in the history of television, with the final seven episodes of Season Four featuring a history-making top table prize of up to and over five million dollars. Past seasons have showcased some of the world’s top professional and amateur players, including the controversial Phil Hellmuth, the legendary Doyle Brunson, the charismatic Daniel Negreanu, Cirque du Soleil Founder and CEO Guy Laliberté and 2006 WSOP Champion Jamie Gold.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with GSN in filming their fifth season of HIGH STAKES POKER,” said Brett Kellerman, chief operating officer for the property. “The Golden Nugget is known for exciting poker events, and we feel it just makes sense to bring a program like HIGH STAKES POKER to our property. It’s a perfect fit for the players, the fans and the Golden Nugget.”

ABOUT GSN

GSN is a trusted industry-leading game content provider that distributes game show programming through its 68-million subscriber television network and its casual and online competitive entertainment games site, GSN.com. As the premier television network for games, GSN encourages its viewers to play every day by putting winning within reach for everyone by inviting them to participate and play along through popular original game shows, free downloadable games and skill cash game tournaments. GSN is distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada by all major cable operators, satellite providers and telcos. The company is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further information, visit GSN’s press website at corp.gsn.com.

ABOUT GOLDEN NUGGET LAS VEGAS

Winner of the AAA Four Diamond Award consecutively since 1977, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas is the most luxurious resort on the Fremont Street Experience, and consistently receives critical acclaim for exceeding customer expectations. The Golden Nugget offers more than 1,900 deluxe guest rooms and suites; a high-energy casino featuring the most popular slot and video poker machines, table games, race and sports book and poker room; nightly entertainment; world-class restaurants; luxury spa and salon and The Tank, a year-round outdoor swimming pool complete with a live shark aquarium. In September 2005, Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. purchased the Golden Nugget hotels and casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev., and embarked on a 14-month, $100 million renovation project, which was completed November 2006. In December 2007, the Golden Nugget completed its $60 million Phase II project, which expanded the resort west onto First Street and introduced additional entertainment, event and dining venues. Hotel reservations and additional information are available by calling 800-634-3454, or by booking online at www.goldennugget.com.

Rumors that the new season will include Pot Limit Omaha are just that … rumors … but how cool would that be, though, if they did include that game?

UPDATE: AJ Benza confirms, “I’m back baby! Looks like we’ll start taping in early September. Cant wait.”

The $5,000 NL Holdem 6-handed event finally reached their final table at around 5:30am, now they have to attempt to get some rest before returning in front of the watchful eye of the ESPN360 cameras at 2pm with this sextet:

Seat 4: Richard Lyndaker 2,345,000
Seat 3: Joe Commisso 1,961,000
Seat 5: Tom Lutz 1,493,000
Seat 1: Samuel Trickett 1,045,000
Seat 6: Edward Ochana 928,000
Seat 2: Davidi Kitai 298,000

The $1,500 Stud Eight or Better stopped play with 13 players remaining as they play down to a winner starting at 3pm. Here’s the approximate chip counts of the baker’s dozen (chip counts and seats to be rearranged later):

(Table 14)
Seat 1: Ryan Hughes 73,000
Seat 4: Margaret Macre 173,000
Seat 5: James Richburg 274,000
Seat 6: Ron Long 33,000
Seat 7: David Brooker 45,000
Seat 8: Daniel Nicewander 41,000

(Table 15)
Seat 1: Mike Hefer 71,000
Seat 2: Tim D’Alessandro 82,000
Seat 3: David Sklansky 110,000
Seat 4: Thomas Hunt III 101,000
Seat 6: Alessio Isaia 172,000
Seat 7: Joshua Feldman 121,000
Seat 8: Jonas Klausen 346,000

Other tournament action (plus the final 24 in the $50k HORSE) on page 2:

The $50,000 HORSE event is down to their final 24, of which only 16 get paid. They’re also playing down to their final table to be taped in front of the real ESPN cameras. Here’s how the final 3 tables will start play today:

(Table 1)
James Mackey — 151,000
Farzad Bonyadi — 365,000
Ralph Perry — 1,043,000
Joseph Michael — 647,000
Lyle Berman — 939,000
Barry Greenstein — 1,311,000
Mike Wattel — 474,000
Phil Ivey — 145,000

(Table 2)
Michael DeMichele — 1,351,000
Andy Bloch — 421,000
Brandon Adams — 290,000
Huck Seed — 190,000
Chad Brown — 81,000
Patrick Bueno — 806,000
Gabe Kaplan — 360,000
Scotty Nguyen — 1,033,000

(Table 3)
Matt Glantz — 521,000
Raymond Davis — 438,000
Erick Lindgren — 485,000
Edwin Ting — 261,000
Daniel Negreanu — 1,226,000
David Bach — 801,000
Michael Mizrachi — 701,000
Doyle Brunson — 777,000

The $2,000 NL Holdem event ended play last night when the bubble burst, so the 198 who return for day 2 will be in the money. Eric Crain appears to be chip leader with around 210,000 in chips, other notables include Blair Rodman, Lou Esposito, Sarah Bilney, Bryan Devonshire, David Pham, Fu Wong, Kirill Gerasimov and Jason Lester.

The noon tournament today is the next to last version of the $1,500 NL donkament, won last year by some guy with a long name in a field of 3,151. This year’s field will again be down from last year, as another sellout at 2,720 is to be expected.

To make a long post even longer, here’s the winners from last week and other stats so far in the Series:

Number of entrants:
Number of bracelets awarded: 45
Multiple bracelet winners: John Phan (2)
Most cashes: Nikolay Evdakov – 8
Most final tables: Jacobo Fernandez, Alex Bolotin, David Benyamine – 3
Milwaukee’s Best WSOP POY: Fernandez – 227 points
Leading money earner: David Benyamine – $941,651

$1,500 NL Holdem – Jesper Hougaard
$10,000 Omaha Eight or Better World Championship – David Benyamine
$2,000 Pot Limit Holdem – Davidi Katai
$1,500 NL Holdem – David Woo
$2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball – John Phan
$1,500 Mixed Holdem – David Gary
$1,000 Seniors NL Holdem World Championship – Dan Lacourse
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better – Martin Klaser
$1,000 NL Holdem with Rebuys – Max Greenwood

Far as Gabe and I know….the show isnt coming back. Apparently…the network is going to go in a different direction and that aint good news for our show, especially since we skew a higher-aged audiuence. Never mind that we’re the network’s No. 1 show. Still and all, no one calls us from the network to say squat. Only Kevin Bellincoff checks in periodically, but it just don’t seem like good news. If you ask me…they’re treating us like shit. All we ever did was make them a bunch of money.

Wow, so there you have it. I also remember seeing promos for a cool new show where some pros crashed a home game, MTV-style, and covered the action with hole-card cams and presumably rawer HSP-style banter. Was looking forward to it — damn, can’t remember its name — but supposedly that show had inked a two-year deal with GSN. But haven’t seen that show pimped in weeks.

NOTE: GSN seems to have seriously downgraded the High Stakes Poker web presence, too.

This is one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a long time. I laughed myself to tears during several parts of the movie. I walked into the theater with low expectations and left thinking about seeing it again.

The casting was brilliant, as many of the actors are experienced improv comics and had no problem adding their own flavor and likely varying quite a bit from the original script. From Woody Harrelson to Ray Romano, from Richard Kind to Dennis Farina, and from David Cross to Chris Parnell, most everyone took their characters to the highest level. Even Cheryl Hines surprised me – only because I’m not terribly familiar with her work – in her deadpan scenes.

Numerous poker players were strewn throughout the film, like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Laak, and Antonio Esfandiari. Gabe Kaplan had a main role, which wasn’t tremendously impressive but an integral and sometimes funny role nonetheless. Phil Gordon played a recurring role throughout the movie as the tournament commentator, and he was fantastic. Some of his lines were the best of the movie.

It is highly likely that many of the characters in the film were based on some of the better-known poker players on the tournament circuit. However, when trying to nail down some of the impersonations, it was difficult. All of the main characters each seemed to be mimicking two or three real life poker players rolled into one. For example, Werner Herzog played “The German” who had some similarities to David “Devilfish” Ulliott, but the character was so extreme that it was difficult to determine which other players were combined to create the character. Jason Alexander played Dr. Yakov Achmed perfectly as a Middle Eastern player – a cross between Freddy Deeb, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, and maybe others – whose country of origin was supposedly unknown to anyone in poker.

Much of the humor was dry and dark. (Think Neil Simon’s Murder by Death.) It was necessary to pay attention at all times, especially as a person in the poker world looking for recognizable faces and scenes, in order not to miss a word, but it paid off in the hilarious one-liners and references.

I’ll be honest. Non-poker fans might find this a mediocre comedy at best. There are numerous references to poker life, terms, and players that will only be funny to those with some knowledge of these nuances of the game.

And poker fans who are looking for the next Rounders won’t find it with The Grand. This is not a film that will make anyone fall in love with poker or want to learn the game. Undoubtedly, that was not the intention of Director Zak Penn.

Some of the characters do things that are exaggerated for comedic effect and certainly not meant as a reflection on true poker life. If the viewer is unable to laugh at himself/herself and some of the craziness that is the poker world, or doesn’t grasp dry humor, the wit may fall on deaf ears.

The only thing that brought the rating down to an A- was the few scenes toward the end of the movie that seemed to slow it down. In addition, Michael McKean’s role as the Vegas entrepreneur was odd and only funny for the first minute or so of his first scene.

Overall, for poker enthusiasts and those who appreciate a niche improv comedic effort, The Grand is a must-see film.

(View clips, synopsis, cast, and show times and cities on the schedule at www.TheGrandTheMovie.com.)

5:28 — Mike Matusow is playing Joe Hachem, but talking trash to Gabe Kaplan, a table away … calling him a “washed-up old actor.”

5:30 — My view of Tom Schneider vs. Gavin Smith is blocked by the decorative Doric column cameras. Apparently the set designers aren’t aware that Caesar’s Palace harkens back to more of an Ionic era.

5:33 — Phil Hellmuth is all-in against arguably the weakest opponent in the field … he’s got aces, and the his opponent, Tom Dwan, aka online wunderkind “Durrr” has 10s.

5:36 — Ooh! Hellmuth on the turn! Hellmuth picks up a flush draw that doesn’t get there. Poker is fun!

5:39 — Hellmuth is talking about his brilliant show of weakness to get Durrr to push as they count up his chips … yep, they were even stacked and the greatest heads-up hold’em player in the world is out.

5:41 — They were on the feature table, which now is empty. The way the room is set up, there are four tables with whole cams, and four tables without. The players that will have to move on to get better TV coverage:

Tom Schneider / Gavin Smith
Hooman Nikzad / Greg Raymer
Erik Seidel / Johnathan Little
Kenny Tran / Scott Clements

5:50 — Tom and Gavin are still about even. Antonius has taken a lead on Kaplan. Matusow is all-in against Hachem, with both players on a draw. Phill Hellmuth would like people to know he is supposed to be hanging out with “Andretti” tomorrow. (It’s a Nascar weekend here in Vegas.)

5:53 — Mike is doing his best impression of that Full Tilt commercial where he’s bluffing … and just got sucked out on and crippled by Hachem. Mike is waving an Australian flag.

5:54 — Jamie Gold’s mom, btw, is playing 1/3 in the cash room. I can’t see her chip stacks however. She looks to neither be killing the game nor getting killed.

Hilarious Pair Appearing in Concert October 12

COACHELLA, Calif., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Fall down laughing this October when TV comedy idols Gabe Kaplan and Murray “The Unknown Comic” Langston turn the Spotlight Showroom on its ear! Appearing as part of AllStar Poker Weekend, Kaplan and Langston are performing their hilarious actson Friday, October 12. The concert is part of Spotlight 29 Casino’s All-Star Poker Weekend,where Kaplan and Langston will be playing alongside UFC Champion KenShamrock, Football Hall of Fame inductee Deacon Jones, sports legend Bo Jackson, and lightweight boxing champ Jorge Paez, Jr. in the All-Star PokerChallenge on October 13 and 14.

A sadly rejected baseball player turned successful touring comedian,Kaplan created and starred in the ABC top ten hit “Welcome Back Kotter” and later starred in three feature films, “Fast Break,” “Tulips,” and “Nobody’sPerfect.” Kaplan is also a legitimate poker player, first playing professionally in 1978. In 2004, he placed third in a World Poker Tour event, and in 2005, he scored a second place finish in a World Series of Poker Limit Hold ‘Emevent. Kaplan was also the voice of the World Series of Poker for ESPN in2002, and did the on-air commentary for NBC’s first-ever “Heads-Up Poker Championship.”

Langston first rose to national acclaim on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,”where he was seen doing hilarious impressions of a fork, a tube oftoothpaste and a grandfather clock, and he later became a regular performer on “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,” where he made more than 100 appearances.Later, in a lucky fluke, he appeared bag-headed as The Unknown Comic on”The Gong Show,” and the character became an overnight international sensation.

Langston has also had a successful film career, penning the screenplaysfor the films “Night Patrol”(1984), “Up Your Alley” (1988), and “WishfulThinking” (1997).

Showtime is 8 p.m. Individual tickets for the TV Comedy Idols concert are available for $35. All entrants into the All-Star Poker Challenge receive two free tickets to the concert, and entries to the tournament are $560 each. Concert tickets and tournament entries are available now atSpotlight29.com and at the Spotlight 29 Casino Gift Shop or by calling(800) 585-3737. Put the spotlight on headliner entertainment at Spotlight 29 Casino, the Coachella Valley’s most exciting place to play. Spotlight 29 Casino isa business venture of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. Turnit on at http://www.Spotlight29.com.

Contact: Paul Speirs, Steinbeck Communications
(702) 413-4278, paulspeirs@cox.net

]]> http://pokerati.com/2007/09/11/comedy-poker-central/feed/ 6 http://pokerati.com/2007/06/28/instawsopplayers-dealers-tiredzolotow-wants-pollack-firedpatches-the-new-body-paintlindgren-schools-ivey-at-golf/ http://pokerati.com/2007/06/28/instawsopplayers-dealers-tiredzolotow-wants-pollack-firedpatches-the-new-body-paintlindgren-schools-ivey-at-golf/#comments Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:23:43 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/2007/06/28/instawsopplayers-dealers-tiredzolotow-wants-pollack-firedpatches-the-new-body-paintlindgren-schools-ivey-at-golf/ LAS VEGAS–Here’s what’s going on today at the WSOP, and some of what’s recently gone down leading up to it all:

A Canadian Polack named LUKASZ DUMANSKI won the $1,500 Omaha Hi Lo event. Go non-American players!

The $50,000 HORSE final table has been set.

Interesting field and chip situations …
Amnon Filippi 4,015,000
Freddy Deeb 3,500,000
Kenny Tran 2,445,000
John Hanson 1,995,000
David Singer 1,330,000
Bruno Fitoussi 895,000
Barry Greenstein 750,000
Thor Hansen 40,000

(Pokerati fave GABE KAPLAN went out on the final table bubble, in 9th place.)

Click here to follow the coverage of today’s action, where they will continue to mix games and not play a final table of just no-limit hold’em. Any odds on what will be the final game?

You’ll notice that TOM SCHNEIDER is not there. He went out early in Day 2. He was in the Big-little-big one for $34,000. The rest went to a smattering of backers, to whom 9 percent was available for $5,000. Can Tom build on his early WSOP success and make that third final table without dropping below the six-figure mark? After paying taxes, BACKERS, and living expenses associated with moving to Las Vegas for two months, mixed with tournament buy-ins, cash-game losses, and fancy scotches for Dan … the money can go fast during the WSOP.

But busting out early did allow him to play the $2,000 Omaha Hi Lo, which, after a night of drowning his sorrows followed the next day by a cash-game all-nighter, he played with “no sleep”:

Tom went out toward the end of Day 1.

Lori from Carrollton was dealing — with new hair no less:

She seems to be having a pretty good time — seen here sweating Pokerati fantasy poker favorite STEVE WONG, as he plays $50-a-point Chinese:

Day 2 of Omaha Hi Lo gets underway at 2 pm pacific, 4 pm central.

Day 1 was a pretty relaxed, jovial affair … presumably because it was a relatively low buy-in for the big-time pros who had busted out of the $50k HORSE event. Very fun and chatty. On a break PHIL HELLMUTH and ROBERT WILLIAMSON III had a semi-private discussion about sponsorship deals and the logistics of autographing products en masse. (The easiest are things you can sign with one hand, and slide to the side with the other.)

Robert is selling pieces of himself in by-the-inch embroidered increments. I should probably get a better picture of his jacket …

Here are the patches Hellmuth will be wearing in the main event — 13 of them so far:

Many of these are companies selling Phil’s products, but still, let’s face it, the NASCARIZATION of poker is here. Now if only the non-online-poker companies will buy in.

At the 2007 WSOP, patches are the new body paint.

The other final table today is in the $2,000 Limit Hold’em event — no known pros in this one.

Getting underway at noon is the $5,000 World Championship of 6-handed No-Limit Hold’em.

And the 5 pm (Vegas time) tourney is $1,000 7-stud Hi Lo (aka Stud 8 aka Stud 8 OB aka Stud 8 or better).

JEFFREY POLLACK has a new post up on his “blog” (yo, dudes, they’re called “posts,” OK? Get with the program … a single memo ain’t no blog, but a collection of such theoretically could be)– where he informs the poker world (at 10:30 pm last night) that there will be a “players town hall” at 10:30 am today. I’m a bigger fan than most of the poker’s most corporate representative, but either he doesn’t realize that poker hours dictate that the vast majority of players won’t see this, which is pretty bad … or he does, which is worse. But still, we kinda like The Jeffster’s relative openness in his “blogs” .:

[STEVE ZOLOTOW] was so honest with me that he started our conversation by asking for my boss’s phone number so he could call to recommend that I – and every other key WSOP executive – be fired.

Pollack, of course, ain’t going nowhere — at least not for a while — but can you imagine if the “blogs” on worldseriesofpoker.com had comments?

UPDATE: Amy informs me that the players town hall was actually held yesterday … 11-and-a-half hours before Pollack’s post went up. Nice … Here ye, hear ye!

Don’t forget to follow my following the cash game action at the Rio. It’s a little awkward poking around these games with a notepad and camera, because a lot of people make their livings at these tables and don’t really want people to know that they are good.

One such player I am following is “TEDDY,” who has become a fixture at the $100/$200 Limit Hold’em table. He’s a trip. We’ll leave it at that for now.

I’ve had a decent run at the cash games myself — except for the two times I lost, which negate a big fat win, seen here:

My second-favorite hand was dealt by Linda the Dallas dealer … who flopped me a straight and said, “I knew you had Q-J when you said, ‘This is probably a pretty bad call,’” as she shipped me a $300 pot.

Favorite hand of the night would come a little later upon busting out the dude in the background for another $600.

By the way, if you like the photos, you can see more of what Pokerati sees by checking out our FLICKR gallery.

In other news, ERICK LINDGREN beat PHIL IVEY in a $340,000 golf course prop bet. RAM VASWANI chits presumably in the mail.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2007/06/28/instawsopplayers-dealers-tiredzolotow-wants-pollack-firedpatches-the-new-body-paintlindgren-schools-ivey-at-golf/feed/ 4 http://pokerati.com/2007/03/29/kaplan-vs-benza/ http://pokerati.com/2007/03/29/kaplan-vs-benza/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:04:01 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/2007/03/29/kaplan-vs-benza/ Did anyone else catch High Stakes Poker 3 on Monday? It’s a great episode this week … with Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, et al. We see David Williams needled for his bling, and he retorts by skillfully wielding “the Sang” (9-2 … kinda like the Hammer, only a wee-bit stronger). And then Yukon Brad Booth shows up and buys in with a cool $1 million in cash, suddenly posing a new threat to Brian Townsend’s fortress of bills. Awesome, great poker.

But the real battle in this episode (which repeats tonight) seems to be taking place off the table — between the two announcers, Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza. If this is new shtick … well then good job, because it’s pretty entertaining. But even better, you get the sense they truly don’t like each other and are in the midst of a career catfight … especially when Kaplan calls out Benza for having his agent complain about Gabe to GSN.

Benza, is actually a pretty interesting sparring partner for Kaplan. For one, he’s a former blogger for the not-so-poker blog Oddjack. Before that, his broadcasting claims to fame included a studio brawl with Stuttering John (from Howard Stern) that eventually came to blows in the hallway.

Click below to see what Pokeratizens had to say about these two just last month:

The best poker commentator on TV is

• Gabe Kaplan
  6036% of all votes
• Mike Sexton
  2515% of all votes
• Howard Lederer
  1710% of all votes
• Phil Gordon
  159% of all votes
• Norman Chad
  159% of all votes
• Lon McEachern
  106% of all votes
• Ali Nejad
  106% of all votes
• Vince Van Patten
  64% of all votes
• Kenna James
  32% of all votes
• Jesse May
  21% of all votes
• Chad Brown
  21% of all votes
• Robert Williamson
  11% of all votes
• Kennedy
  11% of all votes
• AJ Benza
  00% of all votes

Total Votes: 167
Started: February 14, 2007

Poll archives

Ha ha.

Not sure what legs Benza has to stand on, nor why Gabe even has to fight back. (Or what they are even fighting about for that matter.) But if they keep it up I gotta think Benza stands to gain.

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