Just mere moments after it just aired, GSN puts up this week’s episode on Youtube right away for you to enjoy. Barry Greenstein drops a new phrase on the GSN viewers early in the show.

GSN dawdled quite a bit this week in putting up episode 3 of High Stakes Poker on Youtube, but better late than never I say.

Thanks to the good folks over at GSN, Episode 2 of High Stakes Poker is now available over at Youtube, and embedded below. Plenty of big hands on this week’s show, with lots of talk in the forums about the last hand on this week’s broadcast.

GSN’s Youtube account (GSNVideos) put up the first episode of season 5 of High Stakes Poker on Youtube on Friday. For those that don’t want to wait for it to appear on some other site, or watch a crappy stream of someone sticking a webcam in front of the TV, you can watch it here:

As Kevin points out, there’s a lot of poker TV Sunday today, March 1 … some of it competing against each other. Should be a telling day for ratings! With that in mind, and having taken a look at just how much poker is on TV that evening — seriously, flippers will be stumbling across it everywhere — I’ve put up a new poll earlier this week to see what you’re most interested in watching.

Here’s the breakdown of your pokery viewing options (all times Eastern/Pacific, new episodes in bold):

6 pm
ESPN2 – WSOP Europe
GSN – High Stakes Poker

7 pm
ESPN2 – WSOP Europe
GSN – High Stakes Poker

8 pm
ESPN2 – WSOP Europe
GSN – High Stakes Poker

9pm
NBC – Celebrity Apprentice
ESPN2 – WSOP Europe
GSN – High Stakes Poker

10 pm
NBC – Celebrity Apprentice
ESPN2 – WSOP Europe
GSN – World Poker Tour

11 pm
ESPN2 – WSOP Europe
GSN – World Poker Tour
FSN – World Poker Tour

12 midnight
GSN – High Stakes Poker

1 am
GSN – World Poker Tour

2 am
GSN – World Poker Tour

This doesn’t even take into account competition from new episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, whatever that Brothers & Sisters show is, Saturday Night Live Short Films, and The Amazing Race, not to mention UFC Unleashed, reruns of From G’s to Gents, and a CNBC documentary called “House of Cards”, which really isn’t about poker despite the name.

SIDENOTE: Non-poker TV people are wondering if Season 2 of Celebrity Apprentice will be a flop, in part because of (or despite) Donald Trump’s casino empire going belly up. You realize there might be something to that when shares of his casino company (which bailed on a 5-year TV deal to sponsor the US Poker Championship a couple years ago, and was de-listed from NASDAQ this past week ) were trading for way less than shares of the WPT. Yikes!

Making this short, this was first made available on Itunes, where someone would eventually upload to Youtube. This clip features 2008 WSOP World Champion Peter Eastgate and Tom Dwan.

This coming Sunday will be one of the busiest days for watching poker on TV in quite some time. Besides the WPT episode that may air in your area on FSN, High Stakes Poker begins season 5 on GSN at 9pm (preview available below). At the same time, NBC debuts Celebrity Apprentice with Annie Duke. At 10pm, ESPN2 airs the final table of the World Series of Poker Europe.

More from HSP, after you read about the WPT airing on Fox Sports Net starting January 4.

I’ve never heard of Lee Russakoff until this morning, but apparently he’s sports editor over at Comcast.net. Lee was also at the High Stakes Poker tapings at the Golden Nugget this weekend, and has 5 posts on his blog about the various goings on that should make for interesting watching when GSN starts to air High Stakes Poker on March 1.

More…

Seated from left: Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson and Alan Meltzer, Standing: Tom Dwan, Phil Laak, David Peat, Mike Baxter and Dario Minieri at the taping of GSN’s High Stakes Poker at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino for the show’s highly anticipated upcoming fifth season.

I’m assuming Dan’s at the Golden Nugget watching the taping of day 1 of the latest season ofHigh Stakes Poker, but for those that want to know when it airs, Card Player is reporting that season 5 of HSP will air starting March 1 at 9pm ET on GSN. The network made a recent decision to make Sunday their “Poker Night”, with Season 6 of the World Poker Tour episodes at 6pm ET, and previous seasons of High Stakes Poker at 8pm ET. As mentioned before, the minimum buyin will be $200,000, with the blinds $400/$800 with a $200 ante. Last year’s taping of a $500,000 minimum buyin game last season appears to be gone, as it tightened up the play to the producers’ dismay.

The poker wire keeps on buzzing today: Shockingly, GSN has beat Wicked Chops to trademarking the phrase “High Stakes Pokerâ„¢” — as evidenced in the network’s announcement of filming plans at the Golden Nugget later this month. Apparently they’re letting (internet) media cover the 27 hours of play, sorta.

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.

From an email from GSN:

GSN’S ‘HIGH STAKES POKER™’ HEADS BACK TO THE GOLDEN NUGGET HOTEL & CASINO WITH LARGEST EVER BUY-IN FOR ENTIRE RUN OF A TELEVISION SERIES

WHAT: GSN invites press to come watch the exclusive taping of the highly-anticipated fifth season of HIGH STAKES POKER™. The new season features the returns of poker stars Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson and Eli Elezra, along with players new to HIGH STAKES POKER such as Tom Dwan and reigning World Champion Peter Eastgate, and recreational players like “The Simpsons” creator Sam Simon, Bob Safai and film director Nick Cassavetes. The stakes have never been higher for the players as the minimum cash buy-in of $200,000 is the largest buy-in for an entire run of a television series. The show returns to the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV where HIGH STAKES POKER SEASON ONE took place. Please see below for a preliminary list of players scheduled to appear.
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That’s the word just in over the transom. And they have a new trademark symbol superscripted around their namesake phrase, too! (They musta learned that one from Wicked Chops.) A little disconcerting that they don’t make mention of Gabe Kaplan or AJ Benza, but whatever, I’m sure all is well — because everything is fine and dandy these days in poker, right? And nothing major happening behind the scenes:

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.

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Just watching a little WPT on GSN (for the first time in forever?) and saw the promo spot for an upcoming poker schedule change: World Poker Tour and High Stakes Poker blocked together, Sunday eves, 7pm/6 central.

Hmm. Seems like a smart move — grab all the poker dorks viewers at once, on a day where they’re likely camped out in front of a TV somewhere … and if they happen not to really care about the Sunday night NFL game … golden.

Only semi-related, was previously watching some election coverage and can’t help but wonder if the best of what McCain/Palin are offering is simply a matter of too-little-too-late.

HSP was gone, and then back again, and then not really at all … but now Bluff Europe is reporting that GSN has picked up the option for a fifth season of High Stakes Poker. Apparently GSN just had to get rid of the WPT before they could renew? That seems plausible enough — that the new brass at GSN may have decided they had room for only one poker show, and they wanted to dance with the ones who brung them. Considering GSN’s extended dealings with the WPT before bidding them adieu, that might make sense with why they left Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza in the dark without letting them go.

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.”