GSN Announces High Stakes Poker 6 Details

Kara Scott and European Pros added to show

From GSN\’s press release:

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.