Monday, July 28, 2008

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I'm all-in!: High Stakes Poker to return on GSN

By Arthur Crowson

Maybe poker on TV isn't dead. Just this week Fox Sports announced it had picked up the World Poker Tour, and now there are reports GSN has renewed High Stakes Poker for another season.

Although many of the details for the upcoming season have yet to be revealed, GSN director of public relations Jennifer Minezaki has confirmed that GSN has picked up the option on the fifth season of the popular poker program, which is hosted by Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza.

The renewal is somewhat surprising considering there were many reports the show would not be back. Even Benza himself publicly stated he thought the show would not be coming back despite the fact it was consistently one of the highest-rated programs on the network.

Rumors had been circulating on various poker forums that the new season would include Jerry Yang, Daniel Negreanu and Tuan Lam and that it would take place at the Wynn Las Vegas. Minezak has since shot down those rumors, saying many of them are inaccurate.

High Stakes Poker changed the concept of what a poker show could be when it launched in January 2006. Skipping the usual tournament style, the show introduced casual poker fans to cash-game poker, with names like Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth all putting a piece of their bankrolls on the line.

The last season of High Stakes Poker was particularly memorable, as it featured the addition of a $500,000 buy-in for several episodes (the normal buy-in is $100,000). One hand saw Patrik Antonius clash with Jamie Gold over a pot containing $700,000.

There was no word as to when the next season of High Stakes Poker will air.

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• High Stakes Poker: Don't bluff billionaires
• Doyle prepares for High Stakes Poker war
• High Stakes Poker to raise buy-in

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