Every night in Vegas, big-time players risk more money playing poker than the average American pays for four years of private college education. But unless someone has the bankroll of a small African country and is willing to have a seat, there is no way to witness the kind of action that takes place in these high stakes ring games.
The Game Show Network is about to change that. Filming for the show "High Stakes Poker" is set to begin next week at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, where high-stakes poker players and poker hobbyists with deep pockets will play with a big chunk of their own money.
Buy-in for the no-limit Texas hold'em game is $100,000, and players will be able to rebuy any time they want. Details, such as blind structure and time of game sessions, are still being hammered out, said Dennis Johnson, the director of publicity and corporate communications for GSN. The preliminary list of players includes Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, and Dr. Jerry Buss, who when he's not playing poker on television, own the L.A. Lakers. This list could change, Johnson said.
Although the players are playing with their own money, they will receive some sort of compensation for appearing on the show, Johnson said. This is one of the details still being discussed.
The show will be filmed for GSN by Henry Orenstein's HSOR, a production company responsible for the "Poker Superstars" franchise that airs on Fox Sports. Orenstein also invented the holecard cam, which made poker broadcasts more compelling by showing the audience what the players held as the match went on.
For those who love trivia, Orenstein also is the father to Optimus Prime and the rest of the "Transformers" line of children's toys.
GSN will air 13 hourlong episodes of "High Stakes Poker" starting Monday, January 16, at 9 p.m. GSN plans on releasing more information about the show later this week.
