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GSN to air High Stakes Poker
Published: 2005-10-26
 October 26, 2005
Michael Friedman
With the gluttony of poker shows beginning to fill the airwaves here in the States, the competition is fierce for viewers and advertising dollars. One of the players in the television battle has upped the stakes with its new show.
GSN is hoping that its new show 'High Stakes Poker', will bring a revival of the television poker success found by shows like the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel and the World Series of Poker on ESPN. Both shows are having slightly lower Nielsen ratings this year as the poker phenomena begins to level off.
High Stakes Poker is betting on the fact that no other television show has gone after this dramatic form of poker. Players will be able to bet large amounts of personally funded money and reload right from their wallets or they can cash out at any point in time.
One would think that this type will find an audience as the drama can be much higher than in a normal tournament, because bankrolls can and do fluctuate during this style of play. Another intriguing aspect of this show is the matching of some of the game's best players against a number of wealthy amateurs.
With professionals like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, and Daniel Negreanu at the tables, the action will be fast and furious for the challenging amateurs like Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss and Landry's restaurant chain owner Tilman Fertitta. All players will have to have at least $100,000 in cash on hand in order to buy into the game.
According to Rich Cronin, GSN president and CEO, the timing is right for this new type of poker programming. "No one else has done a cash game on television. The difference between tournament poker-even the World Series of Poker, with a $10,000 buy-in and a cash game where a player can lose several hundred of thousand dollars of their own money will be dramatic."
GSN is banking on the 'exclusivity' factor as average people never get to see these types of games. "You can't normally get into this game unless you have a lot of money and you can't normally watch it since it's held in private rooms," said Ian Valentine, GSN's programming head in a recent press release.
Valentine also suggested the risk versus reward factor will also draw viewers. "They're playing with their own money and lots of it. This is real poker and we will also capture the rarified milieu in which the high rollers live and play."
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Dick Van Patten's poker party wins another go in the desert
Published: 2005-10-26
 Jill Cohen
The Desert Sun
October 26, 2005
Tournament poker in the Coachella Valley came of age this weekend with the inaugural Dick Van Patten Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. It was an absolutely fantastic event!
We had thrilling poker, wonderful celebrities, superb parties and an inspirational cause. Whether they were pros or beginners, participants or cheerleaders, local or from afar, everyone involved had a fabulous time. It was wall-to-wall excitement and good fellowship from Friday night to Sunday night.
I really liked the shoot-out style of the tournament, which suited the size of the field (at 300 entrants; it was sold out) and the size of the facility perfectly. There were three qualifying rounds on Saturday, each round with 10 players at each of 10 tables. The final three players at each table advanced to the main event on Sunday.
For those players who failed to qualify in the first three rounds, there was a "second chance" re-buy round. One winner from each of those tables also advanced to the final. The final event was played by 100 players in normal tournament style. It worked out beautifully.
The celebrities were totally accessible, and very friendly - after all, they're poker players. Unlike us, they may be famous, but we understand each other. We all have bad beat stories. Headlined by the charming Van Patten clan, including son Vince (commentator of TV's "World Poker Tour"), along with Shirley Jones (Oscar-winner for "Elmer Gantry," star of "The Partridge Family"), Mickey Rooney (no introduction needed!), singer Jerry Vale and comedian Shecky Greene, they played cards with us, partied with us and palled around with us. They were just delightful.
Some celebrity nuggets
Fittingly, tournament host Dick Van Patten was the only celebrity to make it into the top20, placing 17th.
Nice going, boss.
Lyle Waggoner ("The Carol Burnett Show," "Wonder Woman") was the winner of a special celebrity-only mini tournament, and donated his winnings to Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Community Services, the tournament's charity.
Baseball great Len Dykstra (of the 1986 World Champion Mets) had the worst bad beat story of the tournament. On the very first hand, he had pocket aces. He pushed all in, and got a caller, who had pocket kings. The flop had two kings in it, and my man Lenny was gone. Doesn't get much worse than that.
And it doesn't get much funnier than the brilliant Shecky Greene, who entertained at the Sunday night awards dinner (along with singing comedy impressionist Scott Record). Palm Springs resident Shecky told us that after decades at the top of the comedy heap, he's no longer in show biz. That made us doubly lucky, because this rare performance had everyone howling with laughter. At 80 years old, he looks great and is as sharp as ever. Encore, Shecky!
And the winner is…
The first-place winner of the tournament was Ike Morley, 48, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Ike took home $13,750, 27.5 percent of the $50,000 prize total. Well, maybe a little less, after treating several of us to a champagne celebration.
How, I wondered, did an attorney from Utah wind up playing in a poker tournament in Indio? Turns out he was in a client's office discussing a legal case when the client received a phone call from a close friend in Palm Springs. The friend described the tournament and wondered if the guys would like to come on down for it. Impressed with the fact that the tournament profits were going to be donated to Marine Corps Community Services, they decided to fly down. They fit in a round of golf, hobnobbed with a bunch of celebrities and won more than 13 grand. Not a bad weekend.
Ike's winning hand was pocket sevens. Heads-up at the end, his opponent went all-in and Ike called. When the bettor turned up pocket queens, Ike stood up and reached his hand out to shake, happy with his apparent second place finish. When a miracle seven came on the river, he was jubilant.
Let's do it again
Even though I didn't come in the money, I had an awesome time. Everyone I spoke to loved it also. Kudos to host Dick Van Patten, executive director of gaming Bob Jones, tournament founder and coordinator Bob Berk, poker room manager Mark Pickering, and their entire team.
It's great news that there will be a 2nd Annual Van Patten next year. I can't wait. In the meantime, the Fantasy team is cooking up some other exciting poker events, which we're certainly looking forward to hearing about.
The best news of all is that with the banquet and celebration profits, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has given Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Community Service a "blank check" toward a first-class holiday party for the families of Marines deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
And who's donning the Santa suit for the kids? Dick Van Patten, of course!
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