Today is Superbowl Sunday. One of the top three pizza-ordering days of the year, the day when the Patriots will try to make history, but in a more general sense, the day where there is a, well hopefully, awesome football game continually interrupted with also stellar commercials. I would imagine there are even some out there who don’t even like football, but still watch the Superbowl for the commercials. So, what’s the point? The point is, in the same light, people who don’t even like poker would watch World Poker Tour (WPT) events for solely for Shana Hiatt. Shana Hiatt might be an odd choice for Hottie of the Week because she isn’t really a professional poker player; as far as I know she has never played in a large scale, WPT or World Series of Poker, type event. But, the name of the article is Poker Hottie of the Week and she is certainly related to the poker world, and she is really really really hot, so she qualifies.
Shana was born in 1975 on the East Coast and was an Army brat. Many sources say she was destined to be in front of the camera. Ever since childhood she wanted to be a reporter and travel around the world. According to LaunchPoker, in high school she was a champion lacrosse and field hockey player, and also the school’s hottest cheerleader. After high school she enrolled in Burlington County College in New Jersey but it wasn’t long before she caught the eye of Ray Manzella, a talent agent who is known for building Jenny McCarthy and Pamela Anderson’s careers. Next Shana would win a local Hawaiian Tropic pageant in 1994 and in 1995 she would become Miss Hawaiian Tropic USA; shortly after, in April 1995, she would be the cover model for Playboy’s “Girl’s of Hawaiian Tropic” Issue.
After Playboy she was at a fundraiser in Hawaii where she met her future husband James Van Patton, son of Dick Van Patton. He apparently encouraged Shana to pursue her dreams of being in front of the camera. In 2000 to 2002 she received bit parts in a few movies, a guest hosting job on E’s “Wild On”, and she was the Keystone Light girl in 2002. But, she got a big break when she answered a casting call in 2003 and landed the job we know her best for, host of the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. 2004 was her first appearance on the WPT. “It was a fun experience, because poker was so new to me,” says Shana. “I was thrilled to get the job so that I could learn more about the game.” Shana hosted the WPT for three years until 2006 when she moved on to host NBC’s “Poker After Dark”, and she is also the official spokes girl for PartyPoker.
In between the various poker-hosting jobs she also found time to appear in the movie “Must Love Dogs” and the cult classic “Grandma’s Boy”. Furthermore, she was on Maxim’s “Hot 100 of 2005” list. Presently, she is remarried to Todd Garner, but we won’t hold that against her, just the married part, I don’t even know who Todd Garner is. But, apparently after hosting the WPT for three years she took an interest in poker and now plays avidly online. So kudos to Hiatt for making the WPT much more fun to watch, securing Poker Hottie of the Week number four.