Of all the poker shows that have been created in the past couple of years, High Stakes Poker has definitely got to be considered one of the most successful.  High Stakes has used the cash game format during its successful run along with the broadcasting skills of A.J. Benza and Gabe Kaplan to survive for five eventful seasons.  The show has been so successful that the Game Show Network has decided to bring it back for a 6th season.

However, one key ingredient which won’t be returning for season 6 is A.J. Benza who was informed by Game Show Network representatives that his services will no be needed.  Going even further, GSN has decided to get rid of Benza so that they can add a younger female host to go along with Kaplan.  There has been no official word as to who this younger female host will be as of yet.

Regardless of whom the woman host turns out to be, Benza is definitely not happy about the decision and has let his opinion be known.  Benza made a good point on his blog (where he was talking about a conversation he had with GSN suits) when he said, “if you got the best pizza in town for 5 seasons, why try and add licorice to it?”  Benza’s argument is definitely a good point since him and Kaplan were an excellent announcing duo throughout the first 5 seasons of High Stakes Poker.

Now everything is up in the air for High Stakes Poker with a potentially much younger, model-like host being brought to the table.  Sure GSN is banking on the move attracting a wider audience, but they could lose some of the existing audience too.  If things don’t work out, then there is definitely the possibility of Benza coming back.  A.J. put this into perspective when he said, “And look on the bright side: if she stinks….I might be back for HSP 7”

Tags: News, Poker Pop Culture, TV

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 10:56 am and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.