GSN created waves in the poker world when they decided to do away with one half of the High Stakes Poker broadcasting duo after firing A.J. Benza. The move was not only a shock to Benza who publicly complained on his blog about it, but it was also a shock to fans of the show since Benza and fellow co-host Gabe Kaplan played quite well off each other.
According to many sources, GSN dumped Benza because they were looking to bring in an attractive female co-hostess. At the time, rumors were swirling that poker pro Vanessa Rousso was the first choice by the network to fill Benza’s shoes. Eventually, GSN would state that Rousso was not going to host HSP so former World Poker Tour hostess Shana Hiatt become another name thrown into the mix.
However, we now know that Hiatt won’t be the hostess either since it has been reported that poker pro Kara Scott will become the new commentator on High Stakes Poker. Scott is one of the rising female professional players since she has earned $453,000 of her $500,000 career winnings in the last years and she’s also finished within the top 250 players in the last two WSOP Main Events. In addition to her playing exploits, Scott has also done broadcasting work for the European Poker Tour and Poker Night Live.
The only thing that is standing in the way of Kara Scott being officially announced as the new HSP hostess is that she needs to obtain a permit which would allow her to work in the United States. Without this permit, it would be illegal for Scott to work as the new HSP hostess according to US laws. But it’s almost a given that Kara Scott will be able to get this permit since GSN is counting on it.


With the November Nine FINALLY coming up soon, we’re ready to go with more coverage, news and whatnot. It seemed like it was so far away, and now it’s almost here. It’s like Christmas… gambling Christmas.
Reality TV Update!
While the Browns are at the depths of NFL suck-i-tude and the Cavs dropped the home opener against the Celtics, you’d figure that the city deserved a bit of a break. Maybe the Poker Players would be winners? Not so!
There are plenty of live and online poker players who will argue that they’re the best player alive. But few of these people can back up their argument with the kind of credentials that Phil Ivey can. Ivey has won numerous tournaments in his career and is often referred to as the best all-around poker player in the world. His accomplishments have gained him a celebrity status that has transcended the game of poker. In fact, Ivey has become such a big celebrity that ESPN decided to prominently feature him on both the cover of ESPN the Magazine and in an E:60 segment.
Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho have been on the bubble in almost every episode, but have still avoided elimination through the first four weeks of the competition.
2009 was a very interesting year as far as the Poker Hall of Fame selection process went. This year, fans were allowed to nominate their favorite players via the Internet which definitely added a twist to the process. And this twist was most likely the main reason why online sensation Tom “durrrr” Dwan found himself as one of the 10 players nominated for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class.
Over the weekend, CarbonPoker had the pleasure of being a sponsor for Blogs With Balls 2.0.
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.