For years, poker players only appeared on TV if it was related to the actual game of poker.  However, we’ve recently begun seeing poker players appear in a lot of mainstream television shows and movies.  Daniel Negreanu appearing in the movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, Annie Duke being one of the finalist on “The Apprentice”, and Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho appearing on the hit CBS reality series “Amazing Race” are just a couple of the latest examples.  Popular poker pro Erik Seidel added his name to the list this week.

Seidel made his mainstream television debut on the HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm” which revolves around the fictional life of Seinfeld producer Larry David.  The episode that Seidel appeared in was entitled “Officer Krupke”, and Erik is prominently featured in a shot where Larry and his onscreen wife Cheryl Hines are talking at a restaurant about a Seinfeld reunion.

Many have wondered how/why Seidel was on Curb Your Enthusiasm.  The 8-time WSOP gold bracelet winner explained that he is a huge fan of the show, and had been looking for a way to appear on it.  So basically, being able to appear on Curb Your Enthusiasm was a dream for Seidel since he is such a big fan of the show.

It has also been rumored that another poker pro might be making an appearance on a HBO show.  Daniel Negreanu will appear in an episode of the hit show “Entourage” along with fellow poker player/actor Ben Affleck.  Aside from his role as a poker player in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Negreanu also recently appeared in the “Body Issue” of ESPN: The Magazine.  Being on HBO’s “Entourage”, which is a drama based on the fictional life of a movie star and his friends, would only further cement Negreanu’s mainstream status.

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.

Walken is on a British show called Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and absolutely kills the delivery.

Enough talking, here’s the Christopher Walken Poker Face Video:

The bubble has burst for Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho in the Amazing Race. The girls were eliminated in The Netherlands, cutting the field of competitors down to 5 teams.

Ho and Michelle were eliminated when they failed to make it through a series of Dutch challenges that involved a strength testing carnival game (72 unsuccessful attempts for the girls while most teams did it in 1) and a par-8 version of clog golfing.

At the end of the competition, the girls didn’t finish that leg of the race and were eliminated by host, Phil Keoghan.

Ho and Michelle started this leg of the race in 2nd place, but had these ominous words to say before it began:

“Second place is awesome, but we’ve learned from poker that it’s really easy to get comfortable and get involved in pots that you shouldn’t.”

Foreshadowing! I guess that clog-golf was a pot that the girls should have stayed away from.

With the girls eliminated, I’ll probably stop posting about The Amazing Race, but I will continue watching it… only for the Globetrotters. Those guys are awesome.

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”

After leading off the race by saying they were non-profit workers from LA – benefiting the homeless, the girls were off to a pretty good start.

Unfortunately, all of the profits from this charity go towards funding both of the girls’ poker careers.  Eventually, a female fan of the pair saw them at the airport and went on about how great they are at poker.  The bluff got sniffed out and the girls were left looking like asses.

The girls jumped out to an initial lead, but nearly got knocked out when they finished last in the Japanese-game-show-wasabi-bomb eating section of the race. After some duck herding, they were back in resasonable shape.

Overall, I don’t think they come off as likeable. By lying about what they do for a living, and then pretty much getting busted immediately, they make poker players look especially sleazy.  Factor in how annoying they are, and they’re on the fast track to being ‘that annoying team’ that viewers want to see lose.

Tune in each Sunday at 8pm (after a long day of watching football, it’s a good way to get some quality time in with the wife without leaving the couch) to see how the girls do throughout the rest of the action.

The Caesars Cup is essentially a carbon copy of the PGA’s Ryder Cup, which has successfully attracted a substantial fanbase to golf’s fifty billionth event of the year. Young, popular pros have been conscripted to 8-player teams captained by Annette Obrestad (Europeans) and Daniel Negreanu (Americas).

The awkwardly-named teams will play through a variety of different permutations of doubles No-Limit Hold’em, with a bit of heads up thrown into the mix to guarantee lively action.  The format is—not unlike the Ryder Cup—somewhat hard to grasp at first, but the appeal is simple: it’s us vs them (you decide which team “us” is for you).

Here’s why I love the idea: poker, like golf, tennis, and other individual sports, is limited to the extent to which it can tell a compelling story by the success of the major names that are playing in that particular event.  In other words, a classic case of the No Tiger Woods, No Interest Syndrome.  Just ask any of the qualifiers for the final table at the Borgata Poker Open (you’ll need to look them up), also going on this week.

By assembling teams made up of well-known pros around inclusive international labels, the event cashes in on fans who have been trained on years of cheering for their favorite sports team, and who will love to see the players work together to win bragging rights, and play entertaining poker.  And if the first Ryder Cup was any indication, they’ll be playing hard.

In case you’re interested, the players involved include heavy hitters Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harmer, Doyle Brunson (Americas), Peter Eastgate, Patrick Antonius, and Dario Minieri (Europeans).

ESPN will be broadcasting all the action as part of their World Series of Poker Europe coverage.  Be sure to tune in to watch history unfold, and because you know you want to.

Late last week it was announced that HeadsUp Entertainment will be launching a new web-based television station that will air entirely poker-related content 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Whew, finally.  If it weren’t for this exciting development in the poker industry the public would be left to scrounge through the seemingly infinite amount of poker content already on television.

Sarcasm aside, this new network does have a lot of potential, particularly in Canada, where the project will be launched (spokespeople suggest it will eventually launch internationally).  The network will air all-things poker: from movies, to coverage of tournaments in Canada, to biographies of Canadian players (hint: ice cold nerves).

Here’s hoping HeadsUp hits the jackpot with this new entry into the world of poker media.

ESPN’s Inside Deal obviously wanted a piece of the comedy pie, but has thus far been coming away hungry.  Before the show ramps into its usual combination of poker news, interviews, and profiles, the producers have deemed it wise to start each episode with a skit starring hosts Laura Lane and Bernard Lee along with the week’s guest.

The skits they attempt are roughly as funny as a piece of lined paper.  A piece of lined paper with unfunny things written on it.  That said, the bits have some entertaining elements, like the charming aren’t-you-glad-you-don’t-work-in-these-cubicles set, and the chipper way Lane and Lee throw themselves into punch lines like “saweet!” (BAZING!)

Great work, guys.  At least your openers remind us why we’ve been watching Inside Deal: to pick up whatever poker tips we can…like patience.

Brandon McSmith is suing “Poker Productions’, the company responsible for the idea of the show. Noted gossipmonger and celebrity hunting site, TMZ reported this earlier today.

McSmith claims that he came up with the idea for regular poker players to face off against poker pros (hidden behind doors). Sound a little familiar? The plot thickens as McSmith thinks this idea theft is worth $85Million… That’s a lot of blinds.

As of now, it’s unclear how Face The Ace, NBC or Poker Productions will react to this allegation. If it’s anything close to a legit case from McSmith (which sounds like a totally fake name to me) I’d imagine FTA and it’s parent companies will throw some bucks at it to make the problem go away.

I’ll keep you posted on any further developments.