In December, Oates Media Group, the creators of the poker game show “Shuffle Up and Deal,” announced an online casting call seeking contestants. Three months later, the franchise is still looking for a sponsor to bring its product to life.
World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton was named the front man for “Shuffle Up and Deal,” a game show in which contestants select cards from an electronic tote board in an effort to make the best hand and reap the most prize money. Whichever player banked the largest cash total at the end of every episode would have a shot at winning a progressive jackpot that began at $250,000 and rose by $10,000 each time it wasn’t hit. The series also featured a “Follow the Ace” home game in which viewers could nab $10,000.
The show originally signed a letter of intent to air on My Family TV, a local station located out of Palms Springs, California, but that is no longer the case. Instead, producer Dewey Oates has been vehemently searching for a larger audience by taking on a sponsor and a cable or network television partner. Oates told Poker News Daily, “If we had a sponsor, we’d start filming immediately. The production company is ready to go.” Meanwhile, Oates and company have approached a couple of the industry’s major online poker sites, which have purportedly taken a cautious approach about expanding further into the U.S. market due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
Sexton is a sponsored pro of PartyPoker, which does not accept action from the United States, while PokerStars pro Chad Brown was tapped to host a live stage show version of “Shuffle Up and Deal” in casinos. On Sexton’s involvement, Oates told us, “He got us in touch with the people at Party Gaming, but he can’t go to Full Tilt and ask for a sponsorship if he’s the host.” Oates approached officials from the WPT, who stated that their sponsorship of the show would hinge on a signed television contract.
Meanwhile, Oates reached out to GSN, which airs the popular cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker,” but the network was seeking a title sponsor or partial sponsor of the show before it would hop on the bandwagon. Oates added that “Shuffle Up and Deal” was not in a position to purchase airtime on major television networks, which would likely come with a hefty price tag. Oates revealed that prices on major stations could top $1 million for a half-hour program, potentially leading to an expensive debut for an upstart program.
Despite the lack of success of the franchise in procuring a television sponsorship, “Shuffle Up and Deal” may soon make its way to a casino near you. Oates and company have been reaching out to top-tier Indian casinos around the United States pitching a floor promotion where patrons would swipe their players’ cards to register for a chance to play a miniature version of “Shuffle Up and Deal.” Oates told Poker News Daily, “We’re marketing it to Indian casinos nationwide. We’ve teamed up with SCA Promotions to insure it. We started that two weeks ago and we’re getting phone calls now.”
Facebook serves as the main medium for contestants to register to become a contestant on the “Shuffle Up and Deal” television show. Nearly 1,000 applications from hungry poker fans have been received and Oates was elated at the overwhelmingly positive response: “We’re getting a lot of responses. We have people visiting ShuffleUpTV.com signing up to be contestants all day long. We’re getting a lot of energy from the public from people who want to see the show.”
My Family TV specializes in providing “spiritual programming,” according to its website, and is based in Florida.
