No, this isn’t some sort of early April Fools Day joke. Season 7 of the popular GSN cash game series “High Stakes Poker” will feature former “Saturday Night Live” star Norm MacDonald as its host. The new cycle will premiere on Saturday, February 26th at 8:00pm ET and be shown in 3D. It will re-air each Sunday at 11:00pm ET in case you missed any of the action.
The seventh season of “High Stakes Poker” was filmed in December at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. A new location also means a brand new host, with Gabe Kaplan giving way to MacDonald. Kara Scott, a PartyPoker pro, will reprise her role as hostess. Last season, GSN officials axed longtime “High Stakes Poker” host A.J. Benza in favor of Scott.
MacDonald was a regular on “Saturday Night Live” between 1993 and 1997. He anchored the popular “Weekend Update” segment after Kevin Nealon left the show and has two live poker cashes to his name according to the Hendon Mob database. He’s a regular at the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP).
This year’s cycle of “High Stakes Poker” will boast a $200,000 minimum buy-in and a maximum buy-in of $500,000. The blinds will stand at $400/$800 with an ante of $100 and, as confirmed by a press release sent by GSN on Monday, “Straddles were frequent and often multiple. Several players were felted, so rebuys and add-ons were prevalent.”
No Full Tilt Poker pros appear to be part of the cast of Season 7 of “High Stakes Poker,” as the PokerStars sponsors the show. Therefore, players like Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Eli Elezra, and Gus Hansen are noticeably absent from the roster of players. However, a high-profile lineup of poker hopefuls made its way to Las Vegas two months ago to film.
Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, and Barry Greenstein are all back for their seventh seasons. Negreanu and Greenstein serve as cornerstone PokerStars pros, while Brunson is the front man for DoylesRoom, which recently jumped ship from the Cake Poker Network to the Yatahay Poker Network. Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari will also grace the “High Stakes Poker” stage, as will good friend Phil Laak.
Brunson is one of three former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champs to try their hands at the “High Stakes Poker” cash games this year. Joining “Texas Dolly” are former back-to-back winner Johnny Chan and reigning champ Jonathan Duhamel. Chan will return for his second go-around at “High Stakes Poker,” while Duhamel will make his debut.
A male-dominated show, “High Stakes Poker” will see just its third female ever join the set. Vanessa Selbst, who won the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event last year, will participate for the first time in Season 7.
In addition to the pool of sharks, six amateurs will take part. They include Silly Bandz creator and Deepstacks investor Robert Croak, philanthropist Bill Klein, Treasure Island Las Vegas owner Phil Ruffin, life insurance executive Julian Movsesian, equity firm president Bill Perkins, and Rolex watch dealer Erik Boneta.
Without further delay, here’s the official cast list for “High Stakes Poker” Season 7 on GSN:
Mike Baxter
Eric Boneta
Doyle Brunson
Johnny Chan
Robert Croak
Jonathan Duhamel
Antonio Esfandiari
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond
Bill Klein
Phil Laak
Jason Mercier
Julian Movsesian
Daniel Negreanu
David “Viffer” Peat
Bill Perkins
Andrew “good2cu” Robl
Phil Ruffin
Vanessa Selbst
Bob Voulgaris
Catch the show starting on Saturday, February 26th at 8:00pm ET on GSN.