With the news that A.J. Benza will not be returning for Season 6 of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” gossip waves have hit the poker community about who the next host of the highly popular cash game program will be.
Benza, who hosted “High Stakes Poker” for the show’s first five seasons, made an appearance on the “Miserable Men” show on Sirius Satellite Radio last month and claimed that he was being replaced by a female to join Gabe Kaplan in the commentary booth. He later confirmed in his blog that he was being dropped for a “chick” in the upcoming season.
“I hope you like the female they toss in front of you,” said Benza. “And I hope the repartee between she and Gabe works likes ours did.”
Several members of the TwoPlusTwo online poker forum were infuriated by the decision and put together a petition to bring Benza back to the show. At the same time, rumors involving the next host have been circling the discussion boards and several names are being thrown around.
PokerStars will be the new sponsor of the show for Season 6, so early rumors of the new host included PokerStars Team Pro members Vanessa Rousso and Vicky Coren. Rousso, however, denied any likelihood of that happening, telling Poker News Daily, “I’m not sure where the rumor started, but I’m not the new co-host of HSP.”
Fellow PokerStars Team Pro member Daniel Negreanu commented on the subject yesterday at FullContactPoker: “Guess who KNOWS the answer to this? YES ME!!!! LOL. Relax people, Gabe will be doing the commentary alone, but there will be a female addition to the crew, not for strategy discussion, and you all know her and everyone likes her.”
Several poker buffs feel that former World Poker Tour (WPT) host Shana Hiatt is the favorite for the job. Hiatt worked for three seasons on the WPT and also hosted NBC’s “Poker After Dark” and “National Heads Up Poker Championship.” An avid poker enthusiast, Hiatt left the show in 2008 due to pregnancy.
One particular poster on TwoPlusTwo went into depth in their logic behind GSN’s potential decision to hire Hiatt: “From Negreanu’s comments it looks like they’re bringing in the PAD format, a hostess on the floor with only Gabe in the commentary booth. This sounds like an improvement to me. Gabe’s been the voice of the show all along, he’s funny by himself and he can explain things in layman terms for the novices… I’m going to guess that the host is Shana. She’s had the baby, Leeann (Tweeden) has settled on Poker After Dark, so (producer Mori Eskandani) is giving her HSP.
Poster “blink20” agreed with his assessment: “If they booted (Benza) and somehow get Shana Hiatt on this show, then it would be the greatest move ever! SHANA FTW one time!”
Another female being mentioned as a possible replacement is television personality, journalist, and poker pro Kara Scott. Her selection would make sense on multiple levels, as Scott worked with PokerStars as a host for the European Poker Tour (EPT) in 2007 and 2008. More recently, Scott hosted the PokerStars Ante Up for Africa event, which aired on CBS earlier this month. She is also an accomplished professional at the tables. She was the only woman who cashed in both the 2008 and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, taking 104th in 2008 and 238th in 2009. She also finished second at the 2009 Irish Open, winning €312,600.
Many in the online poker community feel as though Scott would be perfect for the position, filling both the “eye candy” and poker knowledge requirements that regular viewers are looking for.
Other potential fill-ins being mentioned include WPT host Amanda Leatherman, model and Absolute Poker spokesperson Lacey Jones, and actress and poker player Shannon Elizabeth.
GSN is expected to make an official announcement by Friday. Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker” is scheduled to begin filming in November and will air in February.
