Making it five years with any poker programming – whether it is radio or television – calls for a time of celebration. Poker professional Bernard Lee will be doing just that over the month of May as he celebrates his fifth anniversary of his namesake poker radio program by offering a televised version of the program in the New England area.
“The Bernard Lee Poker Show” has aired in the New England area for the past five years on such stations as 1120AM Boston, 970AM Worcester and 1390AM Cape Cod on the Money Matters Radio Network (it is also simulcast on Rounders Radio for those outside the Massachusetts area) from 6-7PM on Tuesdays. Over that span of time, Lee has been able to bring to the Northeast some of the best interviews with the biggest names in the game.
Since its inception, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” has been able to draw every World Series of Poker Championship Event winner since 2003, as well as every member of the November Nine since it began in 2008, and has featured poker discussion with such notables as poker legend Doyle Brunson, World Poker Tour commentator and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton, Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke, Jason Mercier and scores of other top poker talent.
With the fifth anniversary celebration in mind, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” will be taping three broadcasts of the show that will air on Comcast SportsNet New England and DirecTV beginning on Monday. The televised version of the show will air through May on Monday night at 8:30PM and will repeat on Sunday afternoons at 1:30PM. For these three shows, Lee is pulling out some big names to join him on the air.
On May 7, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” will welcome the 2003 World Champion, Chris Moneymaker, to both the radio and television program. One of the topics for discussion between Lee and Moneymaker might be his “star turn” in the poker documentary “All In: The Poker Movie,” where Moneymaker was quite open about his gambling proclivities prior to winning the WSOP Championship Event in 2003.
On May 14, the inaugural WSOP “November Nine” chip leader and eventual third place finisher Dennis Phillips will be joining Lee on the air. Phillips, who airs his own poker show “The Final Table” on 590AM KFNS radio in St. Louis, should be an entertaining discussion as he talks about his road from working with a trucking company to becoming one of the most notable faces in the world of poker.
On May 21, Lee will cap off the three episodes broadcast on television by bringing in the 1989 World Champion, Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth, whose exploits on the felt are arguably unrivaled as an eleven-time WSOP bracelet winner and general ambassador for the game, should prove to be a great way to cap off the televised broadcasts just a week before the 2012 WSOP begins.
“Bernard has been a great asset to the Money Matters Radio Network through the years,” Dave Cullinane, the Money Matters Radio Network general manager, stated during the announcements of the fifth anniversary celebration. “As New England’s top professional poker player, we enjoy sharing his expertise and insight into the world of poker each and every week and congratulate him on a great milestone.”
Calling Lee the “top professional poker player” in New England is not a stretch. While maintaining the broadcasts of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” for the past five years, Lee has also picked up co-hosting duties on “ESPN Inside Deal” and writes about the game at the Boston Herald, ESPN.com and CardPlayer Magazine along with publishing two books, The Final Table, Volumes I and II. When he’s not talking or writing about poker, Lee has found the time to craft an excellent poker resume; his career earnings total almost $2 million, including eight WSOP cashes and four WPT cashes.
As players and fans prepare for the 2012 WSOP, celebrating “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” and its fifth anniversary seems like the right way to get this summer’s festivities off to a great start. For more details on Lee and his various endeavors, visit bernardleepoker.com to learn more.