Poker After Dark

Late Night Poker Series

Shana Hiatt is set to return to the world of poker. After becoming a household name, at least in households where the men play poker, Shana took a break from being a poker hostess. Now, she's coming back, this time on NBC as part of the program Poker After Dark.

Taping began recently for what is scheduled to be a 52 episode season/series. The South Point Hotel Casino is the backdrop for these poker events that will eventually be displayed in one hour chunks on lat night television.

The programs will feature six pro poker players facing off in a winner-take-all format where the prize at stake is $120,000. Players that will be on the show include Doyle Brunson, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Howard Lederer, and Danny Negreanu.

Episodes will air a whopping six nights a week, so night owls who need their poker fix can rely on a steady stream of televised action. The format of the program is interesting. Each night during the week, the show will concentrate on watching the development of a single table. Friday night's episode will feature the winning showdown. Then, Saturday night's episode will have Shana Hiatt and the week's winner reviewing the earlier action and adding their commentary.

The winner's commentary is something I've seen on ESPN with their WSOP rebroadcast, and I have to say that the Greg Raymer commentary on his WSOP victory was what I consider to be great poker television. So, the format looks appealing to me.

NBC has already created one successful poker television event with their National Heads-Up Poker Championship, although Hellmuth won it. They are enlisting the help of the production company that is behind the Game Show Networks successful high Stakes Poker for help in putting Poker After Dark together.

Look for the broadcasts of Poker After Dark to begin on the 2nd of January, at 2 AM - on NBC.