This is the third of three posts today about the upcoming 2015 World Series of Poker, which takes place at the Rio Las Vegas — May 27 to July 14.
Photo (L to R): Nolan Dalla, Gregory Grivas, Joel Garcia (who presented me with an outstanding bottle of Duet Zinfandel from Temecula Valley), and Poker Room Manager Christopher Gawlik — posing on the second floor of Planet Hollywood, where the second best tournament series in Las Vegas will be held this summer.
This is the second of three posts today about the upcoming 2015 World Series of Poker, which takes place at the Rio Las Vegas — May 27 through July 14.
One of the heartaches of filming a weekly television show about poker is not being able to include many of the most interesting things that happen — both on and off the set. Quite honestly, many terrific scenes end up hitting the cutting room floor and never get seen by the public.
Fortunately, we now have the option of showing some of these extended cuts on other digital platforms. This enables fans of the show to log on and see much more than they’re getting in a 30-minute weekly program (which is more like 22 minutes of actual content, since commercial breaks run about 8 minutes). The very best example of a raw extended cut is the “Poker Night in America” live stream which shows high-stakes cash game action from start to finish, usually running 8-10 hours. There’s even commentary, provided by the man who’s become the quintessential voice of poker — David Tuchman.
Of all the subjects we’ve filmed over the past 18 months, one of my favorite features was a lengthy retrospective on the most memorable poker scenes in movies. “Poker Night in America” filmed two one-hour segments which were divided up and edited down for broadcast over the coming months of Season 2. One of our first segments aired last night, which was a discussion of the climactic poker scene from the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” (the remake starring Daniel Craig). Spoiler alert — the panelists trashed it. The poker is terrible. Watch the full 10-minute extended version here:
SIDE NOTE: This poker scene is particularly painful to watch given the larger backstory of PokerStars’ which was in discussions with filmmakers at the time about being included in this scene and a larger role as a sponsor. I worked for PokerStars at the time and remember how difficult the Bond franchise made things during these negotiations. Be sure and read Dan Goldman’s full account of the breakdown of events HERE.
Two panel discussions have been filmed so far. The first segment was recorded late last year at Turning Stone Casino (in upstate New York). The panelists included actress and poker player Jennifer Tilly, noted film critic Richard Roeper, poker pro-Phil Laak, and our host Chris Hanson. We showed several famous poker scenes to the panel, then they broke down what they each saw from a movie standpoint, a poker standpoint, and so on. Some classic scenes fared far better than others, with the showdown from “Casino Royale” judged as one of the worst.
The second segment was filmed a few months ago. We shot a slightly different gathering of “experts” at the Golden Nugget (Atlantic City). The panelists on the second session included Richard Roper again (deservedly so, since he’s one of the world’s most respected film critics, and he also loves poker). We invited renowned actor James Woods, who pretty much dominated the discussion. Note that we don’t take just any actor — we only use Academy Award nominees (Woods and Tilly have both received Oscar nominations). Once again, host Chris Hanson rounded out our panel and did his best to contain exchanges that sometimes spun out of control. Let’s just say they were a lot of fun, and those who were on camera seemed to enjoy themselves the most.
In the months ahead, “Poker Night in America” will feature the highlights from these roundtable discussions on poker in the movies. That said, some of the very best commentary and the most in-depth analysis won’t be shown on television. So, you might want to check out the extended versions of these movie retrospectives, which can be seen at: POKER NIGHT IN AMERICA WEBSITE
Steve Lipscomb was honored recently with a special “Lifetime Achievement Award.” The honor was presented at the 2015 American Poker Awards, held last Friday evening at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Those in attendance included about 250 poker luminaries, including 14 other honorees. I was lucky enough to be in the audience.
The inaugural American Poker Awards was held Friday night at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. The awards ceremony and a preceding all-day conference were created and organized by Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of the Global Poker Index and the Hendon Mob. Call this poker’s equivalent of the Oscars, which was intended to recognize the game’s most accomplished players over the previous year, as well as honor those who work the elevate and grow the game behind the scenes. Here are some of my personal experiences and observations on what turned out to be quite a memorable day and evening:
Why are fortune tellers, psychic hotlines, and other cons on quackery legal anywhere in the United States? We impose laws regulating liquor, gambling, smoking, and 0ther activities, so why are charlatans allowed to steal and ruin lives?
Short films grab you. They make you think. They take you to interesting places. They introduce you to people you haven’t met before. And sometimes, long after leaving the theater, you will find yourself pondering what you saw and the deeper meaning of the film, which are sometimes remarkably complex and even wonderful.
It’s Oscar time! The 87th annual Academy Awards will be shown on ABC Sunday night. I haven’t missed an Oscar presentation since 1991. So, this will keep my current streak alive at 24 straight years — and 43 shows out of the last 45 years. I’m not really that old, but I can still recall my very first Academy Award memory — which was John Wayne winning Best Actor in 1970 for “True Grit.”
