Congrats to Steve Lipscomb and everyone else involved with getting the WPT a deal with FSN. Considering the negative buzz in the forums questioning whether there would even be a deal in place, I think all of us can not only breath a sigh of relief, but also feel an energetic kick start to a potentially perfect relationship.

The Travel Channel was never exactly the “right” place for a poker show, but hey, they served their purpose and at the time were the only ones willing to even consider putting poker on TV.

As for GSN, not exactly what they are trying to accomplish in terms of programming, but it’s a bit puzzling. They grab the WPT and have a potentially solid Monday 1-2 punch with High Stakes Poker, but don’t go forward with EITHER show? It’s not everyday that you see a network decide to can their top rated shows! Interesting strategy??

FSN, while not exactly a “one stop” network in that the programming is often more locally based actually suits the WPT perfectly and I think will elevate the brand simply because you’ll be seeing more of it. It’s on in bars and restaurants just like ESPN, and that’s something you simply didn’t find with either GSN or the Travel Channel.

So who is the WPT chick this year? Not entirely sure, but wanted to give a shout out to everyone’s favorite sideline reporter, Amanda Leatherman who has been handling the hosting duties for the Bellagio Cup. We always have fun, spunky interviews so now I’ll be motivated to get back to a WPT final table so I can bust her chops a little bit

Unfortunately for me, despite really wanting to play the Bellagio Cup, I had a previous commitment to be in Toronto shooting commercials immediately after the main event and will be here till my birthday. They are extremely long days but the commercials should end up looking awesome so that’s exciting.

As for my schedule, I’m not entirely sure what tournaments I’ll be playing in next. I’ll have to look over the schedule to see what makes the most sense for me. It will be a mix of EPT and WPT’s events for sure, just not sure which. Since I’m doing the commentary for the APPT now, I won’t be playing any of those this year. A tentative schedule might look like:

WPT Legends
EPT Barcelona
EPT London
WSOP Europe??? Not sure about this one, it might not fit

I’ll make sure to post an updated schedule as soon as I make final decisions.