According to a story with buzzerblog.com, High Stakes Poker will no longer be shown on the network effective Jan. 2, 2012.
The show reportedly lost a good portion of its audience when Norm Macdonald recently took over from Gabe Kaplan.
High Stakes Poker started airing way back in 2006 and quickly built a reputation as a favorite amongst hardcore poker fans.
Following a simple No-Limit Hold’em high stakes cash game format the show showcased famous pros such as Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson and Jennifer Harman as well as rich amateurs such as Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberte putting their own money on the table.
The show was originally hosted by Gabe Kaplan, who was later joined by AJ Benza and then Kara Scott in an interviewer role.
Some of the highlights over the years included Brad Booth’s memorable bluff with 4-2 versus Phil Ivey with pocket kings, Tom Dwan “posterizing” Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu’s awful luck and several pots that nearly topped the $1 million mark.
Norm Replace Gabe, Full Tilt Pros Opt Out
In 2011 comedian and poker player Norm Macdonald replaced Kaplan on the show to mixed reviews.
It didn’t help that prior to Black Friday, Full Tilt also pulled out of the show meaning Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Mike Matusow, David Benyamine and the rest of Team Full Tilt were absent from the program.
GSN mentioned this summer it was going to be scaling back its poker offerings after online poker’s Black Friday forced major players such as PokerStars out of the U.S. market.
It remains to be seen if another network expresses interest in the show but if it is indeed canceled it will be yet another shelved TV show that involved Norm Macdonald.
Since leaving Saturday Night Live, Macdonald has starred in The Norm Show, A Minute with Stan Hooper and most recently Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, which have all been canceled.
High Stakes Poker ran for a total of seven seasons.
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