Jeff Haney on the third season taping of the event at South Coast, described by some pros as the toughest table

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

It was a curious setting to find such an elite group of poker pros.

Miles from the bustle of the center Strip, in an otherwise desolate section of a convention area at the South Coast, several dozen of the game's top players gathered to compete in perhaps the richest - and most rigorous - cash poker game ever recorded.

It lasted for two days last week, as cable network GSN compiled enough footage for a 16-episode third season of "High Stakes Poker." The show has developed a devoted following for its portrayal of a no-limit Texas hold 'em game in its previous two seasons, which were shot at the Palms and the Golden Nugget.

Each player is required to bring a minimum of $100,000 to the table, but for this version of the game most chose to load up to the tune of $200,000, $500,000 or even more.

It was common for as much as $4.5 million - in the form of live chips and cold, hard cash - to be gracing the table at any given time, according to coordinating producer Mori Eskandani.

"This could be the toughest no-limit hold 'em lineup ever assembled," said Eskandani, a longtime poker pro himself.

Las Vegas poker pro Daniel Negreanu seemed to agree, informing his seven opponents at one point during the taping that it might have been the toughest table he has seen.

"These guys are all true no-limit players," Eskandani said. "There's a lot of pure psychology involved when you're playing poker at a level this high."

In contrast to the boisterous atmosphere that pervades other TV poker events these days, the "High Stakes Poker" set was mostly quiet. The only fans allowed to enter were a couple of guys who won admission via a charity auction.

They were riveted as they watched the table Negreanu found so tough. It also included Antonio Esfandiari, Patrik Antonius, Brad Booth, John D'Agostino, Phil Ivey, David Benyamine and online poker star Brian Townsend.

Ivey was making his "High Stakes" debut along with Chris Ferguson and World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold.

Just as he did in the second season of "High Stakes," popular pro Phil Laak sat to the left of his friend Esfandiari during his stint at the table. Because seats are determined by a random draw, most people would call that a coincidence, although Laak referred to it offhandedly as a "one-in-seven event."

Laak was a big winner in the Season 2 game at the Palms. Thanks to his hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, Laak has become known as "the Unabomber" - which, depending on how you look at it, is either a clever morsel of sick humor the public has gobbled up or an offensive reference to a convicted killer.

Regardless, "the Unabomber" is merely a creation of TV poker. The real Laak answers questions thoughtfully, sometimes speaking in elliptical phrases as he blends philosophical musings and an advanced analytical mindset with a soupcon of stoner patois - befitting a guy who wore a T-shirt in the high-stakes cash game celebrating the old Jimmy Cliff hit, "The Harder They Come."

"The first time I played 'High Stakes Poker,' every decision I made was right, every bluff worked out, every hand connected," said Laak, who lives in Los Angeles but spends a lot of time in Las Vegas. "This season, it was a different vibe my flow, I never really arrived in a flow. It just felt like, 'Whoa, it's almost over,' the second I sat down

"I tried to win more by playing more pots than I did last time because last year (actually earlier this year) I played really snug. But when you play more pots, you're in trickier spots and you have to bluff your way out more often. That's not the most comfortable thing to do in the world when you're playing against a lot of strong players."

That strong field for Season 3, scheduled to begin Jan. 15 on GSN (Cox Cable channel 344), also includes Mike Matusow, David Williams, Doyle and Todd Brunson, Erick Lindgren, Jennifer Harman, Sam Farha and Barry Greenstein, among others.

Despite - or because of - the tough competition, poker pros have all but formed a waiting list for a chance to compete, Eskandani said. Something in their character drives them to seek out the biggest game in town.

No matter where it's taking place.