Jeff Haney looks at the characters and themes of ‘Poker After Dark’

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007 | 7:17 a.m.

A poker purist might find some of the themes of NBC's "Poker After Dark" a bit precious.

One week's worth of episodes was titled "Earphones, Please" because it pitted notorious loudmouths such as Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow against reserved players such as Andy Bloch and Phil Ivey.

Another, "Talking Heads," featured players who serve as commentators on other poker shows, such as Chad Brown ("Ultimate Poker Challenge"), Gabe Kaplan ("High Stakes Poker") and Mike Sexton (World Poker Tour events.)

"International Week" included Patrik Antonius of Finland and Gus Hansen of Denmark, but had to fill out the roster with a couple of players from exotic Canada.

If the program themes strike poker old-schoolers as over-the-top, it's by design, according to executive producer Mori Eskandani of Las Vegas.

"When you mix good poker with some good fun, that's when you get a successful TV show," Eskandani said. "You need high-level poker and high-level professional poker players, but it's never as effective if it's just straight poker without an element of fun."

Eskandani, president and chief executive of the prolific local company Poker PROductions, is preparing this week for the taping of the third season of "Poker After Dark," scheduled to begin Sunday at the South Point.

The taping, closed to the public, will generate 10 weeks of "Poker After Dark" episodes. Season 3 is to begin in January on NBC (KVBC Channel 3).

"Poker After Dark" has been a late-night ratings hit for NBC since its first season began airing in January. Season 2 began airing in June and is to run through next month.

The show consists of a six-player minitournament, or "sit-n-go," with a $20,000 buy-in. The prize structure is winner-take-all ($120,000) with no consolation prize for the runner-up. (One tournament carried a beefed-up buy-in of $50,000 and a $300,000 top prize.)

Big poker names such as Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Chris Ferguson have won events in the show's first two seasons. The show's loose, laid-back vibe has elicited praise from many of the participants. (Well, usually loose and laid-back. Hellmuth had a blowup in Season 1 that has become a YouTube favorite.)

Eskandani learned the importance of a relaxed atmosphere at the table during his previous career as a "working pro" - slang for a professional poker player in Las Vegas.

This was back in a dimly remembered age when - believe it or not - high-stakes poker tournaments and cash games weren't on TV virtually every night.

"When we played poker in the old days, we had to make sure we were always sitting there laughing, having fun at the table," Eskandani said. "That way, when tourists came in, everyone wanted to put their name on the list for our game instead of the other games.

"The players in our game might have been tougher, but the tourists didn't care. We were having fun. That was always our philosophy."

Among the themes scheduled for Season 3 of "Poker After Dark" likely to make purists cringe: One tournament will spotlight "love connections," three couples who are married or dating; another will feature a lineup of players known for wearing cowboy hats.

Venetian satellites

The Venetian poker room has introduced a series of weekly "supersatellites" leading to the National Poker League's 2007 Vegas Open, scheduled for Nov. 24 to Dec. 5 and which culminates in a three-day, $15,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament, one of the largest on the worldwide poker circuit.

The Venetian is hosting $115 supersatellites, or play-in tournaments, with rebuys, at 8 p.m. each Saturday . Winners earn entry to a $2,500 buy-in event at the Vegas Open. The number of winners depends on the number of entrants and rebuys, which allow players who bust out the first time around to pay another entry fee and try again.

The Vegas Open includes a series of tournaments with various buy-ins at the Venetian poker room.