The new hostess for World Poker Tour and the Travel Channel partnered poker events is talented, professionally qualified and a stunner, too – an attractive personality who will surely be popular with the huge audiences that watch the televised tournaments.
Courtney Friel (25) replaces previous hostess Shana Hiatt this (fourth) season after an extensive search for the right combination of intelligence, personality and beauty that Friel won hands down.
Originally from Valley Forge, she’s been a Californian since moving to LA in 1999, and is a graduate of San Diego State University where she successfully studied a BA in Political Science with minors in Broadcast Journalism.
Following graduation she moved into the high pressure world of network television and journalism with Channel One in Los Angeles, working as an anchor and reporter in Jackson, TN, and in the newsroom with KPSP in Palm Springs, CA. A highly competent writer and interviewer, her entertainment reportage has been widely used, including E! Entertainment Television, Nickelodeon, EBTV Gaming and other shows.
“I’ve done pretty much everything when it comes to reporting. I’ve lugged my own cameras, edited my own tape, even operated the teleprompter with my foot…just everything! All these skills, and more, I am hoping to bring to the fans of the WPT during the broadcasts,” she says.
WPT put Friel right to work, sending her to the WPT Poker Boot Camp to better understand the game, and now she’s rarin’ to combine her new skills with her established experience for the popular WPT series.