More poker for the web

07/30/2009

The online poker advertising website PokerStars.net and U.S. television network ESPN are partnering in the production of a new, web-only poker show titled "Inside Deal," scheduled for screening early next (August 2009) month.

PokerStars.net will carry the show, which will be hosted by ESPN the Magazine contributor Laura Lane, pro player and ESPN.com columnist Bernard Lee and ESPN.com poker editor Andrew Feldman, and will give poker fans a behind- the-scenes look at the poker lifestyle, according to pre-publicity material released this week.

The three months over which the show is to be streamed will also provide a useful interest-booster for the World Series of Poker Main Event in November, with interviews of the the November Nine final tablers and excerpts from this year's 40th World Series of Poker.

Pokerheads will be encouraged to use email, Twitter and Facebook to submit comments and questions to personalities appearing on the show in order to give the project an interactive element, and there will be prize-winning competitions to bolster involvement by the playing public.

The first featured guest on "Inside Deal" is likely to be Chris Moneymaker, who's epic come-from-nowhere Main Event WSOP win back in 2003 really put the Internet player on the map. Moneymaker started out with a $39 online satellite qualifier win that led to a Main Event seat and a first place cash for $2.5 million.

Other top poker aces scheduled to appear on the new show are Daniel Negreanu and Joseph Hachem.