Wednesday, April 12, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.
Producers of "High Stakes Poker" on cable network GSN say the show's first season was an unqualified ratings success, as viewers were eager to watch some of poker's most recognizable stars fearlessly toss around piles of cash and stacks of exotically colored chips in a no-limit Texas hold 'em game.
If a boisterous taping this week at the Palms is any indication, the second season promises to deliver even more spirited play.
Considering each player had to bring a minimum buy in of $100,000 to the event - which plays as a cash, or "ring," game rather than a tournament - it's no surprise that some egos were on display at the table.
For a while Monday night, the conversation revolved around - shocker! - ranking the top five poker players in the world, with Las Vegas pro Mike Matusow maintaining he belongs in that select group.
Fellow Las Vegan Daniel Negreanu begged to differ, saying Matusow wasn't even one of the top five players at the table.
"I'd say Mike is the worst player here," Negreanu said, undoubtedly aware that his comment would set off Matusow's fuse.
"I want to play Daniel heads-up for the rest of the night," Matusow fired back, prompting Negreanu to label such an arrangement his "dream" matchup.
Negreanu, Matusow and more than a dozen other top pros mixed it up in the eight-handed, invitation-only no-limit game that lasted 14 hours Monday, with a similar schedule set for Tuesday, on a specially constructed set in a Palms ballroom.
It was designed to resemble a private hotel suite - complete with a small but amply stocked bar. As in any cash game, the players were permitted to take breaks or cash out at any time, to be replaced by others waiting to join.
Both cash - in the form of thick stacks of banded hundred-dollar bills - and actual high-limit casino chips were permitted at the table. The "blinds" were $300 and $600 with a $100 ante.
The footage from this week's marathon games will be edited and divided into 16 episodes to air at 9 p.m. Mondays on GSN, the Network for Games (Cox cable channel 344), starting June 5. Analyst Gabe Kaplan and host A.J. Benza return to handle announcing duties.
The final episode of the first season of "High Stakes Poker," which was filmed last fall at the Golden Nugget, aired Monday night and will be replayed at 9 p.m. Friday.
Among others competing this week were Daniel Alaei, Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman and Phil Laak.
"I want to play no-limit hold 'em with every one of you for the rest of my life because you don't know (garbage)!" Matusow boomed at one point in response to even more needling from his opponents.
That outburst inspired Negreanu to request that some Ritalin be brought to the table.
"Everyone knows each other, so of course they're going to give each other a hard time," said Alaei, a regular on the tournament circuit for the past three years who also played in Season 1. "It's nothing too personal."
Players are paid a stipend of $1,200 from the network for each hour they appear - a token amount when millions of dollars are on the table at any given time and six-figure sums are routinely won and lost.
The event's primary attraction is to match wits with the best players in the world, in the biggest game in town, according to Laak.
"I absolutely love no-limit hold 'em cash games, and you never see them at a level this high," said Laak, known as "the Unabomber" for the hooded sweatshirt he wears while playing poker. "This is just phenomenal.
"The biggest no-limit game a normal, working pro will see on a semiregular basis has blinds of $100 and $200," Laak said - and even games at those limits run infrequently, often in conjunction with a major tournament such as the annual World Poker Tour Championship at the Bellagio.
"So this is just insane," said Laak, who raked in several large pots. "I love it."
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