Poker Central follow-up the success of the Pokerography series with a documentary following the lives of some of the world’s fascinating High Rollers in the Super High Roller Club.
When Netflix emerged through the blood and vernix stained tunnel I couldn’t see the point. Haunted by a host of humdrum viewing experiences, it was America’s version of UK Gold (although, come on, who doesn’t love a daily dose of Only Fools and Horses?)
And then Stranger Things hit me right between the eyes.
Things made sense. Like the cardboard pocket in the back of the library book that bursts into life when the librarian puts the card back in it. ET. Close Encounters of the First Kind. The Goonies.
The data crunchers watched us. They saw what we saw. And they took that information and created something extraordinary. A Saturday night on the couch that both the adults and the children could endure.
Has Poker Central done the same?
The Super High Roller Club
In 2015, Poker Central bought a snazzy new jacket when they launched Pokerography, a documentary that followed the lives of some of poker’s more interesting characters.
The poker TV channel played it safe by focusing on the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu, but during the two seasons, and 23 episodes courage surged, and the audience took a voyeuristic peek into the lives of more interesting, and less covered peeps.
The fans must have lapped it up.
In the same week that Poker Night in America (PNIA) launched Poker Night LIVE, Poker Central has beefed up their programming with The Super High Roller Club.
The script seems eerily similar to the Pokerography series. Ali Nejad follows six high stakes poker players in a fly on the wall type documentary. Poker Central rekindle their partnership with Believe Entertainment on the project (the pair worked together on the comedy show Poker Nights).
“This series will give viewers a glimpse inside the lives of poker’s most notable high stakes players as they pursue their greatest non-poker passions,” said Sam Simmons, vice president of content at Poker Central. “Fans will have the opportunity to watch the world’s most interesting poker personalities experience the finest pursuits that Vegas has to offer – from sports, fashion to fine dining.”
Have They Picked The World’s Most Interesting Personalities?
The first season features Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Nick Schulman, Brandon Adams and Farah Galfond. The line up feels safe and somewhat staid (Negreanu, Hellmuth & Esfandiari), coupled with exciting and questionable (Shulman, Adams & Galfond).
The choice of six North Americans follows the Poker Central demographic. I suspect this will change ( I hope so). PokerGO viewers spoon fed a diet of Steffen Sontheimer, Fedor Holz and Stephen Chidwick will be interested to see if they muzzle their dog, use a dishwasher or sleep on their backs?
And did they miss a trick in the first season?
How interesting would it have been for Nejad and the cameras to follow the entire Galfond family to get a look at how two high stakes poker players co-exist in the more tumultuous world of personal relationships?
The Super High Roller Club begans Feb 26 on PokerGO.
