I Want My Poker TV!

:: snake

So maybe I took some cheap shots at Brits the other day. I honestly don’t have anything against them. I love fried pub food, and cloud-free skies are way overrated. And truth be known, perhaps my favorite card room in the world is the one situated in the back corner of The Vic, a first-rate, intimate casino right in the heart of London. If you’re ever over there, check it out, but be sure to fax over a membership application at least 24 hours ahead of time because you’ll need a member’s card to play.

I guess I am just irked by one more American taking the opportunity to slag the U.S. while overseas. This time it was Val trying to sell some theatre tickets. In 2003 it was Johnny Depp calling America a “dumb puppy”. I mean, what’s next? Lance Armstrong sucking up to the French by backing the Paris bid for the 2012 Olympics?

No, he wouldn’t do that?

But back to the Brits. There really is a lot to appreciate when it comes to their contributions to American society. Music, Monty Python and Elizabeth Hurley, being a few, and most recently, television programming. Sure, it hasn’t all been spectacular, depending where you sit on the fan fence of Brit-created shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Survivor, Big Brother, Trading Spaces, What Not to Wear, et al. but there’s been plenty to like, including a favorite of the Wicked Chops crew, The Office. The not-as-good-but-funny-enough version of the cult fave British series got off to a so-so start in the U.S. but we’re pleased to report NBC has agreed to keep The Office doors open another season.

And here’s another reason, perhaps the best reason for all of us, to like British television: poker. Today in England marks the launch of POKERZONE, a 24 hour poker and casino channel boasting “an unrivalled selection of modern and exciting poker and casino entertainment.”

As commentator Greg ‘the Axxeman’ Winters notes, “British poker is going crazy. The poker boom is massive and television is the next step in this phenomenon. Poker programming already attracts more than 1.3 million viewers a night – and pokerzone is set to be that audience’s primary destination.”

We can only hope a channel destination such as this is on its way here. Sure there‚Äôs plenty of programming already available here in the U.S., and more in the works, but trying to remember what’s airing when and what channel as well as the complete poker void on many nights makes the nightly surfing for good poker TV like it was surfing in Florida as kids: you can go days without a good wave, and when one finally comes, there’s a good chance you’ll be at the wrong beach.

So until that day comes when we can call the cable company and say “I want my Poker TV!.,” we’ll be checking the poker “surf” report regularly.