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Tobey Maguire Settles Bradley Rudderman Poker Lawsuit

by Wicked Chops Entity on 11.30.2011 in Poker News | no comments

Tobey Maguire is still in shock he's got to pay a settlement on a BS lawsuit.

Actor/poker player Tobey Maguire has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle a lawsuit with the bankruptcy trustee handling Bradley Rudderman‘s ponzi scheme case. Maguire, along with a number of other Hollywood execs and actors, are alleged to have won money in “illegal” poker home games from Rudderman.

The settlement money will go to a bankruptcy trustee and will be used to repay Rudderman ponzi victims.

Said Spidey’s legal team in a statement:

[Maguire] strongly disputes that he violated any laws, rules or regulations in regard to participating in the poker games.

However, the settlement helps stave off a potentially lengthy and costly legal battle.

Other famous celeb poker players named in the lawsuit have settled as well, including Gabe Kaplan ($26,900 ).

However,  actor-director Nick Cassavetes is going to fight the case in court.

Read more about the case and settlements here and here.

Tagged as: Bradley Rudderman, gabe kaplan, Poker News, Tobey Maguire

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Norm MacDonald Might Be A Good HSP Host

by Wicked Chops Entity on 2.8.2011 in Poker News | 4 comments


The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget
Norm Macdonald
www.comedycentral.com
Tosh.0 Funny Jokes The Comedy Awards

It seems like the general consensus is that the ouster of Gabe Kaplan and introduction of Norm MacDonald as host for the next season of High Stakes Poker on GSN is a bad thing.

We don’t necessarily think so.

Sure, we’re just as moderate of fans of Kaplan as the next guy. He’s an under-appreciated mainstay of the industry. As one of the first celebrities to truly embrace poker (and have success with it too), we think he’s a guy that should be in the Poker Hall of Fame.

But that doesn’t mean that moving to MacDonald as host is a bad thing, as many have implied.

For evidence we submit the above and below clips.

While we couldn’t find any of MacDonald’s legendary SNL Weekend Update O.J. jokes, we found plenty of other gems that would lead one to believe he could add some value to the HSP booth.

Above is a clip from his roasting of Bob Saget. You’ll either love it or hate it.

View his 1998 ESPYs monologue (love seeing a young Peyton Manning making an early Peyton Manning face) here.

View a SNL weekend update joke that seems like something we might’ve written for him here.

And our favorite all-time Norm SNL joke here.

Tagged as: gabe kaplan, high stakes poker, Norm MacDonald, Poker News

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High Stakes Poker 86′d on GSN, Is WPT Next?

by Wicked Chops Entity on 5.14.2008 in Poker News,World Poker Tour | 3 comments

High Stakes Poker's AJ Benza kinda looks like Alec Baldwin in Team AmericaThe gang over at Pokerati is reporting that it looks like GSN‘s once-top-rated poker show “High Stakes Poker” is being dropped from the network after not filming a new season for 2008. The Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza hosted program featured some of today’s biggest pros putting up $100k or more each in a televised cash game and was somehow super popular with poker fans despite not having some super hot chick on the show.

Scratching our heads.

AJ Benza (playing Alec Baldwin in Team America above?) is apparenty chapped at GSN, saying:

“Far as Gabe and I know….the show isnt coming back. Apparently…the network is going to go in a different direction and that aint good news for our show, especially since we skew a higher-aged audiuence. Never mind that we’re the network’s No. 1 show. Still and all, no one calls us from the network to say squat. Only Kevin Bellincoff checks in periodically, but it just don’t seem like good news. If you ask me…they’re treating us like shit. All we ever did was make them a bunch of money.

Oliver_tseOliver Tse (at right) sheds some of his usual light on the story in a Pokerati comment (excerpt below):

HSP *** WAS *** GSN’s #1 show until WPT managed to draw over TWICE as many viewers compared to HSP, on the same day of the week in the same time slot (Mondays at 9pm Eastern/Pacific).

Once WPT posted its ratings numbers (which were good enough for WPT to collect the first tier of ratings bonus, but is certainly not good enough for WPT to continue to sell itself as a “sport” due to the older audience skew), I suspected immediately that HSP would NOT be renewed.

The big question: will GSN renew WPT by the June 1, 2008 deadline?

For the complete discussion on the above, including good commentary from Tse, KevMath and California Jen, go here.

For video example of how to spice up any television show with low ratings go here.

Watch all of Season IV of High Stakes Poker here.

Tagged as: gabe kaplan, GSN, high stakes poker, wpt

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The Grand Rates ‘Rotten,’ Opens Tomorrow in LA and NYC

by Wicked Chops Entity on 3.20.2008 in Poker News | 1 comment

Zak Penn‘s improvisational poker movie The Grand, which we predicted will not be so grand at the box office, finally hits theaters tomorrow in Los Angeles and New York City and will open elsewhere on April 4.

Shannon Elizabeth of Dancing with the Stars at The Grand PremiereAccording to limited reviews recorded by Rotten Tomatoes, the film is currently scoring 44% on the Tomatometer, meaning it’s received more “rotten” reviews from critics than “fresh” ones. Still, it’s faring much better than Lucky You, which charted at 29%.

If you’ve missed our past posts about the film, The Grand is a Waiting for Guffman-like mockumentary of the poker world that stars Woody Harrelson as One Eyed Jack Faro, a degenerate pokerer who attempts to save his dead dad’s hotel-casino from a real estate developer by taking down the world’s most famous high stakes tournament, the Grand Championship of Poker.

Joining Harrelson in the cast are Werner Herzog, Gabe Kaplan, Michael “David St. Hubbins” McKean, Hank Azaria, Dennis Farina, Chris Parnell, Cheryl Hines, David Cross, Jason Alexandar, Ray Romano, Richard Kind, and Shannon Elizabeth, who if we haven’t mentioned it yet, is on Dancing With the Stars.

Also in the film are a few poker pros including Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Laak and Phil Gordon.

Not in the film, Keeley Hazell.

Check out The Grand‘s trailer and links to reviews of the film after the jump . . .

[click to continue…]

Tagged as: Cheryl Hines, Chris Parnell, David Cross, gabe kaplan, poker, Ray Romano, richard kind, shannon elizabeth, the grand, Werner Herzog, Woody Harrelson, Zak Penn

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Poker After Dark is Reaching

by Wicked Chops Entity on 2.18.2008 in Poker News | 1 comment

Doyle Brunson playing Poker After Dark Cowboys weekApparently running out of good ideas, this week’s Poker After Dark on NBC is getting all Brokeback with a Cowboys theme with all six poker players supposedly fond of donning a cowboy hat at the poker table.

The six “gun slingers” are Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Doyle Brunson, Hoyt Corkins, Gabe Kaplan and Chau Giang, who ironically never wears a cowboy hat.

Rumors are a “Lefties Week” and “Straight Male Hairdressers Week” are both in the works.

In related news, not all guys walking around Vegas wearing a Stetson, heavy-starched shirt and Wranglers when the rodeo is in town appreciate it when you say: “Loved ya in Brokeback Mountain, cowboy.” Some actually may punch you in the face.

Poker After Dark website here. Shoot them an email and suggest a “poker players who screwed/got screwed by Brandi Hawbaker” week. Or month.

Tagged as: Andy Bloch., Chau Giang, Doyle Brunson, gabe kaplan, Hoyt Corkins, poker after dark

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