The 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 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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