[SS] “There are reality poker shows, and there are reality shows with poker players on them”, Stan the Stat stated.
[RR] “Disproportionately represented by women”, Roderick the Rock noted, “not that I’m complaining.”
[LL] “I can’t really stand any of those shows, but I have to say, Annie Duke was robbed”, Leroy the Lion contributed.
[SS] “Now, of course, lots of people play poker, so this list only includes poker pros. I didn’t count amateurs like Adam Gersh on Unan1mous and Dan Barbour on I Survived a Japanese Game Show.
Poker Players on U.S. Reality Game Shows1
| Show (Wikipedia link) | Network | Year (IMDB link) | Poker Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MasterChef 72 | Fox | 2016 | David Williams | Spoiler (highlight to see): finished third out of 20 |
| Survivor 32: Kaoh Rong3 | CBS | 2016 | Anna Khait | Spoiler (highlight to see): fifth person voted off out of 18 |
| Big Brother 174 | CBS | 2015 | Vanessa Rousso | Spoiler (highlight to see): finished 3rd out of 17 |
| Survivor 28: Cagayan | CBS | 2014 | Garrett Adelstein | Adelstein has $122,766 in career tournament earnings according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database but is more of a cash game player; Spoiler (highlight to see): Adelstein was the second contestant voted out |
| The Millionaire Matchmaker | Bravo | 2013 | Daniel Negreanu | Video of “Wounded Wally and the Mama’s Boy” (1/10/13); Spoiler (highlight to see): seemed happy with his choice of Lindsay Blalock, but the relationship was already history by the time the episode aired |
| Worst Cooks in America | Bravo | 2012 | Tiffany Michelle | Spoiler (highlight to see): finished 5th out of 16 |
| The Millionaire Matchmaker | Bravo | 2010 | Beth Shak | Video of “House of Cards” (11/9/10) for $1.99; Spoiler (highlight to see): She picked the millionaire (1,200 pairs of shoes cost a lot, you know), but none of the three men Patty set her up with were “so great” and she met someone else shortly after the episode was filmed; Shak also appeared on Celebrity Nightmares Decoded. |
| The Amazing Race 15 | CBS | 2009 | Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle | Spoiler (highlight to see): finished 6th out of 12 two-player teams |
| Celebrity Apprentice | NBC | 2009 | Annie Duke | Spoiler (highlight to see): finished 2nd out of 16 (to Joan Rivers) |
| 2 Months, $2 Million | G4TV | 2009 | Dani Stern, Jay Rosenkrantz, Brian Roberts, and Emil Patel | The four players share a house in Las Vegas and try to make $2 million playing online poker in only two months; Video of the first of ten episodes; Spoiler (highlight to see): ended up making $676,700 |
| Rob and Amber: Against the Odds | FOX Reality Channel | 2007 | Rob Mariano | Survivor and The Amazing Race contestant Rob Mariano tries to make it as a professional poker, with Daniel Negreanu as his tutor |
| Survivor 15: China | CBS | 2007 | Jean Robert Bellande | Spoiler (highlight to see): finished 9th out of 16 |
[RR] “How does Rob Mariano belong on the list?”
[SS] “Believe it or not, he won $50,000 in 2006 by placing sixth in the Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker Tournament. For that, Boston Rob got into Hendon’s Database and earned a wild card onto this list.”
[SS] “Poker pros have also appeared on reality lifestyle shows. I may have seen some of these, but you’ll never get me to admit it:”
Poker Players on U.S. Reality Lifestyle Shows1
| Show (Wikipedia link) | Network | Year (IMDB link) | Poker Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sin City Rules | TLC | 2012-13 | Jennifer Harman | Harman and four other somewhat important Vegas women (Lana Fuchs [daughter of a famous mobster], Amy Hanley [entrepreneur], Alicia Jacobs [reporter], and Lori Montoya [cosmetics line]); f.k.a. Vegas High Rollers; 5 episodes aired and 3 were posted to the web site |
| I Bet My Life | Travel Channel | 2012 | Liv Boeree and Kevin MacPhee | The Iron Maiden and ImaLuckSac play in a European Poker Tour $14,000 buy-in tournament in Monte Carlo, Monaco; trailer (pilot only); Spoiler (highlight to see): neither player made the money |
| NY Ink | TLC | 2012 | Beth Shak | Clip from the “Poker Hottie” episode |
| I Bet You | MOJO HD | 2007-08 | Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak | YouTube Playlist; 2 seasons with a total of 24 episodes; 3rd season filmed but never aired as iN Demand cancelled the entire network |
| My Life on the D List | Bravo | 2007 | Mike Matusow | In the “Loose Cannon” episode, the Mouth has a blind date with the show’s star, comedienne Kathy Griffin; 4-minute YouTube video |
[LL] “I Bet You was quite funny at times; pairing Laak and Esfandiari was a good bet. But I think the people who produced some of these other shows need a reality check.”
[RR] “No surprise that the other shows all folded pretty quickly.”
Footnotes:
- The tables are sorted by recency. Tap on the header to sort by any column. You need to view the post by itself for this to work.
- September 15, 2016 Update: Added David Williams’s appearance on MasterChef 7.
- March 17, 2016 Update: Added Anna Khait’s appearance on Survivor 32: Kaoh Rong.
- September 24, 2015 Update: Added Vanessa Rousso’s appearance on Big Brother 17.
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