Paul Wasicka

High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program, which was broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 for the first 4 seasons and the last 3 seasons ran from March 1, 2009 to May 21, 2011 and was simulcast in 3DTV on N3D. The participants on the show include both professional poker players and amateur players. The show was hosted by AJ Benza in the first five seasons, alongside Gabe Kaplan. Starting with the sixth season, Kara Scott replaced Benza as Kaplan's co-host, with Scott conducting interviews from the poker room floor. Starting with the seventh season, Norm Macdonald replaced Gabe Kaplan as Scott's co-host. In 2020, after a nine year hiatus, the show returned with the original commentary duo of Benza and Kaplan.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network. It is a $25,000 "buy-in" invitation-only tournament organized as a series of one-on-one games of no limit Texas hold 'em matches. The participants include many of the world's most successful poker players, as well as celebrities. The championship was the first poker event to be televised on and produced by a major U.S. television network. In October 2011, NBC announced that the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2012, ending the championship's seven-year run. After a one-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2013. The $25,000 buy-in event ran from Jan. 24 through 26 at Caesars Palace, the same venue where the event was held from 2006 through 2011. The Heads-Up Championship had been sponsored by online poker companies before Black Friday. The World Series of Poker is the new presenting sponsor.