Poker Central Partners with Daniel Negreanu
Poker Central, the new round-the-clock poker television network that plans to launch sometime this year, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Daniel Negreanu, one of the most popular poker personalities of all time.
“We are excited to add Daniel to the Poker Central team,” said Poker Central’s Chief Executive Officer Clint Stinchcomb in a press release. “Daniel is a great ambassador of the game and will help take televised poker to new heights.”
Poker Central also added that other partners will be added, but those people have yet to be announced. “I am thrilled to join the Poker Central team,” said Negreanu in that same release. “I can’t wait to help make 24/7 Poker a reality.”
Poker Central announced itself as a new 24/7 poker television network in early April, though it has yet to really explain to the public in detail what that it is all about. No specific shows or talent have been advertised. The network sums up its offering as, “Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, Poker Central® offers unique all‑day, everyday access to exclusive poker tournaments, celebrity players, tips and tricks from the pros, player profiles and stunning destinations from around the globe.”
Poker Central’s ambitious jumping off point for the network will be the Super High Roller Bowl, scheduled to be held July 2nd through July 4th at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The timing of the event is likely no coincidence; the World Series of Poker Main Event begins July 5th.
It is called the Super High Roller Bowl for a reason, as the buy-in is half a million dollars. Organizers expect the total prize pool to be at least $25 million with at least $8 million going to the winner. There are currently 57 players listed on the Bowl’s website as being confirmed participants, so it looks like that $25 million prize pool will be hit (do the math…carry the one…57 players means a $28.5 million prize pool).
In conjunction with the press release, Daniel Negreanu announced that he will be playing in the tournament.
The Super High Roller Bowl is open to anybody willing to plunk down $500,000, so while it will be populated with many of the world’s most recognizable poker pros and several millionaire businesspeople, it is not an invitational. Satellites for the event are planned, but it does not look like any have been announced yet.
While Poker Central will be an all-poker, all-the-time television network, it does not look like the Super High Roller Bowl will actually be on said network. The broadcast will be produced by Poker PROductions and will air on a “major sports network.” Anyone who has watched televised poker previously has likely seen a show put on by Poker PROductions, as the company has produced the World Series of Poker for ESPN as well as the popular television shows Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker.
Though Daniel Negreanu was announced as a Poker Central partner, no details have been released as to what this actually entails (methinks a pattern is developing here). As Poker Central is a poker television network, a good guess might be that Negreanu will host a show, provide commentary for tournaments, or perhaps film short segments to be aired during longer programs. Who knows?
It does appear that Negreanu is making a concerted effort to reboot his brand, in a sense, to create a new media presence for himself. He has always been one of the most outspoken poker personalities, frequently sharing his thoughts via his blog and through videos. He recently dove into the world of live streaming head-first, making his debut on Twitch.tv. Twitch has quickly become THE platform for live poker streamers – the World Poker Tour has moved the live broadcasts of its final tables to Twitch and Twitch won the Poker Innovation of the Year at the inaugural GPI American Poker Awards. Negreanu has been an instant success on Twitch; though he has had less than a handful of streams, he has already garnered thousands of followers and total views in the six-figures. His broadcasts have mixed entertainment and poker perfectly – he has clearly been having fun on Twitch, goofing around while answering viewer questions, but he also provides just enough analysis of the games he is playing to make it informative.
Of course, the highlight of Daniel Negreanu’s Twitch stream has been a stream of another sort. At one point during a broadcast, he took viewers into the hotel bathroom via his laptop so he could continue playing and talking while answering the call of nature. He made sure to angle the camera to keep the show rated PG.
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