High Stakes Poker Executive Producer Discusses Season V

The fifth season of popular cash game show High Stakes Poker just wrapped up filming from the Golden Nugget casino in Downtown Las Vegas. A total of three days of tape was collected and the show will air on cable station GSN beginning on Sunday, March 4th, anchoring Poker Night. High Stakes Poker Executive Producer Mori Eskandani sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the week’s filming.

The buy-in was upped to a $200,000 minimum for Season V, which created a unique atmosphere for those who were invited to participate. Thirteen episodes will air as part of the new installment.

Poker News Daily: Describe what the mood on the “High Stakes Poker” set was like.

Eskandani: The best way to describe it was that it was a heavyweight fight at its best. Poker is different in that it’s not one on one, but it was a heavyweight fight with everyone in the ring. It was hurtful to see some of the favorites going down. In my opinion, it will be the best poker to hit the airwaves and the game was absolutely unbelievable. If you want to see poker as its highest level, then tune into High Stakes Poker.

PND: Talk about the newcomers to High Stakes Poker like 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate and Tom “durrr” Dwan.

Eskandani: When we do High Stakes Poker, it’s similar to golf. From year to year, you’re going to see people coming in, getting hot, and dominating tournaments or high limit cash games. Then, someone else does a better job. Peter Eastgate is the World Champion. That’s the biggest tournament, bar none. Tom Dwan has been so hot in the cash circuit. I call him the “Michael Jordan of Poker.” He gets the game going. People are going to be, as promised, thrilled to watch these shows. They’re going to see what Peter Eastgate needs to do to in order to become a pro. They’re going to see why Tom Dwan is so good.

PND: In addition to having new players like Eastgate and Dwan, talk about having established poker pros like Doyle Brunson and Eli Elezra on High Stakes Poker.

Eskandani: These are the players who are seasoned pros. They’re never going anywhere. They will have their hot years. In the meantime, their cold years won’t be losing years. They will still have money coming in, just not gushing in.

PND: Were there any surprises during filming?

Eskandani: There was a combination of players that I thought was going to produce a looser and more action-packed game, but didn’t and I was surprised. It shows you that the cards can dictate the action too. We had a two to three hour cold period, but then the game picked up.

PND: If viewers have never watched an episode of High Stakes Poker before, why should they tune into Season V?

Eskandani: If they’ve never watched High Stakes Poker before, they’ve missed a good learning lesson. This season tops it all. It’s perfect if you are serious about learning the game, seeing poker at its highest level, or are aiming to watch poker in order to be entertained by the best entertainers in the world. Listening to their jabber and watching what they try to draw out of each other is genius. You will learn a lot watching tournaments as well, but High Stakes Poker is a different kind of poker you’re learning.