Cable station G4 has elected not to renew the online poker reality series “2 Months, $2 Million,” according to show personality Jay “Krantz” Rosenkrantz. The future of the franchise is now up in the air.
Rosenkrantz recently learned of G4’s decision not to renew the show, which ran for 10 half-hour episodes beginning last August. “2 Months, $2 Million” featured four online poker players – Dani Stern, Emil Patel, Brian Roberts, and Rosenkrantz – trying to earn $2 million collectively over a two-month period. Ultimately, the quartet banked $676,000 during the 10 episodes, falling well short of the goal. However, the program appeared to be well received by the poker community, whose members could relate to the trials and tribulations that the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast experienced.
Rosenkrantz told Poker News Daily that the cast members are currently weighing their alternatives: “We’re exploring our options. I learned a lot doing ‘2 Months, $2 Million,’ not the least of which was what people really liked about it and what didn’t work. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to let that experience work for us.” Rosenkrantz and company rented a posh house in Las Vegas for the duration of the series, whose finale aired in mid-October.
G4 Vice President of Development, Laura Civiello, explained to Poker News Daily in a previous interview why “2 Months, $2 Million” was a perfect fit for the network: “There was something there that represented a lifestyle our audience is fascinated with. Every young guy wishes they could have this lifestyle, so it was very appealing to men ages 18 to 34, which is the majority of our demographic.” G4 does not currently air any gambling-related programming, instead opting for original series like “Attack of the Show” and “X-Play.”
The four “2 Months, $2 Million” cast members earned $35,000 in the first week before climbing to nearly $200,000 by the end of Week 2. In Week 3, the wheels fell off the proverbial bus, as the team suffered an $84,000 setback and were up just $114,000 overall. Rosenkrantz then battled poker pro David Benyamine in an epic heads-up match, dropping $60,000 to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner.
After four weeks in a Sunday nighttime slot, G4 shipped “2 Months, $2 Million” to Wednesdays. On Sundays, the program squared off against stiff competition that included HBO’s “True Blood” and “Entourage” as well as NFL football. On Wednesdays, its opposition appeared to be much softer.
After five episodes, the cast was up only $35,000 before rebounding by offering a boot camp at their Las Vegas house. Prodigies that turned out for the boot camp included Harry “UgotaBanana” Kaczka, Dave “NLsoldier” Schnettler, Wladimir “insyder19” Taschner, and Ben “pokiethepanda” Middleton.
A DeucesCracked fundraiser benefiting the Lili Claire Foundation took center stage on the September 30th installment of “2 Months, $2 Million.” After seven episodes, the team needed to average a colossal $625,000 in profit for each of the final three weeks in order to reach its $2 million goal. They promptly raked in $371,000 after Rosenkrantz battled David “Viffer” Peat online. Rosenkrantz exploited a betting tell to move from a $248,000 initial loss against Peat to a win of $351,000 on the week.
Perhaps the most memorable episode was a high-stakes home game featuring Peat, Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, David Williams, Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, and Victory Poker’s Andrew “good2cu” Robl. The team profited $108,000 on the week to move to $615,000 overall. Entering the final week of the show, the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast adjusted their goal down to $1 million, which would have still been quite a feat.
In the season finale, the foursome ended up $676,000 over the ten-week show. Calls and e-mails placed to G4 for comment were not returned as of press time.