Poker Night Presents: King of the Hill! Headed To Rivers Schenectady Next Week
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Rising YouTube poker content star and online poker legend Doug Polk will take on 1989 World Champion and 14-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth in the first of two heads-up matches. The second will see online nosebleed stakes hero Dan “Jungleman” Cates up against 2010 WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kassela.
Heads-up winner-take-all format
Each player will put up $50,000 of their own money to enter the event. The winner-take-all format will see the victor in each of the first two matches take each other on the next day. Plus, a $200,000 first-place prize and King of the Hill bragging rights will hang in the balance.
The two-day event will run August 22nd and 23rd. A live stream on a half-hour delay with live card graphics will cover the action on the Poker Night in America Twitch channel. The live stream will begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time Aug. 22. The live stream of the final will begin at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Aug. 23.
Plus, Poker Night in America will be filming all the action for an upcoming national broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Additionally, Poker Night in America will be running an invite-only 7-handed cash game August 24th and 25th. The cash game will also be featured on the Poker Night in America Twitch channel. The cash game stream starts at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on both days.
The promise of increased entertainment value
The heads-up King of the Hill structure appears to mirror the format of the much-hyped Poker Night in America Grudge Match between Cate Hall and Mike Dentale held this past March. However, Poker Night in America fixer Matt Glantz has gone on the record stating sunglasses, headphones and phones will be outlawed from the set. Plus, he says the players are being encouraged to engage with one another as much as possible.
In addition, some of poker’s most over-the-top personalities have been brought in to ensure an entertaining live stream and broadcast. Hellmuth’s blow ups are the stuff of legend in poker. In fact, they have made him one of the most popular TV players going on 20 years.
Polk has emerged as one of the most entertaining and engaging young professionals in the game. His YouTube videos regularly see six-figure view numbers. Plus, Cates is quickly becoming as famous for multi-million-dollar swings as his short temper. Unlike most, he seems to play just as well angry. Plus, those who have caught his TV tirades will attest to their entertainment value.
At first glance, Kassela may seem like a misfit here. However, the venerable old 49-year-old rounder is as confident and talkative as they come. In fact, he just won his third WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas, Nevada this summer.
With these personalities and their top-notch skill levels in the mix, it’s impossible to predict who will win King of the Hill. However, it will almost assuredly be an entertaining broadcast from start to finish.
Poker Night at Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady
Plus, it should be a great promotional vehicle for one of New York state’s newest casinos.
Host venue Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady became the third of four new commercial casino properties in the State of New York when it opened its doors on February 8, 2017.
The New Tioga Downs Casino in Nichols, NY was the first to open up in December 2016. The del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, NY was next, opening its doors on February 1, 2017. Resorts World Catskills plans to open in Monticello, NY in the Catskill Mountains in the Spring of 2018.
Built at Mohawk Harbor on the former American Locomotive Company site in Schenectady, New York, The $330 million Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady includes more than 50,000 square feet of gaming space with almost 1,200 slot machines and more than 65 table games. The live Poker Room on site also opened in February 2017 with 15 tables.
Rush Street Gaming
The casino is owned and operated by Rush Street Gaming, which also owns Rivers branded casino properties in Des Plaines, IL, and Pittsburgh, PA, as well as the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, PA.
Rush Street’s Rush Street Productions are also producers of Poker Night in America.
Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady dove in the Upstate New York live tournament scene head first just a few months after opening, hosting the inaugural Capital Region Classic event in May. The $260 buy-in tournament smashed its $100,000 guarantee, drawing 1,095 entries and creating a $272,655 prize pool.