"Vegas Virgins," the TV Show

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Lou Krieger:

I'm in Las Vegas working on a TV show called "Vegas Virgins," which is why I've been largely absent from RGP the past few weeks but it's been more fun than almost anything I've ever done.
Here's the show's concept in a nutshell: It's a poker-meets-reality-show in which 10 people who have never played casino poker before five from the USA and five from the UK are whisked away to Las Vegas for three weeks, put up in a first class hotel and provided with poker coaching. That's my job, and it will be on camera. A "success coach" in the person of Dr. Sally St. John, has also been provided for the players, and it's her job to work with each of them on life lessons while I concentrate on making credible poker players out of absolute newbies.
Each day there are tasks to be performed, such as eating incredibly horrid food, walking on a tightrope suspended just below the Fremont Street Experience canopy sort of like "Survivor" or "Fear Factor," and it's no surprise since the show's producers are veterans of those shows and task performance determines the number of starting chips in each night's poker game.
The winner of each evening's poker game selects one player to be tossed off the show. In alternating fashion, they toss a Brit, then an American, until just one player from each country remains. The two survivors will play and the winner receives $5,000 to play poker against a few real "pros," each of whom will be armed with fewer chips. The money discrepancy levels the playing field and give the newbie a fair shot at winning.

I'm on camera for all shows giving poker lessons to the players and doing the play-by-play commentary of each nightly tournament, which gives me some opportunity to talk up my seven books, as well as the two online sites I'm associated with: Royal Vegas Poker and the College Poker Championship.

I'm not sure about when the show will air in the USA, although it is set to air in the UK in May or June. While we were filming, folks from the Casino and Gaming TV Network were on hand, so they'll probably air the show, even though that network has yet to make its debut. Vegas Virgins will be seen in both the UK and USA through syndication, though I do not have any specific dates; what I do know is that filming began the last week in January and will run through February 15.
I realize the hard core cynics on RGP will probably trash the show as being untrue to the real nature of poker, but I've never done anything like this in my life and I'm loving every moment of it. Days are long; there are poker lessons to be given, tasks to be performed (often at different locations in and around Las Vegas we've been to the Rim of Fire, the Navy Graveyard at Nelson, NV, an Elvis Wedding Chapel, Fremont Street) and the riggings and shoots are quite time consuming. Often we begin in the morning and don't finish until midnight. I think I've played poker only four times since I've been here, although I did get a chance to have breakfast one day with Jim Brier, Barry Tanenbaum, and Dr. Al Schoonmaker.

The nightly poker tournaments have been filmed onsite at the Orleans as well as at Media Underground, a Las Vegas production facility with a controlled environment, where a set has been rigged to model a poker game in a casino.

We began filming in late January and conclude February 15. The crew is a mixture of Brits, Aussies, and Irish and a great group to work and hang out with. When they hired me for the gig, I looked at it as a one-time opportunity. But now with some light visible at the end of the tunnel, I'm hoping the show is successful and they decide to bring it, and me, back for a second season.
With John Harkness doing his thing on "Tilt," and me on "Vegas Virgins," can episodic television be the next frontier for poker players? In this altered state of poker perception and media feeding frenzy, anything can happen. Quien sabe?

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Dennis Altman:

Let me be the first one frm RGP to congratulate you on this project. Its nice to see a show that is not necessarily targeted at the mainstream poker player. As my wife is a regular junkie of Celebrity Poker, I think she will like this one a lot!!
Good luck and have a lot of fun finishing the project.

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Thermos:

[nq:1]I'm in Las Vegas working on a TV show called "Vegas Virgins," which is why I've been largely absent from ... are veterans of those shows and task performance determines the number of starting chips in each night's poker game.[/nq]
That sounds absolutely inane. You probably have a big hit on your hands.

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CincinnatiKid:

[nq:2]I'm in Las Vegas working on a TV show called ... determines the number ofstarting chips in each night's poker game.[/nq]
[nq:1]That sounds absolutely inane. You probably have a big hit on your hands.[/nq]
Not sure we'll get to see it in the USA. Sounds a little goofy..

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Keith Willoughby:

[nq:1]Each day there are tasks to be performed, such as eating incredibly horrid food, walking on a tightrope suspended just ... are veterans of those shows and task performance determines the number of starting chips in each night's poker game.[/nq]
It sounded like an interesting idea until you got to this bit. The poker stuff sounds fine.

Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith /
Oh. Dog and a beer.

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Thermos:

[nq:1]I've been almost anything in which 10 five from the class hotel and "success players, and on making food, walking sort of like producers are starting chips[/nq]
[nq:2]That sounds absolutely inane. You probably have a big hit on your hands.[/nq]
[nq:1]Not sure we'll get to see it in the USA. Sounds a little goofy..[/nq]
Goofy sells, kid! This ain't goofy, enough! Add some midgets and a flamethrower and you got somethin'!

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King of the Off Deuce:

[nq:1]Each day there are tasks to be performed, such as eating incrediblyhorrid food, walking on a tightrope suspended just below the Fremont Street Experience canopy[/nq]
Why?

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oil doe:

[nq:1]I'm in Las Vegas working on a TV show called "Vegas Virgins," which is why I've been largely absent from ... frontier for poker players? In this altered state of poker perception and media feeding frenzy, anything can happen. Quien sabe?[/nq]
Well Lou. I'm packing for Vegas as we speak. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again - although I sincerely hope that my cameo appearance on a poker reality show doesn't go down in history as the moment televised poker jumped the shark:)
Amy aka doe
RecGroups : the community-oriented newsreader : www.recgroups.com

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Paul G.:

[nq:1]With John Harkness doing his thing on "Tilt,"[/nq]
John who? Never heard of him.

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Call'em as I See'em:

[nq:1]With John Harkness doing his thing on "Tilt," and me on "Vegas Virgins," can episodic television be the next frontier for poker players? In this altered state of poker perception and media feeding frenzy, anything can happen. Quien sabe?[/nq]
I sure as hell hope this is a *** joke. If it's not, then we have an example of another goddamn poker *** trying to make his fifteen cents by getting involved in a bunch of stuipd crap.

I'm ashamed to be a poker player.

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"Vegas Virgins," the TV Show

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