Last week, the sixth cycle of the GSN franchise “High Stakes Poker” was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. On hand were a bevy of poker superstars piecing together what will likely be a lively series when it airs beginning on February 14th, 2010 on GSN. Among those who turned out were Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry barryg1 Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Andreas Hoivold, Phil Ivey, Phil Laak, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, and Lex Veldhuis.

Last season featured the arrival of Dwan, who took the “High Stakes Poker” felts by storm after scooping a $919,000 pot at the expense of Greenstein (pictured at left). The Team PokerStars Pro member told PocketFives.com what his strategy was during the GSN series’ last cycle against Dwan and the rest of the cast: “You start with $200,000. I wanted to get ahead, so I started firing and trying to build it into a big win. If I had won the last big pot I played, I would have been up $1.2 million. If you get ahead, it takes the pressure off. I try to get ahead and run over people who are afraid of getting run over.” Greenstein has appeared on every season of “High Stakes Poker.”
Meanwhile, fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Negreanu (pictured at right), who played on the first of three days of “High Stakes Poker” filming, noted, “I was unlucky in the sense that I sat to Durrrr’s right. Since he’s an active player, being on his left makes a significant difference. I was on his right on Day 1 and it was a tough table. There was some crazy action. Durrrr is so active and fearless that he forces you to hit hands. If you hit hands, though, you’ll get paid.” Negreanu has been famous for running into quads several times on “High Stakes Poker,” but has still participated in each of its six seasons.

Among those making their first appearance on “High Stakes Poker” during the show’s latest edition is Veldhuis (pictured at left), who final tabled the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) this year for $278,000. Veldhuis told PocketFives.com, “I heard about the opportunity to compete a couple of weeks ago and was shell shocked. Negreanu put in a good word for me. He watched WSOP footage and then asked me to be on the show. The first time I watched ‘High Stakes Poker,’ I was playing $0.01/$0.02 online. It’s my favorite show now and it was my favorite show then.”

Famous for his prop bets on “High Stakes Poker” is Laak, who told PocketFives.com that, despite a crackdown on the one-off bets this season, he’s still looking forward to watching the festivities air on GSN in February: “This is the greatest honor. People ask me what would I prefer, winning a bracelet or getting to play the next season of ‘High Stakes Poker.’ It would be close. Playing ‘High Stakes Poker’ is as much of a rush as you can have.” Laak added that the sixth season featured a considerable amount of turnover in comparison to years past, ensuring high-octane action. He was an alternate on the show.

Finally, roving the halls of the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas was Phillips, who will be making his “High Stakes Poker” debut during Season 6. Phillips finished third in the 2008 WSOP Main Event behind Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov. On facing off in the world of cash games, which is where he got his start in poker, Phillips told PocketFives.com, “I’m just going to play my game. They know me and I know them, so it’ll be fun. We’ll see who is going to play to the cameras.”

“High Stakes Poker” will air on Sunday night beginning on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, at 8:00pm ET.