King of Vegas was a one of a kind tournament which has a rather interesting format. This Vegas tournament of kings had first aired on Spike TV in January 2006 and had immediately made waves among the gambling enthusiasts. The format of the tournament was quite unique since the players had to compete in not just blackjack, but in a variety of different gambling games in order to win the grand prize of million dollars.
The tournament had been hosted by Max Kellerman and Wayne Allen Root. Max Kellerman is former ESPN boxing man while Wayne is a very well respected handicapper. The tournament had been directed by Matt Savage who is known throughout the gambling community for his association with World Series of Poker.
The players
The show had featured a total of twelve contestants. Each of these players had been very carefully selected by the producers of the show. Six of these had been professional gamblers while the others had been amateurs who had never professionally competed before the show. Every week, one contestant had been eliminated according to the rules and regulations of the tournament.
The players who appeared in the tournament had been Katie Porrello who was a professional card dealer, Brandon Newsome also known as Big Boy who was a college graduate, Todd Haushalter who was a casino administrator, Steve Dempsey who was a plumber and also known as the Chainsaw, Jerry Goldberg had been a retiree, Alan Borman had been radio and TV commercials producer, David Williams had been a poker player, Hollywood Dave Stan who needs no introduction, Mike Matusow who is again a very well known poker player and Ken Einiger who is a very respected professional blackjack player.
Each of these players had their own strengths and weaknesses which made the show quite interesting. They all used their own strategies and they all had their own strong points.
The games
King of Vegas is known to be one of the most interesting tournaments of all times since it included competition in eight gambling games. Every week four games had been played. Every week the games started and ended with No Limit Texas Hold’Em.
The games which were included in King of Vegas had been Caribbean stud poker, Mini Baccarat, Pai Gow poker, Horse racing, craps, blackjack, red dog and roulette.
During the tournament, Joanna Wlodawer was the first one to be eliminated followed by Todd Haushalter, Ken Einiger, Mike Matusow, Brandon Newsome, Steve Dempsey, Evelyn Ng and Katie Porrello.
This left four players towards the end of the show which included Jerry Goldberg, Alan Borman, David Williams and Hollywood Dave Stan. In the 2006 King of Vegas tournament, Alan Borman had been the last man standing. The win had been true Vegas style as he had been handed over a transparent briefcase containing one million dollars along with a new cane. The final episode had been quite exhilarating and interesting as the winner of the tournament was quite unexpectedly decided.
Towards the end it showed that it is not really necessary to be a professional gambler in order to take the prize home.
