A.J. Benza to be replaced on High Stakes Poker
Published on 13 Oct 09 11:18 by
In his latest blog posting, "the kid" reveals that he will not be returning as a co-host of HSP Season 6 as GSN has decided to introduce a female presenter to go alongside Gabe Kaplan.
When High Stakes Poker returns for its sixth season, the familiar face of A.J. Benza (pictured right) will no longer be seen alongside co-host Gabe Kaplan. In his latest blog posting, Benza has revealed that GSN has decided to disband the well known duo in favour of a female presenter to go with Kaplan.
Benza was initially cast as a co-host for the show as the producers felt that the introduction of a poker outsider will provide more balance to the show. Despite being criticized for his early performance on the show, long time viewers of HSP have all grown fond of the pairing.
Break up of a successful partnership
HSP has had five straight seasons as the top rated show on GSN and the Kaplan and Benza partnership has definitely been a major factor in making it as popular as it is. There was very little reason to change what was obviously a working formula, and as Benza put it himself, "if you got the best pizza in town for 5 seasons, why try and add licorice to it?".In a bid to save his job, Benza even offered to take a pay cut but the network had already made its final decision on the change. "I hope the repartee between she and Gabe works likes ours did," wrote Benza. "If she stinks.....I might be back for HSP 7."
This latest announcement comes as a surprise to many of the show's loyal viewers and there is even talk of setting up a petition to bring "the kid" back to the show. The name of Benza's female replacement has yet to be officially announced by GSN.
