High Stakes Poker

ABOUT THE SHOW

High Stakes Poker is the premier cash game in the history of television. The world's top amateur poker and professional poker players risk hundreds of thousands of their money this season.

HOST



Norm Macdonald is a passionate poker player who has competed in The World Series of Poker and in celebrity poker tournaments, playing for charity on behalf of Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camp for children with cancer. Macdonald boasts a long career in comedy—and a serious reputation as a poker player. Born in Quebec, Canada, Macdonald began his career in stand-up comedy before landing writing jobs on “The Dennis Miller Show” and “Roseanne.”

Attracting the attention of “Saturday Night Live” creator-producer Lorne Michaels, Macdonald joined the SNL cast in 1993, and shot to fame as the anchor of the fake-news segment, Weekend Update. His other television series include “Norm” and “A Minute with Stan Hooper,” and he has appeared in feature films with Chevy Chase (“Dirty Work”), Dave Chappelle (“Screwed”) and his good friend Adam Sandler (“Grown Ups”).

CO-HOST



The co-host of HIGH STAKES POKER and a self-described "massive poker geek," Kara Scott is one of the top female poker players in the world and a well-known TV personality and journalist. Scott served as the television host for the European Poker Tour in 2007 and 2008 (handling her 2007 duties with aplomb while dressed in a bunny suit, the result of losing a prop bet to Chris Tessaro, host of The Hardcore Poker Radio Show). Along with Nick Wealthall, whom she credits with teaching her how to play poker, Scott hosts the UK podcast "On the Rail" on the UK's leading poker entertainment website (http://www.ontherail.co.uk/), which launched in March 2009.

Born in northern Alberta, Canada, Scott moved to the United Kingdom in 1999, and has been working in UK media since 2002. She has hosted "High Stakes Backgammon," the fist televised backgammon series shown in Canada and the UK; the award-winning "Poker Night Live," the UKís first live Internet poker show; and Sky Poker on Sky Television, a dedicated poker channel launched in 2007.

As a player, Scott boasts lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $557,000. She was the only woman to cash in both the 2008 and 2009 World Series of Poker Main Events, finishing 104th in 2008 and 238th in 2009, and only the second woman in history to cash in back-to-back years. She finished second in the 2009 Irish Open in Dublin, good for $413,000. Scott has written columns for and has been the subject of many articles in the poker media, appearing in such publications as Poker Pro magazine, Card Player magazine, and UK Poker News.

While living in Canada, Scott trained in Muay Thai, a form of martial arts, which helped her land the job of sports presenter and associate producer for an English martial arts show entitled "Now is the Time: Night of Combat." Scott was also one of the stars and the line producer of a martial arts film called "Sucker Punch," starring Danny Don-Jules.