Celebrity Poker Showdown

Bravo is going all in for a second run of Celebrity Poker Showdown, adding an hour to each episode, introducing a new host (the recently unemployed Dave Foley replaces the newly unemployed Kevin Pollack), and even extending Vegas’ open bar to us folks at home (we can dream, can’t we?). But without interesting games between experienced hustlers, we feel the same after Poker as we do after every trip to Vegas: bitter and still broke. Sitting down at the table with celebrities ranging from Dave Navarro-Electra to Jeff Gordon-DuPont, it quickly becomes apparent that these people don’t understand the nuances of cards and are there more to schmooze than to win. The stakes are so low nobody loses until well past halfway through each episode, and friendly games trudge on without anybody exhibiting the slightest bit of poker acumen. By the time a celebrity finally did work up the nerve to go for broke, our interest had already crapped out.