Poker After Dark: Bracelets Week Airs September 10

New episode features elite pros who have each won at least 5 WSOP bracelets.

(PRWEB) September 7, 2007 -- NBC's Poker After Dark continues to bring viewers the very best in 6-handed action with a new episode entitled Bracelets Week, the first of three new episodes scheduled for the month of September. Only 17 players in history have won 5 or more World Series bracelets, and only 14 are still alive. This week, 6 of these poker superstars who together have won 45 bracelets battle it out for the $120,000 winner-take-all prize in a match that makes for must-see television.

And what a lineup it is! Phil Hellmuth, who won his record-breaking 11th World Series bracelet this summer, headlines a stellar group of players that includes Doyle Brunson (10), Erik Seidel (8), T.J. Cloutier (6), Chris Ferguson (5), and Layne Flack (5). These players have accumulated lifetime tournament winnings of nearly $40 million dollars!

This will be the first appearance on Poker After Dark for both Cloutier and Flack, giving viewers the opportunity to see the playing styles of some other players not seen during PAD's first season. Ferguson has a PAD title under his belt, while Hellmuth, Seidel, and Brunson will be looking for their first victory.

All eyes, however, will be on Hellmuth, who proclaims himself as the greatest no-limit player in the game today. Phil, however, has struggled on Poker After Dark, never finishing higher than 4th in 3 previous matches, so you know how much he wants to win this one. But will he experience another blow-up as he did during the opening match of PAD's first season? That match was a classic, and the rerun of the program garnered the highest ratings in Poker After Dark's history, lending credence to the huge draw that Hellmuth has become on television. As a side note, viewers will especially love the heads-up battle for the title.

Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing late night Monday at 2:05 AM, September 10, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the "Director's Cut" will air late night Saturday, September 15, at 1:00 AM, right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews.

Each of the match's six segments can also be viewed daily at www.nbcsports.com/poker and at www.pokerafterdark.com. More detailed information on the players is also available at these websites.

Doyle Brunson: (Seat 1)

• Owner of 10 WSOP bracelets, tied for 2nd with Johnny Chan, and was back-to-back World Series of Poker Champion in 1976 and 1977
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $5.15 million, and ranks 29th on the all-time money list

• Winner of five WSOP bracelets and one WPT invitational event
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $3.45 million, and ranks 50th on the all-time money list

• 1989 World Champion, and won his 11th World Series bracelet in 2007, making him the first person in history to do so
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $9.58 million, which ranks 4th on the all-time money list, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007

• World Series of Poker Champion in 2000 and owner of five WSOP bracelets
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $5.90 million, and ranks 20th on the all-time money list

• Has won eight WSOP bracelets, his latest in the prestigious 2007 $5000 no-limit 2-7 lowball event
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $7.04 million, and ranks 13th on the all-time money list

• Winner of six WSOP bracelets, and inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $8.81 million, and ranks 6th on the all-time money list

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