Well, looks like the folks over at WPT saw the success of Celebrity Poker and started their own version called Hollywood Homegame. Despite Evelyn Ng, the most attractive lady in poker, acting as a quasi-dealer, the Hollywood Homegame left a lot to be desired. The disappointing part was that it had potential. I think a lot of it has to do with the play of the game being slowed down by the players dealing their own hands (uh, I burn one, right?) and that Sexton and Van Patten couldn’t seem to adjust to doing play by play for amatuer poker. Of course, it could also have something to do with the fact that Daniel Baldwin looked and acted like a coked out junkie.
The WPT website says that this was the third of four special episodes so I’m assuming I missed the first two as I don’t remember Hollywood Homegames I and II. If the WPT folks want to keep viewers for this one they’re going to have to find a way to liven it up. I can’t remember if they had a live audience but I don’t think they did which could be a big reason why the room seems so dead. On Celebrity Poker the celebs play to the crowd a bit so there’s some energy in the room. Hey, if I want to watch a bunch of people play poker poorly then I can always replay my own hands in PokerTracker.