Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Wagner, Schilling, Romano latest poker stars

For the fifth time, celebrities are ready to go all in for charity, as Bravo prepares to launch its fifth season of the popular "Celebrity Poker Showdown."

The new season of "CPS" will premiere Jan. 5 with a showdown featuring two "Everybody Loves Raymond" stars (Brad Garrett and Ray Romano), Catherine O'Hara, Sara Rue and World Series star Curt Schilling. No word on whether or not Schillings recently repaired ankle will have to be resutured for the night's round of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em.

After moving to Sunday in its last season, "CPS" will air on Tuesdays with its familiar format. Each of five episodes features a showdown between an eclectic group of stars, with the winner from each table moving onto a final game and the chance to donate the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool to the charity of their choice.

This season's mixture of new and veteran players features Jason Alexander, Nicolas Gonzales, Allison Janney, Chris Kattan and Mary McCormack (all in Week Two), Lacey Chabert, Bonnie Hunt, J.K. Simmons, Robert Wagner and Scott Wolf (in Week Three), Brandi Chastain, Camryn Manheim, Colin Quinn, Tom Verica and Kevin Weisman (in Week Four) and Heather Graham, Jesse Metcalfe, Andrea Parker, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Fred Willard.

Dave Foley will be back as host, joined by expert poker commentator Phil Gordon.

Previous winners have included Nicole Sullivan ("King of Queens"), Maura Tierney ("ER"), Seth Myers ("Saturday Night Live") and Mekhi Phifer ("ER").

This season's featured sponsor will be Cadillac, taking over for NetZero.

No comments: