Million Dollar Challenge (poker)
Encyclopedia
Million Dollar Challenge (also referred to as the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge and PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge) is the most watched poker show in television history. It is sponsored by PokerStars
. The show, which airs on the Fox Broadcasting Company
, debuted on October 11, 2009. The show is hosted by Chris Rose
and features Daniel Negreanu
. The first season included five episodes following the FOX network Sunday National Football League
coverage. The finale aired on December 27, 2009. The eight-episode season 2 premiered on September 19, 2010 and is scheduled to conclude on December 12.
Million Dollar Challenge is a poker game show where amateur poker players attempt to defeat celebrities, professional poker players and, eventually, Daniel Negreanu
in order to win the show's grand prize, $1 million. In the first round, the amateur (with Negreanu at their side, acting as their coach and lending advice) must defeat a celebrity such as Jayde Nicole
, Jerome Bettis
, Joanna Krupa
, John Salley
or Tito Ortiz
. If the contestant is able to defeat the celebrity the contestant wins a trip to the Bahamas and advances to the second round. In the second round, the amateur (with Negreanu now helping them from a sound proof booth, giving them advice through a listening device in the amateur's ear) must defeat a professional poker player such as Vanessa Rousso
, Barry Greenstein
, Joe Cada
or Chris Moneymaker
. If the contestant is able to defeat the professional the contestant wins $25,000 in addition to the trip to the Bahamas. At this point, the amateur has a decision to make. Keep the money and walk away $25,000 richer, or risk the money (the trip is still theirs to keep) and play Daniel Negreanu heads-up for $100,000, knowing that if they lose they walk away with nothing but the trip to the Bahamas. In the season finale, the champions from each episode compete against each other in a sit-n-go tournament, the winner of which plays Negreanu for $1 million.
coverage. In the first episode that aired on October 11, contestant Father Andrew Trapp defeated John Salley
, Rousso and Negreanu, winning $100,000 and a trip to the Bahamas in the process, all of which he promised to donate to his church in . Trapp also won the chance to play in a mini-tournament (Episode 5), the winner of which would play Negreanu for $1,000,000. On October 18, after contestant Tracy Nguyen defeated Bettis and won a trip to the Bahamas, but lost to Barry Greenstein, the next contestant Sergeant Denny Luna defeated Nicole, Moneymaker to win $25,000 and a trip to the Bahamas. Luna then chose to walk away (and not risk the $25,000 he had already won) rather than face Negreanu in the $100,000 match. On the November 22 episode after contestant Oluwasegun Odumuyiwa lost to Bettis, Brian Barboza defeated Nicole, Rousso and Negreanu, winning $100,000 and a trip to the Bahamas. Barboza also won the chance to play in a mini-tournament, the winner of which would play Negreanu for $1,000,000. In December Joanna Krupa
and Joe Cada
were announced as newly-added as celebrity and professional opponents. Ortiz and Krupa appeared on the fourth episode, which aired on December 13. Cada appeared, but he did not play a hand. Dwayne Buth, playing on behalf of the Cal State Fullerton wrestling team, lost to Ortiz. Mike Kosowski, a first responder during the September 11 attacks lost to Krupa. The final airing of the competition among the previous winners was expected on December 27. However, when the contestants on the fourth episode all lost, a single table tournament was held to determine the fourth contestant. Kozowski won and then bested Luna, Barboza and Trapp, in that order, in the Challenge of Champions for a $100,000 prize and a chance to play Negreanu for $1million. In three hands of heads up play, he bested Negreanu.
. The program will continue to air on the FOX network as a companion to the NFL programming on the seven weekends that FOX does not have doubleheaders (September 19th and 26th, October 10th and 24th, November 7th and 21st and December 12th). The show will air before or after the football game depending upon the region of the country.
has been critical of both Million Dollar Challenge and its contemporary rival Face the Ace
as terrible shows unlikely to draw viewers. Negreanu responded, via blog, to this type of criticism that the show is not intended for the serious poker player, but rather is aimed at more casual audience. There was some controversy about a poker playing priest on national television that sparked theological debate.
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
. The show, which airs on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, debuted on October 11, 2009. The show is hosted by Chris Rose
Chris Rose
Christopher Rose is an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Rose attended University School in Hunting Valley during high school. Rose attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and graduated in 1993...
and features Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
. The first season included five episodes following the FOX network Sunday National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
coverage. The finale aired on December 27, 2009. The eight-episode season 2 premiered on September 19, 2010 and is scheduled to conclude on December 12.
Show description
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
in order to win the show's grand prize, $1 million. In the first round, the amateur (with Negreanu at their side, acting as their coach and lending advice) must defeat a celebrity such as Jayde Nicole
Jayde Nicole
Jayde Nicole is a Canadian model. She was Playboy′s Playmate of the Month for January 2007 and was named the 2008 Playmate of the Year in the June issue of the men's magazine...
, Jerome Bettis
Jerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
, Joanna Krupa
Joanna Krupa
Joanna Krupa is a Polish-American model and actress. Krupa was born in Warsaw, Poland. She has a younger sister, Marta Krupa, also a model. Joanna Krupa moved to India, Delhi, Illinois, with her family at the age of five...
, John Salley
John Salley
John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....
or Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
. If the contestant is able to defeat the celebrity the contestant wins a trip to the Bahamas and advances to the second round. In the second round, the amateur (with Negreanu now helping them from a sound proof booth, giving them advice through a listening device in the amateur's ear) must defeat a professional poker player such as Vanessa Rousso
Vanessa Rousso
Vanessa Ashley Rousso is a French American law student at the University of Miami and a professional poker player. She is also known by her Pokerstars online screen name Lady Maverick. Born in , Rousso has dual citizenships with the United States and France. Rousso is a member of Team PokerStars,...
, Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
, Joe Cada
Joe Cada
Joseph "Joe" Cada is an American professional poker player from Shelby Charter Township, Michigan, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker ....
or Chris Moneymaker
Chris Moneymaker
Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker . His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site...
. If the contestant is able to defeat the professional the contestant wins $25,000 in addition to the trip to the Bahamas. At this point, the amateur has a decision to make. Keep the money and walk away $25,000 richer, or risk the money (the trip is still theirs to keep) and play Daniel Negreanu heads-up for $100,000, knowing that if they lose they walk away with nothing but the trip to the Bahamas. In the season finale, the champions from each episode compete against each other in a sit-n-go tournament, the winner of which plays Negreanu for $1 million.
Season 1
The first three episodes of the season were the three most-watched Poker television shows in U.S. history. The show aired on Sundays after the FOX National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
coverage. In the first episode that aired on October 11, contestant Father Andrew Trapp defeated John Salley
John Salley
John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....
, Rousso and Negreanu, winning $100,000 and a trip to the Bahamas in the process, all of which he promised to donate to his church in . Trapp also won the chance to play in a mini-tournament (Episode 5), the winner of which would play Negreanu for $1,000,000. On October 18, after contestant Tracy Nguyen defeated Bettis and won a trip to the Bahamas, but lost to Barry Greenstein, the next contestant Sergeant Denny Luna defeated Nicole, Moneymaker to win $25,000 and a trip to the Bahamas. Luna then chose to walk away (and not risk the $25,000 he had already won) rather than face Negreanu in the $100,000 match. On the November 22 episode after contestant Oluwasegun Odumuyiwa lost to Bettis, Brian Barboza defeated Nicole, Rousso and Negreanu, winning $100,000 and a trip to the Bahamas. Barboza also won the chance to play in a mini-tournament, the winner of which would play Negreanu for $1,000,000. In December Joanna Krupa
Joanna Krupa
Joanna Krupa is a Polish-American model and actress. Krupa was born in Warsaw, Poland. She has a younger sister, Marta Krupa, also a model. Joanna Krupa moved to India, Delhi, Illinois, with her family at the age of five...
and Joe Cada
Joe Cada
Joseph "Joe" Cada is an American professional poker player from Shelby Charter Township, Michigan, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker ....
were announced as newly-added as celebrity and professional opponents. Ortiz and Krupa appeared on the fourth episode, which aired on December 13. Cada appeared, but he did not play a hand. Dwayne Buth, playing on behalf of the Cal State Fullerton wrestling team, lost to Ortiz. Mike Kosowski, a first responder during the September 11 attacks lost to Krupa. The final airing of the competition among the previous winners was expected on December 27. However, when the contestants on the fourth episode all lost, a single table tournament was held to determine the fourth contestant. Kozowski won and then bested Luna, Barboza and Trapp, in that order, in the Challenge of Champions for a $100,000 prize and a chance to play Negreanu for $1million. In three hands of heads up play, he bested Negreanu.
Season 2
Season two premiered on September 19 during the second weekend of the 2010 NFL season2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
. The program will continue to air on the FOX network as a companion to the NFL programming on the seven weekends that FOX does not have doubleheaders (September 19th and 26th, October 10th and 24th, November 7th and 21st and December 12th). The show will air before or after the football game depending upon the region of the country.
Critical review
Professional poker player Doyle BrunsonDoyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
has been critical of both Million Dollar Challenge and its contemporary rival Face the Ace
Face the Ace
Face the Ace is a poker-themed game show on the NBC television network first airing August 1, 2009. The show is hosted by Steve Schirripa and features the commentary of Ali Nejad, who also commentates for NBC’s Poker After Dark...
as terrible shows unlikely to draw viewers. Negreanu responded, via blog, to this type of criticism that the show is not intended for the serious poker player, but rather is aimed at more casual audience. There was some controversy about a poker playing priest on national television that sparked theological debate.
External links
- Official page at PokerStarsPokerStarsPokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...