Hustler Casino Live's third iteration of Super High Stakes Week kicked off on Monday with a bang. The action-packed games, all at the $200/$400 stake level, have yet to disappoint and there's no reason to suspect that they will.
The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday shows offered no shortage of action and massive pots flew back and forth across the table each night. The star of the show, however, has yet to come. Friday's game, the 24-hour stream, closes out the festivities as the week's crown jewel.
PokerOrg spoke to Hustler Casino Live head honcho Ryan Feldman to discuss the logistics of Super High Stakes Week and the challenges he and his team will face over the course of the 24-hour stream.
What are the biggest logistical issues around running a 24-hour stream?
Ryan Feldman:The biggest logistical issue will be coordinating players to fill seats throughout the show to replace players who leave. There will be a few players on standby in the middle of the night and we have to try to get them here at the right time so that we can keep enough players in the game at all times.
Who from the starting line-up do you think will make it to the end?
RF: I think Alan Keating is the only player from the starting lineup who might make it the full 24 hours. I hope more players do, but it seems unlikely.
What are you hoping to see?
RF: I'm hoping to see some wild action and huge pots, and I'm hoping many players play for very long hours.
How do you work on the reserve list? That’s going to be a pretty juicy game to get into at twenty hours deep.
RF: It's going to be interesting logistically. I'm going to figure it out as we go along. It's tough to plan perfectly without know what's going to happen with players going and coming.
Can you tell us any of the other players who are on the reserve list?
RF: The starting lineup will be some combination of Alan Keating, Mo, Lawrence, Jibrael, JBoogs, DJ, Hanks and Santhosh. The players who will play later will include Nik Airball, Charles, Pepe and Professor.
How did Martin Kabrhel come about and is he going to return to the stream regularly?
RF: Martin Kabrhel knows Santhosh well. I think they played together in Europe. Santhosh put Martin in touch with me and he asked if he could play because he was coming to LA anyway.
Looking back on 2023 what’s been the standout moment for HCL?
RF: The Million Dollar Game was definitely the standout moment for us in 2023. The $3.1 million pot was especially surreal to have happened on our show.
What are your plans to top that in 2024? What's next for HCL?
RF: We have some big things planned for 2024, both business-wise and in terms of shows. There's one idea we have for something that we think would be the biggest event in poker history, but we're not sure yet if we'll be able to pull it off. However, we can't say yet what that idea is.
Super High Stakes Week 3 continues tonight with cards in the air at 5pm PT. You can watch all the action on the Hustler Casino Live YouTube channel. The 24-hour stream starts on Friday at 1pm PT.
