By BILL ORDINE The Philadelphia Inquirer

LAS VEGAS – Poker, once nearly muscled off casino floors by gimmicky table games and flashy slot machines, is hotter than ever in Las Vegas, thanks to the game’s popularity on television.
 
ISAAC BREKKEN/The Associated Press
‘Prince of Poker’ Scotty Nguyen at the World Series of Poker Now, the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino will try to build on those winnings by staging The Real Deal!, an audience-participation show, in its Venetian Showroom, starting Oct. 14.

The show will combine the elements of a game show with comedy and celebrities, all revolving around the now-familiar poker game of Texas Hold ‘Em. Since this is Las Vegas, there will be prizes, including the long-shot possibility for an audience member to win $1 million.

In The Real Deal!, the audience will watch a 90-minute poker tournament featuring some of the best-known players in the game, such as Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Daniel Negreanu. About 10 pros have been signed up.

And every audience member can play along, because each theater seat will be equipped with a wireless, handheld touch-screen device.

“People who come to Vegas want to play poker,” Mr. Negreanu says, “but obviously they can’t play in a big game with the likes of Doyle or Phil Hellmuth. But, in this show, they actually can.”

At the beginning of each show, six audience members will be chosen at random to sit at the poker table on stage with two pros. Each audience member becomes the virtual ninth player, as every person in the theater is electronically dealt a hand on the handheld device to go along with the cards dealt onstage. Big-screen monitors help everyone keep track of the action.

Each audience member will start with 100,000 points and will try to increase his or her total, with an electronic leader board keeping track.

Near the end of the show, the surviving professional player and the final amateur from the original six will be joined by the audience member who accumulated the most points in a showdown.

“But you don’t have to be a poker player to enjoy the show,” says Merv Adelson, one of the show’s creators, who once helped run Lorimar, the company that produced Dallas and other hit television shows.

Mr. Adelson explains that audience members also can add to their point stacks by making simple bets, such as the suit of the next card or whether a poker pro can correctly guess whether anyone in a certain row is from, say, Pennsylvania – all on the handheld devices.

Comedian Paul Rodriguez should produce some laughs as the show’s host, but the poker pros are expected to ante up most of the entertainment.

“You get a guy like Scotty Nguyen, and to watch him work a room is absolutely amazing,” says Mr. Negreanu, referring to the flamboyant player and five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, nicknamed the Prince of Poker.

“The professionals can joke and needle each other and be more comfortable in a way that they can’t when they’re playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Mr. Negreanu says.

Audience members will get prizes – from logo merchandise to jewelry and plasma-screen televisions – at random and for playing performance.

At the end of each show, a $1 million jackpot will be up for grabs when selected audience members are dealt a royal flush.

Starting times will be 4 p.m. six days a week (dark on Sunday) and 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Prices are expected to be $75 in the afternoon, $85 in the evening. A few VIP tickets ($125) will provide backstage access. Audience members must be at least 21.

Contact: www.therealdeallv.com.