There have been a lot of great rivalries in the world. For example, there was that great hostility between the Hatfields and the McCoys. These families, who called the hills of the American south home, began shooting at each other in 1878 and finally resolved the whole thing on an episode of “Family Feud”. This was a war that involved property deputes, pig ownership, bloodshed, and enough sex between the warring clans to suggest that crabs was being used as a biological weapon. With over a century of animosity, perhaps the silliest part of the whole thing was letting Richard Dawson settle the issue on national television. Full Tilt and PokerStars have had the makings of a classic rivalry for quite some time, but the fact that they have drawn the show Poker After Dark into the conflict has just escalated the animosity between the two online poker giants.
PokerStars has banned any of their team members from participating in episodes of Poker After Dark. This means that WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer will not appearing on the show and neither will Daniel Negreanu, Jason Alexander, Joe Hacham, or a lot of other high profile personalities in the sport. The reason for this ban is that PokerStars feels that Poker After Dark markets its European version with too much of a Full Tilt “spin” to it. In short, they do not believe they are equally represented, so they are taking their ball and going home.
Poker After Dark is really missing an opportunity here. They could easily even out the “spin”, and then hype the controversy. At that point they could arrange a episode that includes almost only Full Tilt and PokerStars players. As a surprise they could have a ”wild card” player who is part of neither organization. Seeing as Clonie Gowen is currently suing Full Tilt, it would be interesting if she was involved. The whole thing would look like a mix between the WSOP and Jerry Springer. In other words, it would be great television.
