GGPoker’s revolutionary Game of Gold show has been a huge success, so it is no surprise that other operators are looking to explore the idea of combining poker and reality TV. One of these operators is Winamax, a French-regulated poker site with a big European player base.
In a recent Twitter post, Winamax revealed the arrival of Poker Society, a reality poker show that will see ten players compete for a grand prize of €100,000. The show will premiere on the operator’s YouTube channel on January 31, but very few additional details have been revealed.
The show represents a collaboration between Winamax and Dreamspark, a Paris-based company that utilizes the power of AI and the latest technologies to produce unique and unscripted content.
Poker Society — What Is It All About?
What we can say with certainty is that Poker Society will feature ten players competing for a grand prize of €100,000 through a series of poker-related challenges. The scene for the show is set in an old, abandoned hangar, adding a layer of mystery and excitement.
Unlike GGPoker’s GoG, Poker Society will not feature professional players. Instead, it will gather ten well-known persons from other walks of life, including streamers, musicians, and artists. So, instead of pitching the best poker players against one another, the show sets to discover a hidden talent among those who have none or very little poker experience.
From what’s been shown in the trailer, it seems that Poker Society will pull all the stops in terms of audio-visual experience, which is in line with the type of work done by Dreamspark, the operator’s production partner for this project.
The show will certainly entail poker, but what the format will be and what other challenges the players will face remains to be seen. While Poker Society comes on the heels of Game of Gold, it is likely the show was already in production when GoG was announced, as the first glimpses suggest this wasn’t something done in a few weeks.
Poker Society Participants — Searching for a Hidden Talent
Winamax’s Poker Society introduces an interesting idea of a poker competition featuring people with limited game experience. While some of those on the list may enjoy poker in their spare time, none of them are professional players, which gives the show a whole new dimension.
This show isn’t necessarily about testing poker skills, but more about who will be the best and quickest to adjust to the new and highly competitive environment, and that environment happens to be the game of poker.
The participants have started hyping up the show on their social media accounts, inviting their followers to tune in for the journey. The ten people who will compete on Poker Society are:
- ARELIANN, eSports Streamer
- HYCONIQ, Hip Hop YouTuber
- LYEGAIA, Multigaming Streamer
- KALASH CRIMINEL, Artist
- KLAIM, tactical shooting YouTuber
- TRISTAN, extreme challenges YouTuber
- KELLY CRUZ, Digital Creator
- ZOULOUX, Multigaming Streamer
- NICOCAPONE, Comedian & Digital Creator
- SKYYART, Strategy Games Streamer
While not poker players, all participants have big followings on their digital platforms, and the fact their interests are in completely unrelated (or marginally related) areas makes the whole concept that much more attractive.
It seems that the idea is to get a non-poker audience to tune in for a poker show to watch their heroes battling it out on the green felt, which could go a long way in popularizing the game. Unlike the Game of Gold, which was aimed primarily at poker fans, Poker Society breaks that boundary to try and produce a show with a much wider appeal.
How well this will work in practice is anyone’s guess, but those following the participants seem to be quite hyped up about the idea, which means many of them will likely tune in at least for the first episode on January 31.
From there on, a lot will depend on the production quality and the show’s ability to keep the attention of people who’ll likely be more interested in drama and excitement than the tactical side of the game.
