A.J. Benza spreekt over High Stakes Poker.

High Stakes Poker seizoen 6 wordt op dit moment uitgezonden en voor het eerst is A.J. Benza er niet bij. Zender GSN heeft gekozen om A.J. te vervangen door Kara Scott die vanuit de pokerpit korte interviews met de spelers houdt.  Op dit nieuws werd in eerste instantie al teleurgesteld gereageerd door de talloze fans van deze pokershow. Na de eerste twee afleveringen kwamen er zelfs "Bring A.J. Benza back" acties.

De actie kan je hier lezen en kijk hier voor aflevering één, twee en drie van High Stakes Poker.

Voor Poker News Daily gaf hij een interview over zijn ontslag bij High Stakes Poker en hoe hij nu naar de serie kijkt.

A.J. Benza op de vraag wat zijn gedachten waren toen hij 14 februari naar de show keek:

I saw the premiere. When Gabe Kaplan was speaking, I was sitting on my couch and making the same comments I would have if we were taping it. I called Gabe and said it was different. He's one of the best commentators of our time and I'm lucky to have been with him for five seasons. I missed that most of all - we had a lot of chemistry from being from the same neighborhood in Brooklyn.

I wish I could speak to GSN about why they did what they did. When I got the call that they were going another direction, I was more than mildly upset, not to mention financially upset. I knew it wasn't a money thing and you can't help but take it to heart. I said the show wouldn't be the same. Nothing against Kara Scott, but you fall into the mold of the other shows.

I know that the ratings [for "High Stakes Poker" Season 6] aren't what they were. It doesn't mean that I'm the best guy to have in your poker studio, but it means that Gabe and I had a chemistry that worked. The only problem with having a floor reporter is that it's like having a sideline reporter in a football game. It's hard to stick a microphone in someone's face and ask them how they feel after they've gotten felted or lost $200,000. GSN knew they were doing something controversial, but I don't think they understood how controversial it was until the show aired.

Op de vraag wat hem het meeste is bijgebleven van de eerste vijf seizoenen:

I've gambled all my life on football and go to Las Vegas a lot. I never saw men and women that could be down a few hundred thousand dollars without any perspiration at all. I have a huge amount of respect for them. They're all immensely talented. There is so much to learn about poker. It's brutal, it's messy, it's very mathematical, and it's a nasty game, but you have to be a gentleman about it.

En afsluitend op de vraag wat hij van de steun uit de pokercommunity vindt:

It's beyond words. I didn't know anything about high-stakes poker when I started. From reading TwoPlusTwo and other forums, poker players hated me. Gabe was off and running and I didn't know much more than flop, turn, and river. Once I knew the game to an extent, I wanted to stay true to the guy at home who doesn't know everything about poker. I wanted to be the armchair quarterback who asked the questions and let Gabe take it from there.