Stories, High Stakes Poker & Future Of Poker With Mori Eskandani

Sometimes it’s not the best players who have the best stories in the poker world, but rather those behind the scenes who commit their lives to bringing all the action to us - and this has never been more true than with Mori Eskandani, the legendary producer of some epic poker shows who appeared this week on Chicago Joey Ingram’s podcast.

Although no mean player himself, with over $½ million in tournament cashes stretching back three full decades and more, Mori is the man behind shows such as High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark, World Series of Poker, Super High Roller Bowl and many more.

The timing of his appearance on the most popular poker interview podcast on the internet is naturally not random, with the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl due to start, with the world’s best players and richest amateurs ponying up $300K per head to compete for the $6million first prize, won last year by Germany’s Rainer Kempe.

And mixed in among the many stories he shared with Ingram was the news that HSP might soon be making a comeback to our screens – but more on that later.

First up, if you’ve been in the business for 30+ years, as well as facing the biggest players on the planet in cash games, you’re going to know more about the intimate inner workings of the poker world than most, so could our man Joey pry some nuggets from Mori?

It’s the people who sweat the games that Mori looks to for inspiration: what do they want to see, what keeps them fixed in their seats while a game is being broadcast? Mori recalls a moment with the most famous ‘sweater’ of all, Bill Gates, sitting behind him from “midnight until 6am” during a 150/300 game at the Mirage, the richest man on the planet “fascinated by how the game kept changing!”

Billionaire Bill sweating

If you can name-drop Bill Gates on your rail in the first 3 minutes, then what can you fill the next hour and a half or more with!? Well, with Chicago Joey in the interviewer seat being a huge fan of the many shows Mori has been responsible for, it’s not difficult.

For a guy who is definitely in the senior category among players, Mori is a lively character and shows surprising knowledge of a host of things, including e-sports, reeling off Hearthstone and many other games which he admits to not totally understanding, but he certainly impresses Joey.

Favourite HSP Moment

With so many memorable players and hands to choose from, the day that Freddie Deeb was jokingly accused of ‘going south’ is Mori’s first choice, Deeb’s patience tested to the limit as you can see from the clip below.

Mori also recounts the casino mogul Bob Stupak’s repeated attempts to get on the show with the promise of bringing $1million in cash with him, Mori finally calling Stupak’s bluff by offering him a spot. 

Stupak’s ‘$1million’

When the big day came and Mori saw Stupak come in carrying racks of black chips, he thought “That can’t be a $million...” and then, technical problems popped up! Mori’s internet cuts out just at the interesting part

“This is what Joey’s nightmares are made of!” says Ingram, desperate to hear the end of the tale. You can skip to the 57 minute mark yourself for the denouement, I’m not going to spoil it here.

Aces vs Kings!

Mori’s all-time favorite hand from the show was one which millions will remember, a classic battle between Sammy Farha’s aces and Jamie Gold’s kings on the very first hand of the episode – one of the most amusing hands ever seen on TV, and you can thank Mori for it ever happening.

“It was amazing how that whole thing played out…it was so funny and so interesting,” he tells Ingram and you can see it for yourself below – classic High Stakes Poker.

Dwan’s $1million lucky dumpster

This was a new one to me, and it’s obvious Eskandani could go on forever with such snippets of the biggest players in poker – but hearing about Tom Dwan leaving his entire winnings in a public back alley has to be among the scariest incidents to ever happen to a player!

Gabe Kaplan, Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius and a veritable who’s who of the poker world have passed through Mori’s hands, and the interview brings them all to life while filling in details of how the whole thing is put together and plays out. From a viewer’s perspective you might never know these things if it weren’t for podcasts like this.

Danny Robinson? Nope, me neither, but Mori’s reminisces of one of his favorite friends and players in the old 7-card stud games at Caesars Palace is worth the entry fee alone - which is very cheap, because Joey’s podcasts are free.

The Return of the game of kings?

Mori, in not so many words, teases Joey - and the rest of us – with an ‘all you can eat buffet of cash games – coming soon to our screens, and the names being bandied about are among this biggest of the modern game, with Mori also hoping some of the old school regulars will take their seats once again.

I can’t do the podcast justice here in words, as it’s one of the most interesting I’ve tuned into from Ingram – often the better part of 2 hours is hard work to sit all the way through especially when Joey refuses to ask the tough questions guests often deserve or the public demand.

But with Mori – technical internet problems aside – the chat runs and the stories flow perfectly, so do yourself a favor and give it a view, you won’t be disappointed.