Poker, Pain, And Pool?
By Darren Heitner | Tuesday, Aug 19th, 2008 | | Vote for this at Yardbarker, BallHype,Categories: Entertainment, MMA, Other Categories
The twenty-first century has seen the proliferation of two new forms of sport in mixed martial arts (MMA) and poker, which some consider to be more of a recreational activity than a sport. ESPN has profited tremendously from its coverage of the World Series of Poker while many other cable networks have mimicked ESPN’s business plan and televised lower level poker events. Even the Travel Channel found a way to get involved in the “sport” that had taken the world by storm. While poker has lost a little bit of its sexiness over the past couple of years, it still has a huge following, especially among the young male demographic.
The young male demographic is also entranced by a new breed of fighting. Boxing is becoming a dead sport while MMA has become the topic of conversation for many. Names like Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar are mentioned quite often in conversations between teenagers, twenty-somethings, and many older and younger populations. CBS has had success in its coverage of Elite XC and UFC is doing just fine as a competitor.
The market for poker reality shows is probably over saturated. MMA reality television also has more than enough competition. But what about a combination of the two in one reality show? And what if that show was also comprised of men who were some of the best billiard players in the United States? Blair Thein wants to make such a reality show the next big thing to catch the country’s attention by creating the first true pool reality show that will tap into the lifestyle of real pool hustling.
Blair contacted me a couple of weeks ago to introduce me to his idea: Pool Poker & Pain (new interactive website under construction). Contestants will battle each other at the pool table, the poker table, and in Mixed Martial Arts combat in the Circle of Truth. I get pitches about certain products, television ideas, etc. all the time, but I happened to take particular interest to Blair’s project. He has been developing the idea for the show over the past four years, has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the development of its platform, and is now recruiting athletes who can excel in pool, poker, and fighting to participate in the show’s first year of footage. Additionally, Blair is looking for some additional funding to help get his idea into the final stages of production. He is interested in obtaining an investor who is interested in the product and will take a nice return on investment. If interested, email me about the opportunity.
Blair’s most recent sponsor is Simonis, one of the billiard industry’s oldest companies and makers of pool and billiards cloth. Simonis is over three-hundred years old and still kicking it in the billiards industry. In a press release hosted by InsidePool Magazine, the President of Simonis, Ivan Lee, had this to say about Pool Poker & Pain,
I decided to sponsor [Blair Thein's] event to push the boundaries of pool as a universal game of nerves and skill and to see how it fares as one of the three disciplines combined to provide a new kind of entertainment and interest in our sport.
Best of all, once Blair’s idea gets the right investor and his show progresses, Dynasty has a few clients that will be involved in its first season.
Blair’s project. He has been developing the idea for the show over the past four years, has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the development of its platform, and is now recruiting athletes who can excel in pool, poker, and fighting to participate in the show’s first year of footage
Is this a joke??? 4 years to develop a reality show? It took less time to make Titantic…
Poker had its success in 2005 & 2006 and its popularity peaked about 2 years ago.
At this point, there are not enought quality MMA fighters to go around the the existing leagues.
Pool….. need I say more…
One more thing - wouldn’t common sense tell you to have the people that actually do all 3 of these things ready to go before you even wasted one penny….
TBG
What do you get when you conbine the sports of pool poker,extreme,fightingin one package ?You get a reality show that can only be conveived by the mastermind “Blair Thein”
SORRY to disappoint you its not a joke ITS REALITY .This concept has had heart and soul put into it.POOL,POKER,AND PAIN has come so far and is so close to being one of the worlds biggest excitement in 3 combined sports.This has taking passion and determantion to get where its headed.Darren heitner has decited to put his time into making my father one step closer.My father going to be a mogel not only in the billards,MMA,and poker industry but also in reality Tv.Soon you wil not be able to turn your head without seeing someone wearing his clothing-line “Pool Poker And Pain”.The world is about to witness a new breed of athlete.My father IS THE TOUGHEST PLAYER!
Think your up for the challange?
One more thing-dreams are great but sometimes it takes money to make it a reality.