One of poker’s greatest shows is getting a new host.
High Stakes Poker said goodbye last week to longtime commentator Gabe Kaplan, who announced his retirement after nine seasons on the program.
PokerGO, the streaming service that revived the program in 2020, has announced that fan-favorite high roller announcer Nick Schulman will be taking his place, joining A.J. Benza in the broadcast booth to call the action.
The 38-year-old Schulman has been a fixture of the poker world since he won the WPT World Poker Finals at age 21 for more than $2.1 million. In the years since, he’s added three World Series of Poker bracelets and racked up more than $15.3 million in tournament earnings while remaining a feared competitor in some of the biggest cash games around.
As it turns out, Schulman is also quite skilled on camera and has been one of PokerGO’s most-featured commentators on numerous broadcasts since 2015.
“Nick represents the modern era of poker as one of the most knowledgeable, dignified minds in the game, and we are thrilled to welcome him to High Stakes Poker,” said Mori Eskandani, President of PokerGO. “When Nick first started working with PokerGO, it quickly became apparent that he had a bright future on this side of the felt. Nick’s fresh, insightful perspective has added immense value to PokerGO over the years, and we believe he is the perfect fit to carry on the legacy of poker’s most iconic cash-game show.”
Schulman, who has appeared on the show before as a player, revealed that Kaplan himself had approved him as a successor.
“To join the show that started it all and replace the best to ever do it is a tremendous honor,” said Schulman.
For me it isn’t High Stakes Poker without Gabe, but I’d like you guys to know I received his blessing. The Don himself. It will never be as good as Gabe and AJ, Farha, and young Daniel dressed like he runs a strip club in Romania. pic.twitter.com/C6bAf7jrQb
— Nick Schulman (@NickSchulman) February 1, 2023
The 77-year-old Kaplan has been playing poker for the better part of five decades and first attended the WSOP back in 1978. The Welcome Back Kotter star won the Superbowl of Poker in 1980 and made several major final tables, but is best known in the poker world for commentating on events such as National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the Intercontinental Poker Championship, and of course, the cash game series High Stakes Poker.
Kaplan was with the show during its start on the Game Show Network during seasons 1-6. He was temporarily replaced by the late Norm Macdonald, but came back for seasons 8 and 9 when the show was rebooted on PokerGO. Season 10 premiered on Jan. 24 and was Kaplan’s last show.
Schulman’s first episode aired on Jan. 31, which you can watch exclusively on PokerGO. You can watch the entirety of Kaplan’s last episode below.
