Shana Hiatt is the former host of two NBC poker shows: the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Poker After Dark. Shana Hiatt first was identified with poker through her job hosting the first 3 seasons of the World Poker Tour, during the early stages of the Texas Hold'em television boom. Hiatt left the WPT presenting job to work for NBC. Starting in 2008, Shana Hiatt will no longer work for NBC Poker, due to time off for pregnancy.
Shana Hiatt - Early Life
Shana Hiatt was born in 1975 and raised mainly in New Jersey, though the family moved around due to her father's army job. After winning a pageant in Beach Haven, New Jersey, Shana went on to win Miss Hawaiian Tropic USA in 1995. This was followed by an appearance in the Playboy April 1995 issue, where she was one of the Girls of Hawaiian Tropic. Shana's beauty also graced the cover of a Playboy video that year. The video depicted the Hawaiian Tropic photo shoot and was called The Girls of Hawaiian Tropic, Naked in Paradise.
Shana Hiatt bounced around the entertainment scene for several years, including her 2002 stint as the Keystone Light girl and time as a guest host on Wild On! on the E! Network. By that time, Shana Hiatt had joined the fledgling World Poker Tour. The WPT first broadcast in late 2002, and it was an immediate success. The tour happened to come along when the popularity of the World Series of Poker was beginning to grow in television popularity. Shana Hiatt became the face of the WPT, continuing as its presenter for the entire first 3 seasons.
Shana Hiatt and The World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour featured a weekly poker tournament where the best and most famous professional poker players. Shana Hiatt would interview the players and quickly was noticed by the poker viewing public. As the WPT became a large part of the poker industry, Shana Hiatt became one of the noted poker babes in America. The World Poker Tour was an innovative broadcast, including rare access to the poker competitors. Shana Hiatt was a large part of that, because she would interview players aside from the game play, allowing the players to display their often colorful personalities to the world.
During her time with the World Poker Tour, Shana Hiatt began to play poker online. She was never a player before becoming a host, but now plays avidly on the internet. Though the WPT got Hiatt noticed, she left the show under a cloud of negativity.
Shana Hiatt was married to James Van Patten, who was the brother of Vince Van Patten (host of the World Poker Tour). The marriage ended and Shana Hiatt remarried, this time (2005) to Todd Garner, a movie producer. Hiatt left the show that year, but not before filing suit to get out of a non-compete clause. The suit charged a hostile working environment, ostensibly because of tensions surrounding a work environment with a former in-law.
Poker After Dark and Shana Hiatt
Poker After Dark was a late-night NBC poker show involving some of the big names in professional poker. NBC invites a table full of famous professional poker players to play Texas Holdem in a tournament-style setting. That is, each player starts off with the same number of chips and there are no re-buys or cash game rules. NBC likes to match up some of the personalities of the poker business. I remember one game involved Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow and Tony G.
Unlike the World Series of Poker broadcasts on ESPN, Poker After Dark does not heavily edit game play from one session to another. The broadcasters announce the game like they would at the WSOP, though the players are given more time to talk and banter at the table. There is a more casual, natural feel to the Poker After Dark broadcasts. Some viewers complain it is boring, while others feel it shows more of the personality of the players.
Shana Hiatt gets more face time than the hostess would on ESPN (that is, none at all). When a player leaves the table, she will interview them for a couple of minutes, asking more cogent questions than you would expect from a poker hottie. She will also occasionally talk to players during the match when the show is coming back from commercial break. She's leaving the show in 2008 due to pregancy. Shana Hiatt's replacement will be Marianela Pereyra.
National Heads-Up Poker Championship - Interviews by Shana Hiatt
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is a single-elimination tournament broadcast by NBC. The network invites 64 of the best poker players, though they must buy in to the event at $20,000 apiece. The tournament takes place in a bracket form similar to the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament. The players are divided into four brackets (spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds), though they randomly draw their opponents each round.
There have been four seasons of the Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC. Chris Ferguson has proven to be the most successful heads-up player in the tournament's history. He lost to Phil Hellmuth in the finals 1st season, while losing to Ted Forrest in the finals of the 2nd season. After a one-year down year (for Ferguson) where Paul Wasicka defeated Chad Brown, Jesus Ferguson returned to the finals in 2008, where he defeated Andy Bloch to finally win the tournament.
Shana Hiatt did not get as much camera time on the National Heads-Up Poker Championship as she did on the World Poker Tour or Poker After Dark. The interviews were shorter, more cursory affairs. Shana left the show for the 2008 event due to her pregnancy. Shana Hiatt was replaced by Leeann Tweeden.
Shana Hiatt - Poker Future
These days, Shana Hiatt's only connection to the poker industry is her occasional online poker game. Given that she has just come through a pregnancy, she still has time (at age 33) to return to the game which first made her famous. With the popularity of poker, it's likely other opportunities will present themselves. Any new outfit looking for name recognition in the poker industry might hire Shana Hiatt to act as their host or presenter. Those poker fans who miss Shana Hiatt can always Google her Playboy photos.
