Another Black Friday Casualty as NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Cancelled

Written by :

Ace King

Published on :

13 October, 2011

NBC has confirmed to WickedChopsPoker.com that it has cancelled the popular National Heads-Up Poker Championship for 2012. The show’s two primary sponsors, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, were forced out of the US market after executives for the two companies were charged with bank fraud and money laundering. Full Tilt Poker has since shut down completely.

The show averaged a respectable 1.5 rating on average over its seven-year run and was considered the game’s most popular television show.

NBC Sports Senior Director of Commuications Adam Freifeld told WCP the door has not completely shut on National Heads-Up Poker Championship beyond 2012 and that the network will “continue to evaluate our poker programming” moving forward.

Many believe that online poker in the United States could be legalized within the next 12 months either on a federal level or as part of a state-by-state referendum.

- Ace King, Gambling911.com