High Stakes Poker Cast Includes Phil Ivey And Tom Dwan

The much-anticipated lineup for the new series of High Stakes Poker was released today in advance of next week's filming. Players confirmed to appear are Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Tom Dwan, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Sammy George, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Andreas Hoivold, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Allan Meltzer, Daniel Negreanu, Dennis Phillips, and Lex Veldhuis.

This year's season will be sponsored by PokerStars.com and there were initial fears that many leading pros from rival sites such as Full Tilt wouldn't be appearing. It's safe to say that this lineup has quashed those rumours and sent the forums around the world buzzing with anticipation.

This will be only the second time that Phil Ivey has appeared on the show after a brief stint on an early season. Of course, he could well be the reigning world champion by the time the show goes to air in February 2010.

Sammy 'Any Two' George will be making his debut on the show and will be the first British player to ever appear. Another potentially exciting story is the return of Tom Dwan, who electrified the show last season with his play and participation in a number of huge pots with Barry Greenstein. And, finally, Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow are back to entertain us all with their squabbling rivalry.

Gabe Kaplan and new co-host Kara Scott will be in charge of the rowdy bunch and you can catch all the action in February when the show will be screened.