The Venetian Pulls Plug On The Real Deal

It's officially curtains for The Real Deal. After an eight-week run, the folks at The Venetian have finally pulled the plug on its poker-themed stage show which starred big name pros such as Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, Gavin Smith and Antonio Esfandiari.

We could tell you that the piss poor economy, launching the show three years after the height of the poker boom and people's overall lack of interest in poker-themed stage shows were to blame but that would be glossing over the real reason why it bombed: not having co-host Lacey Jones appear in nothing but body paint nightly. That would have been a hit. Huge hit. Todd Brunson plump-ily sitting at a poker table, not so much.