If you thought that the poker craze had finally run its course, NBC would like to disagree with you. The network has announced a new late-night poker show called Poker After Dark. Beginning January 2nd, the hour long show will air Monday through Friday at 2:05AM. On Saturday there will be a one hour recap called "the director's cut."

The format sounds similar to many of the other poker shows currently on television. A group of the world's top pros, all miked of course, will compete for a $120,000 jackpot. And if you watch poker on TV, you can probably already guess the names that have been announced for the series. Those include Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harman, Gus Hansen, Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Ivey.

For the first time ever, ESPN is going to show The World Series of Poker while the event is still going on. It won't be live or even same day, but it's a big change from previous years, when they would show the event a few months after it was over. Coverage starts Tuesday night at 8.

I'm a big poker fan. Not playing it (I'd love to but don't have any friends who are into it and I don't have the balls to enter a tournament), but watching it on television. I would have thought the poker craze would have died out by now, but if anything, the TV coverage is increasing. FOX Sports even has a new show coming up where the players will be housed in some dome, with special cameras set up around the table and heart monitors hooked up to the players.