Here’s the scoop, my friends!

Sky Studios in London is a tasty place to visit!  Not to mention, an absolutely huge spot.  Yet surprisingly enough this TV giant seems to work like a perfectly timed clock!

That’s right – when we arrived at the security gate for the Poker Million we were all processed and given our clearance badges in a matter of minutes, which enabled us all to gain entrance to the Media Monster.

Walking in to the big complex made me feel like one of the kids going into visit Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory…..Oompa-loompa dumpidee da!    Keep in mind that some of the greatest sporting moments in history have been brought to us as a result of this company.

Anyway, for those who have arrived from another planet and don’t know, Sky is one of the biggest media outlets in the world so it’s not everyday that you get to peek inside, or in our case, take part in one of its productions, so as expected we were all very excited.  And after being buzzed in and a “this way please”, off we went!

The walls are adorned with football legends such as Gary Linker and Alan Shearer; boxing giants such as Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis; snooker greats like Steve Davis and Jimmy White.  They, along with an array of other great sporting personalities’ faces, are plastered over every corridor in which we walked.

Indeed, it was quite the sight my friends!

After being led into an area referred to as “the Green Room” – we were left to mingle.  The green room is where a select group of people get to go and watch the heats as they take place, and at the same time they get to hear the commentary and see each player’s cards.  It is also where the other players go to mingle and discuss the previous heats.

As for food, well there was plenty of grub there for us.  It was service with a smile – “one lump or two Mr. O’Leary?” – “biscuits or a sandwich, Sir?”  Wow - slurp!  “I’ll try both,” says I.    Splendid altogether!  It was far from this I was raised, I can tell ya that!

I noticed too that Paddy Power Poker’s own Noel Hayes was filling his pockets with all kinds of goodies, and I thought I’d seen everything when he removed his laptop from its case only to start filling the bag with cake and smarties!  It was kinda like a squirrel gathering for the winter.  Fair play Noel! 

With the bellies full, each player was then called for make-up and what magic was done in there!    Then to top it all off, they hooked us up with these heart monitors, kinda like wearing a belt - but imagine putting the belt on against your skin and then having it up under your rib-cage.

It was c-c-cold, not to mention felt very weird.  I found it hard to breathe for about ten minutes until I got used to it.  This is one of the things they do to give the viewer at home some sort of feeling as to what the player is going through – is the player nervous? - how fast is their heart beating?  Ahhh, you gotta love it!

Anyway, after some player interviews and a few head shots for the cameras, we were brought through security to be patted down before we could get into the featured table area in order for the games to begin.

Check back tomorrow for more on filming the Poker Million!

Play well,

Ciaran

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 9:56 am and is filed under Big C. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.