Blackjack Tour Says Game Show Network Is Stacking the Deck

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Gamblers know that marked cards, false shuffles or cards counting will get you thrown out of most any Las Vegas casino.


Century City-based Ultimate Blackjack Tour LLC is dragging one of its rivals, whom it accuses of the patent equivalent of bottom dealing, into Los Angeles Superior Court.


The firm filed suit last week against GSN, formerly known as the Game Show Network, for allegedly heisting its “elimination blackjack” format. The essence of the fast-paced UBT format, which is ideally suited for the small screen, involves quick elimination rounds and secret bets. The “Ultimate Blackjack Tour” will debut on CBS next month and the UBT has registered its format the United States Patent and Trademark Office.


The suit requests damages in excess of a million dollars, but even more than money, UBT wants the GSN show yanked from the air until it returns to the original, non-elimination format it formerly featured.


UBT founders contend that they presented their ideas to GSN during two meetings in 2005 on a confidential basis, and offered to deal the network in on a blackjack show. The complaint alleges that although GSN declined the opportunity to work with the new tour, the network took some of UBT’s ideas and incorporated them into its existing show the “World Series of Blackjack,” which airs on Mondays and is in its third season. GSN officials declined comment on the suit.



Walking the Runway Line


The President of the Writers Guild of America, West and 10 former presidents took to the streets last week, joining 12 writers who walked off the job in a bid to gain a union contract on the reality show “America’s Next Top Model.”


The 3-year-old UPN hit represents a valuable reality franchise for the nascent CW network, which was formed out of the merger of UPN and the WB Network. The new network plans to anchor its launch with a two-hour premiere of “America’s Next Top Model” on Sept. 20.


The staff writers of the show, which is hosted and exec produced by supermodel Tyra Banks, want recognition of the WGA contract that covers health care, pension benefits, fair pay minimums, writing credits and residuals.


“Top Model” producer Ken Mok issued a statement late last month saying he told the staff workers and the guild that the unionization process should be handled through the National Labor Relations Board. The guild countered that the stance was a stalling tactic.


Patric M. Verrone, the current WGA West president was joined on the line by John Furia, Jr., Christopher Knopf, Daniel Petrie, Jr., Frank Pierson, Brad Radnitz, Del Reisman, David Rintels, Victoria Riskin, Mel Shavelson and John Wells.


Organizing campaigns by reality TV writers and editors has become a sticky subject in Hollywood, with some producers and some guild members questioning whether reality writers should be entitled to the contracts of traditional TV writers.”



IFTA Stays the Course


The leadership of the Independent Film and Television Alliance has received a vote of confidence.


The independent TV and film industry trade group voted to keep its executives in place for another three years, extending the contracts of President and Chief Executive Jean M. Prewitt and Executive Vice President Jonathan Wolf.


Based at the Alliance’s Los Angeles headquarters, Prewitt and Wolf direct all association activities and manage a permanent staff of 28 employees.



ReelzChannel Producer


Los Angeles-based ReelzChannel, which will move into its home at L.A. Center Studios later this month, has named Bob Reichblum to be executive producer of “Dailies,” the channel’s signature news program. The cable and satellite network about movies will debut on Sept. 27.


Reichblum is a former executive producer of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and served as vice president of prime time and weekend programming at CNBC.



Anne Riley-Katz can be reached at

[email protected]

or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225.

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