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 At the recent filming of the final table of the Mirage Poker Showdown, World
Poker Tour fans got a surprise: Courtney Friel’s one-year reign as Hostess of
the popular Travel Channel series was over. Sabina Gadecki has taken over the
role for the upcoming television season. Friel replaced long-time hostess
Shana Hiatt.
Sabina is a 22-year-old student in International Business and Communications
at Fordham University in New York. She previously studied theatre at Holyoke
College.
WPT producers asked her to interview for the position based on a head shot.
She did a demo tape that was supposedly quite off-the-wall. She did hilarious
impersonations of Shana Hiatt and Courtney Friel, followed by some joking with
friends. Her friends and agent decided that the WPT would either love it or
hate it, with no middle ground. Apparently, producers loved it, because she
got the job, beginning a whirlwind of activity for her.
World Poker Tour CEO Steve Lipscomb cited her natural star qualities as the
reason for her selection.
 Gadecki
grew up in Massachusetts, as part of a self-described “large, loud Polish
family.” She participated in beauty contests, winning Miss Western
Massachusetts and Miss Polonia titles. She has performed print advertising
modeling, television commercials, and even auditioned for the film “Mean
Girls,” but was rejected because the casting director called her look “too
innocent.” We don’t find that terribly difficult to believe.
She was on vacation when she got the news of the job offer. Her vacation was
cut short and rerouted to Los Angeles, home of the WPT. She missed (and
re-scheduled) final exams at Fordham, and missed important classes at her
acting studio. To top it all off, she received a summons to serve jury duty.
Her crazy schedule worked out for the best, by all indications. Players at the
Mirage reported that her interactions with co-hosts Vince Van Patten and Mike
Sexton were easy and pleasant, and player interviews after each of the final
six were eliminated were excellent, despite several delays due to camera
problems and putting the new set into use.
She performed her money delivery to the heads-up players, and then interviewed
some more to complete her first Tour event wonderfully.
Look for Sabina on Season Five episodes of the World Poker Tour on the Travel
Channel. The first broadcast of Season Five is due August 26. Interested young
men must be advised, though, she reports having a steady boyfriend.
Photos from sabinagadecki.org,
her official site.
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