Poker Player - Courtney Friel
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Courtney Friel has recently taken over from Shana Hiatt as the host of the World Poker Tour, and her combination of sweetness and beauty is knocking male poker fans for six the world over. The former finalist for both Miss Tennessee USA and Miss California USA is far more than a pretty face however, and career credentials that maker her new role as World Poker Tour host well deserved.
Courtney was born in Philadelphia, and from school age already had ambitions to be on television. Her early dream to be a weather girl soon changed as she became interested in reporting and producing. Her family, friends and even foes did not escape her drive either, and she is renowned for spending her youth interviewing and filming them at every opportunity. She went to college at Elon University and gained some experience in cable television, but for Courtney, there were not enough hard hitting stories, so she moved to Los Angeles, and managed to get an internship with MTV News. She then chose to complete her studies, and finally graduated from San Diego State University, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Broadcast Journalism. She was also a freelance reporter for the show "Trackers" but this was only the beginning.
After moving around, leaving family and friends behind while chasing her dream of a television anchor career, she finally came back to Los Angeles, and worked as a freelance correspondent on "America's Most Wanted", as well as reporting for "E News", and several shows on Nickolodeon including Nickolodeon's All That's 10th Anniversay Reunion Special. She also continues to hosts a video game show that is aired in EB Games stores throughout the United States and Canada.
Courtney Friel has evident talent to match her looks and is yet another perfect choice by the World Poker Tour for host. She is only 25, but is a natural in front of the camera, and crucially, is able to probe the people she is interviewing and get answers! Her experience as an investigative journalist pays off when she is interviewing, as she has a natural curiosity to know everything about the person she is speaking to, and asks questions with no shyness or fear. She is articulate and professional, with a disarming sweetness and love of what she does.
As the new host of the World Poker Tour however, Courtney has some work to do - work in fact that she is looking forward to immensely! She has very little experience of playing poker - in truth, she had never played poker before being sent to boot camp with Mike Sexton in preparation of the World Poker Tour. She managed to win her first tournament at boot camp though, and laughs "I was the only player who had never played poker before! You can burn calories stressing out about playing poker. Before the tournament we all talked, but during the tournament, everyone's poker faces were so intense, it was hilarious!I got pocket aces and my face got all red because I wasn't sure how to play them!"
Despite her inexperience however, Courtney is keen to learn as much about poker as possible, so that she knows it as well as she knows reporting. She is looking forward to interviewing the players and will no doubt win them over and tease them into giving her a few tips! It is undoubted that Courtney will be a great success as the new World Poker Tour host, and will have even greater visibility through modelling for gambling magazines and online poker rooms. Her own opinion on her future is just as optimistic - 2I am really excited to see where I am in a few months. I want to play poker, understand poker, interview players, and hopefully produce some segments. The WPT is like a family. I'm really excited to be working with such a great group of people, doing such a fun and rewarding job."
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