Actor Steve Schirripa, famous for his role as Bobby Baccalieri on the HBO TV series, “The Sopranos”, has been elected to host NBC’s new poker show "Face the Ace” which is expected to make its debut on August 1^st, 2009. The show is exclusively produced by Poker Prods., which also produces Poker After Dark for NBC and will feature online qualifiers competing against pro poker players for cash prizes of up to $1 million. Besides Schirripa, Full Tilt Poker Pros Phil Ivey, Eric Seidel, Phil Gordon, Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Erick Lindgren, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Allen Cunningham and Gus Hansen are also stated to take part in the show.

"'Face the Ace' will feature four smoked-glass doors -- behind each is a legendary professional poker player. In each episode, one or more lucky contestants get to pick an 'Ace' and their opponent will emerge from behind one of the doors. They will play heads-up no limit Hold’em, an exciting game that requires confidence, aggression and bluffing. The contestant will play up to three different Aces in a series of heads-up matches. If the contestant wins his first match, he can opt to take the winnings and go home or risk those winnings and play against another pro for a bigger pot. If he wins again, he can go home or play against a third pro for a chance at $1 million. But if they lose, the contestant walks away with nothing." said NBC in a news release distributed yesterday.

Anyone can become a Face The Ace contestant simply by playing the no-limit Hold'em Freeroll tournaments running on FullTiltPoker.net and giving away packs for a semifinal round held in Las Vegas. Top finishers in these tournaments will win a special pack that included airfare for two, hotel accommodations at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, $500 spending money and the chance to appear on NBC's Face The Ace and play for the $1,000,000 Grand Prize. For more information on the qualifying freerolls, please visit FullTiltPoker.net.