One way to improve Face the Ace, the NBC prime time poker show that bombed in the ratings with its premier this past Saturday, is to add a pretty face...Say, more Megan Abrigo.  She's the hostess of the show but we probably didn't get enough of her.  More Megan Abrigo and less Steve Schirripa, that's the consent of some after only one week of this dud airing. 

There is room for improvement...lots of improvement. 

The folks from WickedChopsPoker.com offered nine steps for improving the show, which is apparently backed by Full Tilt Poker.

1. Get rid of Steve Schirripa. Get rid of him now.

2. Add more Ali Nejad or define his role. Or better yet, make him the main host of Face the Ace. And give him a high energy pro who can keep the conversation moving and has some opinions (Gavin Smith seems like a good fit).

3. Do more ESPN-like backstory features on the contestants. It would've been nice to have actually seen contestant Don Topel's living situation, or had him separately in a room talking about it with some pictures of it at least. Way better than Schirripa's awkward comments and questioning.

4. Let the public know who the four pros are behind the doors. Build some suspense. Or show the pros backstage. Something.

5. More suspense in general. Some background music or Peter Bretter tones would work well on crucial decisions.

6. Add more Deal or No Deal elements. Like bring some family in friends in the audience that help contestants make the money decisions. Again, build some freaking suspense.

7. More Megan Abrigo (above). Come on. Get on that. That's an easy one. Complete and total no-brainer.

8. Also, when the contestant is making the money decision (with family and friends there to help build more suspense), let him/her actually see the money. Let the viewing public see the money (or at least bricks that look like it could be the money). Make it more tangible.

9. And finally, screen the damn contestants. No wonder half of the viewing public turned off their TV's after the first 30 minutes (more on this below), the first guy was an absolute and total dud. Someone on 2+2 referred to him as a "freaking mope." Referencing Deal or No Deal again, that program is the most simplistic game show ever created, but they pick great contestants who you can't take your eyes off of even if you want to.

Gambling911.com Staff