Yesterday's 7000th episode of The Price is Right had a lot of subtle nostalgic touches that made it a lot of fun to watch. The contestants, with the exception of Justine of course, didn't seem to fare very well, but the games themselves were very well done. I know many people were hoping for a guest appearance by one of Barker's Beauties or even the man himself, but what we ended up with was a solid nod to the past while keeping the current spirit of the game intact.

The highlight of the show in my opinion was the Showcase portion. From classic music to the presentations of the Showcases themselves, the whole segment just worked. The lowlight? Contestant Evie stopping at 30 cents in the second Showcase Showdown. Major blunder there.

We'll close out this week's hat-tip to Price with one final poll: Who's your favorite former Price is Right model? If you've got a favorite who isn't listed, please feel free to mention her in the comments.

Finally, next week Price welcomes a special guest and serves up an annual themed episode. On Tuesday, November 10th, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards makes an appearance. Then, on Wednesday, November 11th, it's the U.S. Armed Forces episode.

What did you think of the 7000th episode celebration? Were you expecting a little more, or did you enjoy the show for what it was?

Photo courtesy CBS

I have to admit, I've stayed pretty quiet on the whole High Stakes Poker kerfuffle over at GSN, mostly because I'm not a poker fan at all. I know very little about the game, don't play, and don't watch. Most of you know, however, that co-host AJ Benza was fired, and he's covered his experience extensively in his blog. There's also a good overview of what's happened over at BuzzerBlog.

Today, GSN issued a press release that confirms the latest rumors over who will be replacing Benza as co-host of High Stakes Poker, along with Gabe Kaplan. Kara Scott, a poker player herself who's also hosted the European Poker Tour, will be joining Kaplan when High Stakes Poker begins filming this month at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Season 6 of the show will begin airing on February 14th, 2010.

What might be worrisome to fans of HSP is that GSN is also boasting a "new look and feel" for the show. There are no details to describe these changes, of course, except that Kara Scott will apparently be "reporting from the High Stakes Poker suite, interviewing poker players about poker strategy, big hands and the table dynamics."

We do have a partial list of the competitors on tap to play (which is subject to change), and they are:

• Patrik Antonius
• David Benyamine
• Doyle Brunson
• Tom Dwan
• Eli Elezra
• Antonio Esfandiari
• Sammy George
• Barry Greenstein
• Phil Hellmuth
• Andreas Hoivold
• Phil Ivey
• Mike Matusow
• Allan Meltzer
• Daniel Negreanu
• Dennis Phillips
• Lex Veldhuis
• Yevgeniy Timoshenko

What do these changes mean to the end product of the show? No one knows yet, but from what I'm hearing, many fans aren't happy with the way things are rolling out with this new season.

Logo courtesy GSN

Tomorrow's The Price is Right show marks its 7000th episode, so this week we're doing some Price-based polls, just for fun.

Yesterday I asked you who your favorite announcer is, and the results so far are pretty close!

Today, we're voting for our favorite current Price is Right model. The models have always been a big part of the show, and it's always great when we get to see a little bit of their personalities in addition to their good looks and fun outfits. And don't worry classic Price fans - tomorrow we'll be asking you to pick your favorite past model.

So which of these lovely ladies is your favorite? Go ahead and submit your vote!

Here's some good news for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire fans, for a change. Regis Philbin announced this morning on Live! with Regis and Kelly that he's heading out this afternoon to begin taping a weeks' worth of shows as a guest host, filling in for Meredith Vieira while she's on vacation.

The shows won't actually air until spring 2010, but at least we know that one of the guest hosts will be worth tuning in for! Live with Regis and Kelly executive producer Michael Gelman will be the expert for the Ask the Expert lifeline that week. A video clip of Regis' announcement this morning will be posted at the Live with Regis and Kelly website later this afternoon, and Meredith Vieira will be a guest on the show this coming Monday, November 9th, to discuss the Tournament of Ten.

I'm sure you noticed that I said "one of the guest hosts" above. Apparently, according to a poster at the Golden-Road message board, the other guest host will be none other than John Henson, co-host of Wipeout!.

Photo courtesy ABC