Bill Rancic Hosts “Kitchen Casino”

The Food Network's rolling the dice with a bold new competition show, and this time it could be holding a winning hand.

Bad gambling puns aside, cooking competitions are all the rage nowadays, and the Food Network's certainly taken the lead with its innovative and varied takes on the genre.

The latest addition to the lineup, "Kitchen Casino," raises the stakes. Premiering Monday, April 7, the exciting new show brings the high-energy excitement and drama of a Las Vegas casino into the kitchen, with some tasty takes on classic gambling games.

Of course, it wouldn't be an intense competition without some serious moolah on the line, and the stakes are high enough to make even a seasoned gambler blink. The "jackpot" for the winner is a sweet $30,000, but it's not only cooking skills that'll be needed to take home the dough -- Lady Luck needs to be onside, too.

Much like the Food Network's other competition shows -- "Chopped" and "Cutthroat Kitchen" immediately spring to mind -- each episode of "Kitchen Casino" will find four chefs trying to out-cook each other to take home the big prize. The first round features that most iconic of casino contraptions: the slot machine. The spin will reveal three categories that together must inspire their dishes for the first round, and with only 30 minutes on the clock, these chefs will need to be on the top of their games.

Round 2 increases the time they have to 40 minutes, but the games of chance aren't over. Now, the kitchen work stations spin like a roulette wheel, and the station a chef starts at won't necessarily be the one she finishes with -- and ends up judged on.

The final round of competition is a game of Chef Poker. Only two contestants will still be in the game at this point, and they'll have to incorporate an ingredient that's dependent on the cards that they're dealt. With the option to hold or to risk everything by taking another card, the stakes are as high as they've ever been for the chefs in this final round.

Does it all sound kind of hokey? Oh sure. But it also sounds like a lot of fun. Las Vegas is known for its food almost as much as its gambling, so combining the two feels almost natural. Tune in to the series premiere of "Kitchen Casino" on the Food Network on Monday, April 7.