The World Poker Tour (WPT) is a series of poker tournaments featuring most of the world's professional players. It was started by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who now serves as CEO of WPT Enterprises (WPTE), the firm that controls the World Poker Tour. Logo for World Poker Tour, taken from [1], using under fairuse. ... A poker tournament is a tournament at which the winners are decided by playing poker, usually a particular style of poker. ... Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the job of having the ultimate executive responsibility or authority within an organization or corporation. ...

The tour had its debut season in the latter part of 2002 and early part of 2003, climaxing with the WPT Championship in April 2003 at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first season aired on the Travel Channel on American cable television in the spring of 2003. The show made its network debut on February 1, 2004 on NBC with a special "Battle Of Champions" tournament, which aired against CBS coverage of the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game show. Bellagio is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. It is owned by MGM Mirage. ... For other uses around the city, see Las Vegas metropolitan area and Las Vegas Strip. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Travel Channel is a cable television network that features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NBC (an abbreviation for National Broadcasting Company, its former corporate name) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... CBS is derived from an abbreviation of Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of a company Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired in 1995. ... Date February 1, 2004 Stadium Reliant Stadium City Houston, Texas MVP Tom Brady, Quarterback Favorite Patriots by 7 National anthem Beyoncé Coin toss Earl Campbell, Ollie Matson, Don Maynard, Y.A. Tittle, Mike Singletary, Gene Upshaw Referee Ed Hochuli Halftime show Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Outkast, P. Diddy, Kid Rock...

The World Poker Tour is a collection of Texas hold 'em poker tournaments held internationally, but mainly in the United States. The television show has led to a boom in the table game across American homes, in local casino poker rooms and online. The key sponsors of the tour are casinos and online poker sites. The show, which is syndicated internationally, is co-hosted by World Series of Poker winner Mike Sexton, and actor Vince Van Patten. Shana Hiatt served as the show host and sideline reporter in its first three seasons. Courtney Friel took over the host role for the fourth season, and Sabina Gadecki for the fifth. Texas hold em Texas hold em (also holdem, holdem) is the most popular of the community card poker games. ... A poker tournament is a tournament at which the winners are decided by playing poker, usually a particular style of poker. ... Mike Sexton (born September 22, 1947) is an American professional poker player and commentator. ... Vincent Vince Van Patten (b. ... Shana Hiatt Shana Hiatt (born 1975) is a model who has appeared in several magazines and posed for Playboy. ... Courtney Friel (born April 22, 1980) is a television presenter best known for hosting the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. ... Sabina Gadecki is an actress/model and television hostess for the 5th season of the World Poker Tour with Vince Van Patten and Mike Sexton, which airs on the Travel Channel network. ...

The show's hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten give the impression that all of their commentary is recorded live as the tournament happens, and they have occasionally interacted with the players during the game. However, their comments about hole cards are recorded after the tournament takes place because state gaming regulations prohibit them from observing a live feed of the "hole card cameras". Consequently, the broadcast audio is a mix of the live recording, and commentary recorded in post-production.

The drawing power of the WPT and most other poker tournaments is that anyone who can pay the "buy-in" (an amount ranging from $2,500 to $25,000) or win a "satellite" tournament is able to compete against the top professional players, such as Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, or the top 2004 tournament money and multi-WPT tournament winner, Daniel Negreanu. Phillip J. Hellmuth, Jr. ... Doyle Texas Dolly Brunson (born August 10, 1933 in Longview, Texas) is an American poker player who has played professionally for over 40 years. ... Daniel Kid Poker Negreanu (born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional poker player. ...

Fans of the show find it interesting because of technical innovations such as the ability to see the players' hole cards through a small camera in front of them on the poker table (an innovation first seen on the UK program Late Night Poker). With the success of the show, special programs, such as the "Hollywood Home Game" (featuring celebrities playing for charity) and "Ladies Night" (featuring six top women players) were developed. A game of Texas holdem, the most popular form of poker, in progress. ... Late Night Poker is a British television show in which Poker players, mostly professionals or strong amateurs, compete in a short series of No-Limit Texas hold em tournament games for a prize of approximately £50,000. ...

In 2004, the World Poker Tour created a Walk of Fame, inducting poker legends Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen as well as actor James Garner. The World Poker Tour Walk of Fame is designed to honor those poker players who have played the game well at the highest levels as well as those who have promoted the spread of it through film, television, and literature. ... Gus The Great Dane Hansen (born Gustav Hansen on February 13, 1974 outside Copenhagen, Denmark) is a professional poker player who lives in Monaco. ... 1976 TV Guide cover, of The Rockford Files, featuring Noah Beery, Jr. ...

Now in its fourth season of broadcast, it still remains among the highest rated television programs on cable. It airs Wednesdays on the Travel Channel. The first three seasons of WPT are also available on NTSC DVD. (The second season DVD set features audio commentary by several of the players. The third season is only available in a "Best Of" format, featuring just half of the episodes.) The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... DVD (commonly Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

A series of spin-off tournaments, titled the Professional Poker Tour, began filming in 2004. Broadcast of the series was delayed, in part because of a dispute with the Travel Channel over rights. In the fall of 2005, WPTE announced that "a cable channel" (believed to be ESPN) had withdrawn from bidding for the PPT series, and that WPTE was negotiating with the Travel Channel to air the series. On January 30, 2006, WPTE and the Travel Channel announced that they had dismissed all open lawsuits. The series began regular broadcast July 5, 2006. The Professional Poker Tour (PPT) is a series of televised poker tournaments, spinning off from the World Poker Tour (WPT) television series. ... ESPN (an acronym for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Sherman Act lawsuit

On July 19, 2006, seven poker professionals sued WPTE, alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the California Cartwright Act, and intentional interference with contract (Complaint^[1] and Response^[2]). The professionals (Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Joe Hachem, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer) allege that WPTE's standard release forms, required for participation in WPTE events, are anti-competitive and designed to interfere with their contractual obligations to other companies. The anti-competition claim is based on the fact that WPTE's contracts with the casinos that host its tournaments bar those casinos (and other casinos owned by the same parent companies) from hosting non-WPTE poker events. The claim of interference with contract is based on the releases' claim to perpetual rights to the players' likenesses for any use WPTE wishes. The players claim that this would put them in violation of other contracts (such as Ferguson's Activision Games contract or several players' contracts with online poker sites).^[3] July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The Sherman Antitrust Act, formally known as the Act of July 2, 1890, ch. ... Chris Jesus Ferguson (born April 11, 1963, in Los Angeles, CA) is a professional poker player. ... Andy Bloch is a poker player who started playing seriously in 1992, entering some small $35 weekly tournaments once a month. ... Annie Duke (born September 13, 1965) is a professional poker player and author. ... Joseph (Joe) Hachem (pronounced Ha-shem) (Arabic: جوزف هاشم) (born 3 November 1966 in Lebanon) is a Lebanese-Australian poker player. ... For the mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, see Phil Gordon (politician) Phil Tiltboy Gordon (born July 6, 1970) is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... Howard The Professor Lederer (born in Concord, New Hampshire), is a professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke. ... Gregory (Greg) P. Fossilman Raymer (born 1964 in Minot, North Dakota) is a professional poker player. ...

Player of the Year

Points are awarded for all Open events as follows:

• Winner: 1000 points
• Runner-up: 700 points
• 3rd place: 600 points
• 4th place: 500 points
• 5th place: 400 points
• 6th place: 300 points
• 7th place (TV bubble): 200 points

This award is given out to one player per season. The winners so far are:

• Season 1: Howard Lederer/Gus Hansen
• Season 2: Erick Lindgren
• Season 3: Daniel Negreanu
• Season 4: Gavin Smith

Howard The Professor Lederer (born in Concord, New Hampshire), is a professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke. ... Gus The Great Dane Hansen (born Gustav Hansen on February 13, 1974 outside Copenhagen, Denmark) is a professional poker player who lives in Monaco. ... Erick E-Dog Lindgren (born August 11, 1976 in Burney, California) is an American professional poker player. ... Daniel Kid Poker Negreanu (born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional poker player. ... Gavin Smith (born 4 September 1968 in Guelph, Ontario) is a Canadian professional poker player. ...

Tournament Results

• World Poker Tour season 1 results (2002–2003)
• World Poker Tour season 2 results (2003–2004)
• World Poker Tour season 3 results (2004–2005)
• World Poker Tour season 4 results (2005–2006)
• World Poker Tour season 5 results (2006–2007) (contains spoilers)

Below are the results of season 1 of the World Poker Tour television series. ... Below are the results of season 2 of the World Poker Tour television series. ... Below are the results of season 3 of the World Poker Tour television series. ... Spoiler warning: Note that only events played to date are displayed. ... Spoiler warning: Note that only events played to date are displayed. ...

Deal

A fictional WPT championship is the setting for the upcoming feature film Deal. Sexton, Van Patten and Friel are slated to play themselves and a number of other poker professionals and poker-playing celebrities are reportedly in the cast. The WPT set was shipped to New Orleans for filming following the season 4 championship. Deal is a 2006 drama film starring Burt Reynolds and Bret Harrison. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ...

Trivia

4 WSOP champions and 19 WSOP bracelet winners have won World Poker Tour titles. They include Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortenson, Scotty Nguyen, Joseph Hachem, Howard Lederer, Paul Darden, Dave Ulliott, Layne Flack, Mel Judah, Hoyt Corkins, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, David Sklansky, Scott Fischman, John Gale, Michael Gracz, Freddy Deeb, and John Hennigan. Doyle Texas Dolly Brunson (born August 10, 1933 in Longview, Texas) is an American poker player who has played professionally for over 40 years. ... Juan Carlos The Matador Mortensen (born April 13, 1972 in Ambato, Ecuador) is a professional poker player. ... Thuan (Scotty) The Train Nguyen is a Vietnamese American professional poker player. ... Paul The Truth Darden Jr. ... Dave Devilfish Ulliott (born January 4, 1954 in Hull, England) is a professional poker player. ... Layne Back to Back Flack (born 1969 in Rapid City, South Dakota) is an American professional poker player, residing in Montana and Nevada. ... Professional Australian poker player, also known as The Silver Fox, with several noticable finished in the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour. ... Cowboy Hoyt Corkins (born Glenwood, Alabama) is an American professional poker player, known for his softly-spoken voice and his aggressive style. ... Antonio Esfandiari in the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational event Antonio The Magician Esfandiari (born Amir Esfandiari, December 8, 1978 in Tehran, Iran) is a professional poker player. ... Barry Greenstein (born December 30, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is a professional poker player. ... Daniel Kid Poker Negreanu (born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional poker player. ... David Sklansky at the 1979 World Series of Poker David Sklansky (born in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a professional poker player and author. ... Fischman in the World Poker Tour Young Guns of Poker invitational Scott Fischman (born 1981 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania) is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... For the English poker player of the same name, please see John Gale. ... Maciek (Michael or Mike) Gracz (pronounced Grahtz) (born October 23, 1980 in Warsaw) is a Polish professional poker player, based in Raleigh, North Carolina. ... Kassem Freddy Deeb (born November 27, 1946? in Beirut, Lebanon) is an American professional poker player who emigrated at the age of 19. ... John Randall Hennigan [1] (born October 3, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Johnny Nitro. ...

See also

• Record-Breaking World Poker Tour First Prizes

Below are the World Poker Tour events that have broken the record for the first prize. ...

Notes

1. ^ Text of Antitrust Suit, PDF file
2. ^ Text of WPTE's Response, PDF File
3. ^ Las Vegas Sun: Seven poker players sue WPT over use of likeness, name

External links

• Official site
• WPT Online
• World Poker Tour event reports