About the WPT

The World Poker Tour was organized to convert a popular recreational game into a legitimate televised sport. The official World Poker Tour mission statement is to establish poker as a significant televised main stream sport by broadcasting top poker tournaments around the world under the premier brand of The World Poker Tour. The World Poker Tour plans to establish a unique look and feel, designed to make poker even more exciting than it already is. One of the special features of The World Poker Tour broadcasts is showing the down cards of the players with the help of mini cameras installed at the table. The World Poker Tour is also designed as a poker education program. Situations and decisions of the players will commented and explained by the conductor.

The First Season

It consisted of 13 episodes filmed at 13 poker events at different locations around the world, culminating with the grand finale that was held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. 12 winners of previous rounds and anyone else, who wanted to and agreed to pay 25,000 dollars buy-in, participated in the final event. Before the show was even released, TV channels already fought for rights to the World Series of Poker.

The People Behind the WPT

• Steve Lipscomb:
  The creator and the manager of the World Poker Tour, Steve Lipscomb graduated with honors from Dartmouth College and was a Greenberg Scholar in the University of Chicago. Today, he is a famous TV producer and award winning film producer and director, well familiar with the game of poker. His portfolio includes reportages from the World Series of Poker, the Tournament of Champions and the Party Poker Million.
• Lyle Berman:
  The sponsor of the World Poker Tour is Lyle Berman, the owner of Lake Gambling Inc. Berman is a passionate poker player. He was an inductee into the 2002 Poker Hall of Fame. His business achievements are not less significant. He has a fame of extremely successful casino operator with an extraordinary vision for potential business development.

Conclusion:

At the World Poker Tour there are no losers. Everyone in the industry benefited from the event, as poker became a main stream sports and entertainment. The popularity and acceptance of the game has risen and as a result of this more capital is involved in the industry.