World Poker Tour -- The Beginning of a
Phenomenon
By Tom Howze
World Poker Tour high stakes poker tournaments started a revolution
in the way the game is viewed, enjoyed, followed and played. Even
though the World Series of Poker had been televised for years before
the World Poker Tour (WPT), the game of poker was elevated when
"WPT cams" were placed around the table so that the world could
experience seeing what hand the players were playing and become
emotionally involved in the decisions that were being made. When
you add the fact that hundreds of thousands of dollars are laid out on
the table with watching a few "instant millionaires" being made at
these events, the world was hooked. But when word got out that
anyone could challenge the planet's top poker player for six to
seven-figure piles of money, individuals from all over came out to take
up the challenge.
The WPT is made up of a number of high stakes poker tournaments
held in different locations all over the globe. They are open to anyone
willing to pay the entry fee, sometimes as high as $25,000 per seat. A
person who wishes to enter any of these events can simply contact the
casino hosting the event to do so. WPT CEO Steven Lipscomb started
the idea of televised poker events with the WPT cams on cable back
in February 2002. The breakaway success of this idea spawned many
similar ideas and has inspired numerous land based casinos that had
closed their poker rooms after dismissing poker as financially not
worth the effort, to reopen them. Today, on top of seeing the best of the
best in poker you can see millionaires, CEO's, rocket scientists,
software kings, mathematicians, women and actors at the tables
shoulder to shoulder competing to see who is the best. And on
occasion, you can see an amateur beating a seasoned professional
which sends out a resounding message that anyone can win.
Having been rewarded for staying a step ahead of the pack by
reaching for new levels in the arena of poker, in September 2004 the
WPT announced the tournament schedules for seasons 4, 5 and 6
that covers up until 2008 to a waiting public. (Those schedules are
subject to change as more and more casinos and online poker rooms
vie to host WPT events.) Beginning in 2004 the WPT has also
announced the creation of a special poker tour for professionals only
called the Professional Poker Tour. The difference is that the criteria
for entry will be based on success in previous tournament play verses
the WPT where anyone willing to pay the fee can enter regardless of
past performance or skill level.
Another innovation is that WPT has partnered with land based and
online poker rooms to establish satellite tournaments that can allow a
player to win a seat to a WPT event without having to pay the pricey
seat fees. These satellite tournaments often have entrance prices of
under $200.00, which makes it more affordable for those seeking to
play in a WPT event.
The WPT has grown to where it has made an offering of common
stock under the NASDAQ symbol WPTE (World Poker Tour
Enterprises). And agreements have been completed to have the show
presented in Australia, Sweden, South Korea and the Philippines.
They have also partnered with WagerWorks to build an online site that
will allow real money wagering for poker players, so look for it in the
future. (At the time of this writing, U.S. wagers will not be accepted on
this new site). Being the version of a reality television series, you can
expect new innovations to keep the World Poker Tour on top of the
game of poker.
Tom Howze is a webmaster for 7 sites that relate to online gambling,
World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events and updates. For
more information, please visit 2005 World Series of Poker . He can be
reached at webmaster@justgambleforfree.com for questions.
