World Poker Tour(R) Launches Its First Official Ladies Poker League & Tour--WPT Ladies(TM)
WPTL Season I Tour Kicks Off January 20 at Borgata
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--With the dramatic rise of women playing tournament poker, World
Poker Tour(R) (WPT) has expanded its female-focused tour offering with
the launch of an official WPT ladies league and No Limit Texas Hold
'Em tournament circuit--WPT Ladies(TM) (WPTL). With buy-ins ranging
from $300 - $1,500, the tournament circuit provides multiple
opportunities for amateur, semi-pro, and professional female players
to test their skills in a tournament environment at prestigious gaming
destinations without having to pay a costly five-figure buy-in. Ladies
also will have the chance at each stop to win a WPT title and a seat
in the WPT Ladies' Championship.
"Women are a rising force in poker," said Robyn Moder, executive
vice president of WPT Studios. "By bringing a WPT ladies league and
tour stops to top gaming destinations across the US, we hope to
support and perpetuate the evolution of the sport and recognition of
the women who play."
Season I of the WPTL tour kicks off January 20 at the Borgata
Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ, and will feature additional
tournaments at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.,
Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, and Bay 101 in San Jose, Calif. The
tour will conclude with a $1,500 Championship tournament at Bellagio
in Las Vegas, who also will host a player party in conjunction with
the event. The WPTL Championship final table will be filmed on the WPT
set for television broadcast on WPT's new network home, GSN, in 2008.
The winner will receive the first place cash prize and the WPT Ladies'
Championship title.
To help end breast cancer, a disease that statistically has or
will affect one in every eight women(1) competing on the WPTL tour,
WPT has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's
largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists
fighting to save lives by empowering people, ensuring quality care for
all and energizing science to find the cures. Participants will have
the opportunity to donate at each tour stop and 15 percent of each
$1,500 buy-in at the WPTL Championship will be donated to benefit
Komen for the Cure.
The WPTL Season I schedule(a) is as follows. Visit
www.worldpokertour.com/wptladies for more details.
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*T
DATE LOCATION BUY-IN
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January 20 Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Buy-in: $300
Atlantic City, NJ Entry Fee: $50
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Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, CA Buy-in: $970
February 2-3 In association with Entry Fee: $95
Ladies Poker Association
(LPA)
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Bay 101
San Jose, CA Buy-in: $300
March 16 In association with Ladies Entry Fee: $30
International Poker Series
(LIPS)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
March 29 Foxwoods Resort & Casino Buy-in: $530
Mashantucket, CT Entry Fee: $70
----------------------------------------------------------------------
WPT Ladies' Championship Bellagio Buy-in: $1,500
April 13-14: Tournament(b) Las Vegas, NV Entry Fee: $90
April 25: Final Table(c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T
(a) Schedule subject to change.
(b) WPT will provide up-to-the-minute coverage including blogs,
interviews, chip counts and more from the tournament floor. Visit WPT
Live Updates at www.worldpokertour.com for live coverage from the WPTL
Championship at Bellagio.
(c) WPT Televised Final Table
For more information, statistics on women in poker, or to request
an interview or media credentials for the WPTL tour stops, please
contact Lyndsay LaGree at 323.330.9876 or llagree@worldpokertour.com.
About WPTE
WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:WPTE) is a company engaged in the
creation of internationally branded entertainment and consumer
products driven by the development, production, and marketing of
televised programming based on gaming themes. WPTE is the creator of
the World Poker Tour(R), a television show based on a series of
high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the
United States and is scheduled to begin broadcasting on GSN in early
2008. WPT is licensed for broadcast globally. WPTE also offers a
real-money online gaming website, www.worldpokertour.com, which
prohibits wagers from players in the U.S. and other restricted
jurisdictions. WPTE currently licenses its brand to companies in the
business of poker equipment and instruction, apparel, publishing,
electronic and wireless entertainment, DVD/home entertainment, casino
games, and giftware. The company is also engaged in the sale of
corporate sponsorships. For show information, tools for improving
poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to
www.worldpokertour.com. WPT Enterprises, Inc. is a majority owned
subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LACO). Photos and
media information can be found online at:
www.worldpokertour.com/media.
About Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she
would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In
1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the
global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the
world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and
activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care
for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like
the Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested nearly $1 billion to
fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds
dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more
information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast
cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
WPTEG
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a
"safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information
included in this press release (as well as information included in
oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by WPT
Enterprises, Inc.) contains statements that are forward-looking, such
as statements relating to the expansion of WPTE's brand licensing, the
development of new television and film projects, the development of
WPTE corporate sponsors and other business development activities, as
well as statements regarding other capital spending, financing sources
and the effects of competition. Such forward-looking information
involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly
affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such
results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking
statements made by or on behalf of WPTE. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, WPTE's significant dependence on the
Travel Channel as a current source of revenue and GSN as a future
source of revenue, and the risk that GSN will not exercise its options
to air seasons of the WPT series beyond Season VI; difficulty of
predicting the growth of our online gaming business, which is a
relatively new industry with an increasing number of market entrants;
reliance on the efforts of CryptoLogic to develop and maintain the
online gaming website in compliance with WPTE's business model and
applicable gaming laws; the potential that our television programming
will fail to maintain a sufficient audience; the risk that competitors
with greater financial resources or marketplace presence might develop
television programming that would directly compete with WPTE's
television programming; the risk that WPTE may not be able to protect
its entertainment concepts, current and future brands and other
intellectual property rights; risks associated with future expansion
into new or complementary businesses; the termination or impairment of
WPTE's relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and
WPTE's dependence on its senior management team. For more information,
review WPTE's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(1) Susan G. Komen for the Cure, American Cancer Society, and
breastcancer.org
WPT Enterprises
Lyndsay LaGree, 323-330-9876
llagree@worldpokertour.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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