With the WORLD POKER TOUR™ (WPT) setting records for numbers of players and prize pools at its Season 3 tournament events, WPT Enterprises, Inc. (WPTE) announced a ten-year commitment to its partner casinos by exercising its contract options.
WPTE plans to schedule a minimum of 15 WPT-sanctioned events each year, averaging one or more each month through 2013. In conjunction with this commitment, WPT published its Season 4, 5, and 6 tournament schedules through 2008. The WORLD POKER TOUR is the highest-rated television show in the history of the Travel Channel, airing every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. PT/ET.
“We
look forward to continuing the Tour that generated a new horizon for
poker,” said Steve Lipscomb, President of WPT Enterprises.
“Thus, we’ve taken the extraordinary step of activating
these renewals early and making sure that our players can mark these
dates on their calendars.”
WPTE and the majority of its member casinos originally signed five-year agreements, each of which included an option for WPTE to renew that agreement. WPTE exercised these options, extending the agreements for another five years-- resulting in ten-year commitments from each member casino. Although member casinos can elect to terminate their respective agreements, WPTE has the exclusive rights to film poker tournaments on the member casino’s premises for the duration of the ten-year term.
In additional news, WPTE is developing a second tour, the Professional Poker Tour (PPT), scheduled to take place at certain member casinos. Prospective PPT tournament dates were announced in conjunction with the WPT Seasons 4, 5 and 6 tournament schedules. Unlike the WPT, participation in the PPT will be limited to professional players who meet eligibility requirements based on success in previous tournament play. The current WORLD POKER TOUR is open to anyone who wishes to buy-in or who has won a seat in a satellite tournament, regardless of past performance or skill level.