WPT Enterprises, the company behind the World Poker Tour, earlier this week announced the WPT Season V schedule for 2006 and 2007. One new event was added to the 17-stop tour, the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, hosted by the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. WPT also stated it is dropping the events sponsored by PartyPoker and UltimateBet.
Mandalay Bay Poker Championship
The Mandalay Bay Poker Championship will become the second event of WPT's Season V and is scheduled for June 4-8, 2006. The tournament will be hosted by the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, a tropical-themed resort with over 3,600 rooms owned by MGM Mirage. The WPT now makes four stops at casinos owned by MGM Mirage: The Mirage (The Mirage Poker Showdown), Mandalay Bay (the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship) and the Bellagio (Five Diamond World Poker Classic and WPT World Championship).
Exit PartyPoker and UltimateBet, Enter Foxwoods
WPT also stated it is dropping the events sponsored by PartyPoker and UltimateBet. According to Steve Lipscomb, the CEO of WPT Enterprises: "We've had a great run with both companies, but the circumstances have changed since we elected to launch WPTonline.com, our own international gaming website." Looking at the schedule for Season V it appears the event sponsored by online poker room PokerStars at the Bahamas is still listed.
A second event at Foxwoods, the Foxwood Poker Classic, will replace the PartyPoker Million and be filmed as part of Season IV in April this year. Foxwoods also hosts another WPT event, the World Poker Finals, each November. Foxwoods expects that 4,000 players will register for the new event, resulting in a prize pool of well over $5 million.
Full schedule for Season V of the World Poker Tour
| Tournament | Location | Date |
| The Mirage Poker Showdown | The Mirage, Las Vegas | May 14-17, 2006 |
| Mandalay Bay Poker Championship | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas | Jun 4-8, 2006 |
| Grand Prix de Paris | Aviation Club, Paris | Jun 12-16, 2006 |
| Legends of Poker | The Bicycle Casino, LA | Aug 26-30, 2006 |
| Borgata Poker Open | The Borgata, Atlantic City | Sep 15-19, 2006 |
| North American Poker Championship | ? | Oct 23-27, 2006 |
| World Poker Finals | Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket | Nov 11-14, 2006 |
| Five Diamond World Poker Classic | Bellagio, Las Vegas | Dec 15-19, 2006 |
| PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure | Paradise Island, Bahamas | Jan 6-13, 2007 |
| World Poker Open | Gold Strike Casino, Tunica | Jan 21-25, 2007 |
| L.A. Poker Classic | Commerce Casino, LA | Feb 15-20, 2007 |
| WPT Invitational | Commerce Casino, LA | Feb 21-23, 2007 |
| Bay 101 Shooting Star | Bay 101, San Jose | Feb 27-Mar 3, 2007 |
| World Poker Challenge | Reno Hilton, Reno | Mar 26-29, 2007 |
| WPT World Championship | Bellagio, Las Vegas | Apr 21-27, 2007 |
Please note: Two additional tournaments to be confirmed at a later date.