Press Release
World Poker Tour Launches Its First Official Ladies Poker League And Tour-WPT Ladies
WPTL Season I Tour Kicks Off January 20 at Borgata
LOS ANGELES (January 8, 2008) – With the dramatic rise of women playing tournament poker, World Poker Tour® (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™ (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 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.
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The WPTL Season I schedule* is as follows. Visit www.worldpokertour.com/wptladies for more details.
January 20 Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Atlantic City, NJ
Buy-in:$300 Entry Fee: $50
February 2-3 Commerce Casino Los Angeles, CA
In association with Ladies Poker Association (LPA)
Buy-in:$970 Entry Fee: $95
March 16 Bay 101 San Jose, CA
In association with Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS)
Buy-in: $300 Entry Fee: $30
March 29 Foxwoods Resort & Casino Mashantucket, CT
Buy-in: $530 Entry Fee: $70
WPT Ladies' Championship
April 13-14:Tournament**
April 25: Final Table***
Bellagio Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $1,500 Entry Fee: $90
* Schedule subject to change.
**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.
***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.
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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®, 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 season 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.
Contact:
Lyndsay LaGree
WPT Enterprises
323 330 9876
llagree@worldpokertour.com
