Press Release

History Made At WPT Invitational as World Poker Tour Crowns First Female Champion

tagged: WPT Invitational, Season 6, Commerce Casino, Men Nguyen

LOS ANGELES (March 5, 2008) – World Poker Tour® (WPT) crowned its first female champion Monday night at the 6^th Annual WPT Invitational hosted by the Commerce Casino. This special event marks the first time in history that a female player has won a major televised WPT tournament. Van Nguyen, wife of poker professional Men “The Master” Nguyen, beat 444 players to win more than half of the generous prize pool donated by Commerce for the three-day WPT Invitational event, a star studded tournament that lines up celebrities with top poker pros.

“This great sport of poker is the only one that focuses on an individual’s skill--regardless of gender--and we’re thrilled the time has finally come to celebrate a female WPT Champion,” said Steve Lipscomb, Founder, Creator and CEO of the WPT. “It was only a matter of time before a female took down a major WPT tournament, and what better way to mark this historic event than Van Nguyen battling for the title while her husband--

a well-respected pro--cheered her on from the audience. Her win is one of many recent events that solidify women as a major force to be reckoned with on and off the tables.”

The WPT Invitational also captured center stage for being the first ever five-seat Final Table. With eight players remaining, three players went all in resulting in Beverly Kuskol and Debby Perkins going out together sending five players to the final table. The fifth place finish went to notable writer Elias Madias while Associate Publisher of Card Player Magazine Justin Marchand came in fourth. Poker Hall of Famer Billy Baxter saw a third place finish. Ethan Ruby, a founder of Poker4Life, which is associated with The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, placed an impressive second after securing his WPT Invitational seat donated by Ambassador of Poker, Mike Sexton, for a Poker4Life charity tournament.

The Invitational, which is the most glamorous tournament on the poker circuit, kicked off on March 1^st with red carpet arrivals from Hollywood stars including James Woods, Don Cheadle, Oliver Hudson, Ricki Lake, Michael Vartan, Jennifer Tilly, Camryn Manheim, Norm McDonald, Ron Livingston, Jeremy London, Tia Carrere, Montel Williams, Josh Malina, Eric Palladino, Mimi Rogers, Johnathon Schaech, Jeremy Sisto and many others. The last 10 celebrities standing received a piece of a $20,000 prize pool courtesy of Harbor Private Funds, LLC to donate to the charity of their choice. WPT Ladies charity partner Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Harbor Private Funds’ Harbor Foundation, and Crocs, Inc.’s Soles United, also received a $2,500 donation from WPT.

Tune in July 21st to watch the WPT Invitational action on the WPT’s new network home, GSN, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

For more information, visit http://liveupdates.worldpokertour.com/tournament/. For images or to arrange an interview, please contact Beatrice Lamothe at blamothe@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®, 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 Commerce Casino

Commerce Casino is the largest poker casino in the world. There are more than 200 poker tables featuring just about every form of poker: Texas Hold ‘em, 7-Card Stud, Omaha, Lowball, Pot Limit, Mexican Poker, Pineapple, Draw, Low-Ball and many others. Also offered are Pan and California games. Commerce Casino is also recognized for its innovative “Bring Your Home Game to Commerce” program which enables poker fans to invite their friends and family for a casual home game, bachelor party or birthday celebration with a professional dealer in the casino setting.

Commerce Casino is located at 6131 East Telegraph Rd., Commerce, CA 90040,
just off the Santa Ana (5) Freeway at the Washington Blvd. exit. The phone is (323) 721-2100. For more information, go to www.commercecasino.com.

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.

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