World Poker Tour

By 2002 the need for more televised poker created an opportunity for Steven Lipscomb, a television producer, to set up the World Poker Tour, a series of loosely-linked, televised poker events spotlighting the best-known players. Some of the venues are outside the United States, creating an "international" flair and justifying the "world" in the event's name. The poker game is limited to Texas Hold'em, the TV favorite. Prize money awarded at WPT tour events breaks all previous records as each season unfolds. In 2006, Eugene Katchalov took home a first prize of nearly $2.5 million from the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio. The total prize pool was nearly $10 million.

The various "tours" are divided into "seasons." Season 1 was in 2002 to 2003. As of the spring of 2008, the WPT is actively unrolling its Season 6 results. Even as the WPT was a response to a demand, it seems to have created an even greater public following. Mike Sexton, a WSOP winner, and Vince Van Patten, an actor, act as commentators. The "sideline" reporter has been Shana Hiatt (3 seasons), Courtney Friel (Season 4), Sabina Gadecki (Season 5) and Layla Kayleigh (Season 6).

Though the show has moved around the cable dial for much of its existence, sometimes on the Travel Channel, sometimes on NBC, and then to GSN, the actual events have been maintained in recurring venues (not in tour order): Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio (Las Vegas), Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (Reno), Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino (Los Angeles), Aviation Club de Paris (Paris), Borgata (Atlantic City), Foxwoods Resort Casino (Mashantucket, Connecticut), Gold Strike Casino (Tunica, Mississippi), and Bay 101 (San José, California). Additionally, each season now has three events in the Caribbean, either on a cruise ship or in Aruba. Events have also been held at the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario and in Costa Rica.

The WPT organizes lots of other promotions and TV broadcast opportunities, including a "Poker Walk of Fame," a "WPT Ladies" event and "Player of the Year" awards. All has not been a bed of roses, however. In 2006, several players filed an antitrust claim against WPT's organizers for restricting players, claiming exclusive rights to the players' images, and requiring host casinos not to deal with any other tournament organizers. Additionally, in 2005 the World Poker Tour tried a spin-off called the "Professional Poker Tour," which became entangled in a dispute over broadcast rights, and lasted only one season.