WPTAPL™ Press Release
World Poker Tour(R) Signs
New Five-Year Partnerships to Broaden Player Experience
WPT to Introduce WPT
Amateur Poker League and WPT Cruises
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September
24, 2007--
Taking poker by land and sea, WPT Enterprises (Nasdaq:
WPTE) today announced that it has finalized two five-year
deals with the Amateur Poker League and Classic Gaming
Cruises. The new partnerships will complement the
growing WPT brand portfolio while creating new World
Poker Tour(R) (WPT) experiences for fans and players
of all levels.
Providing the opportunity for amateur players to
qualify for a seat in a professional level tournament,
the Amateur Poker League
(APL) and the WPT are joining forces to create the
World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League (WPTAPL). On
a weekly basis, over 500 APL tournaments are held
seeing over 30,000 gamers gather in approximately
180 venues. Under the new partnership, all players
participating in APL events will earn WPTAPL points,
which will post to a leaderboard on www.wptapl.com.
Points will qualify players for regional tournaments,
and the regional winners will go on to compete in
a WPTAPL Championship event held in Orlando, Fla.,
in April 2008, for the chance to win a $10,000 seat
into a WPT Main event. Additionally, each month WPT
will give away to WPTAPL members one seat into the
WPT Celebrity Invitational tournament, an invite-only
tournament where top poker pros and Hollywood celebrities
compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash
and a $25,000 seat into the WPT World Championship.
The five-year agreement covers tournaments in the
United States, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, bringing
free, live, No Limit Texas Hold 'Em to the masses.
For more information on participating in a WPTAPL
event as a player, venue, or sponsor, visit www.wptapl.com.
WPT also signed a five-year partnership deal with
Classic Gaming Cruises (CGC) to create WPT Cruises,
which will officially launch its inaugural cruise
in February from Miami to the Caribbean on CGC's
cruiseline partner Norwegian Cruise Line. WPT Cruises
will offer players the chance to sail aboard the
premium cruise ships while enjoying exclusive parties,
events, a full spread of cash games, and a WPT tournament
earning the victor a seat into a WPT tournament.
WPT Cruise guests will also receive the unique "eat
when and where you want" dining experience of
Free Style Cruising provided by Norwegian.
Classic Gaming Cruises has been hosting poker cruises
for over 10 years and has an impeccable reputation
for providing first class customer service and professional
poker operations. WPT Cruises will feature cruises
throughout the year from New York to the Caribbean,
Seattle to Alaska, Southampton England to the Mediterranean,
New England to Canada and Los Angeles to the Mexican
Riviera. For additional information on Classic Gaming
Cruises WPT Cruises, visit www.classicgamingcruises.com.
"These innovative partnerships are an exciting addition to our business
as they help create a broader experience for WPT fans and players of all levels
and locations," said Steve Lipscomb, WPTE Founder, President and CEO. "Poker
is not just about the tournaments anymore. It's a phenomenon that has captured
and held the attention of millions of people around the globe, and we want
to continue creating these exciting opportunities for everyone to experience
and enjoy the sport of poker."
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(R), 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 operates 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
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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