World Poker Tour
Within a few short years, the World Poker Tour has taken its rightful place alongside the other professional sports leagues. The WPT received a big push through the shrewd utilization of televised tournament play by Steven Lipscomb, WPT founder and CEO.
World Poker Tour-The Professional Poker League
The World Poker Tour, known commonly by its acronym of WPT, came into existence in 2002. The idea had germinated in the mind of Steven Lipscomb a few years prior to launching the WPT. The time was ripe for a concept such as the WPT, and Lipscomb capitalized on the idea. He was a successful attorney turned television producer, so he was quite familiar with the importance of the role of the media in the development of his concept. In the year 2001, Juan Carlos Mortensen took top honors at the WSOP, and he took home a whopping $1,500,000. Lipscomb noticed that the number of entries increased almost 20% from the year before, and he concluded that the time was now at hand to bring his concept to fruition. It's Monday Night Football Played with a Deck of Cards
The WPT is a set of scheduled Texas Holdem Poker Tournaments held throughout the world. Lipscomb understood the importance of the visual image and almost from the inception of the league, he was able to get his product out visually to the public over cable network television. Casinos and online poker gambling websites lined up in order to support the endeavor through sponsorships, while the Travel Channel was the first television network to air the WPT in 2003. The show is hosted by Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten who, if you closed your eyes, are the Al Michaels and John Madden of the professional poker tour. It is unbelievable how they can heighten the excitement as the television camera zooms in on a lonely card which is lying face down on the table. It is comparable to Tom Brady going back to pass as Randy Moss begins to break into the clear. Sexton and Van Patten rattle off probability statistics for the players dependent on the cards that they are holding. You would think they are talking about the percentage of successes Brady has had on third down and greater than 6 yards for a first down. It's unbelievable, but somehow the drama works! Great Drama Equates to High TV Ratings
Television has been the chief catalyst in the success of the WPT. With an enthusiastic and knowledgeable pair of announcers and with creative camerawork, the fans are not only entertained but are privileged to see the entire poker hand of all the participants, even the cards that are face down. Well into its fifth television season, the ratings for the WPT on the Travel Network are higher than ever, and it rates as one of the top rated shows on cable television.There is an upcoming movie in the works depicting the story of the WPT. Many of the stars are scheduled to play themselves, including both commentators. By the way the scheduled name for the movie at this time is simply "DEAL."
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