WPT Enterprises Launches Real Money Gaming Website, WorldPokerTour.com
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WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPTE) announced today the official launch
of its new online real money and "play for fun”
gaming site, WorldPokerTour.com. WPT executives are in London to
celebrate the launch and invite players from around the globe to
register and receive the $1500 "You Play, We
Pay” bonus program, one of the industry’s
largest bonuses ever offered.
Five years ago televised poker sparked the global poker boom and
skyrocketed the online gaming business into a multi-billion
dollar-per-year industry, yet gaming laws prompted WPTE to tailor its
rules accordingly and not accept US bets. In April, WPT moved its online
global gaming platform to develop a new site with leading software
developer, CryptoLogic, whose shared network offers a constant,
substantial player liquidity.
"The launch of WorldPokerTour.com allows us to
strengthen our brand with the unveiling of a comprehensive and robust
online gaming platform,” said Steve Lipscomb,
President, Founder and CEO of WPTE. "Our
strategic partnership with CryptoLogic offers our users a stable, secure
and proven platform while the flexible infrastructure can meet the
demands of our growing business.”
Lipscomb continued, "WPT played a very key
role in the global poker boom and remains one of the most visible and
respected poker brands today. By moving our online global gaming
platform to CryptoLogic and securing immediate liquidity, we are poised
to make a major impact in the online gaming industry and create a
significant financial opportunity for our company.”
Fans who have played on WPT’s original gaming
site, WPTOnline, will enjoy a new look and feel as they migrate to
WorldPokerTour.com. The site offers a host of popular poker games,
including No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, 7
Card Stud and Holdem Blackjack; as well as unique tournaments such as
Headhunters, where players are rewarded during a tournament for each
opponent they eliminate. What’s more,
WorldPokerTour.com is built into CryptoLogic’s
global shared network—one of the largest in
the world that does not take US bets—where
thousands of players are continuously online, ensuring WPT fans can find
a game at the level and stake they want, in the currency they want,
whenever they want it.
In London for the launch of WorldPokerTour.com, actress, competitive
poker player and WPT board member Mimi Rogers said: "It
seems fitting to launch WorldPokerTour.com in London, the new poker
capital of Europe*. It’s great that we can
help the growth of the game with our new site; it offers the
professional look, feel and security expected by experienced players
like me, while offering new players a chance to hone their skills in a
fun, free environment.”
WorldPokerTour.com does not take bets in the United States or in other
territories where online gaming is restricted. Players must be 18 years
of age or older.
Notes to editors
* Yesterday Bluff Europe, the most widely read poker magazine, named
London as Europe's poker capital (see http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.
jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070627005491&newsLang=en)
(Due to the length of the above URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste it into your Internet browser's URL address field. You may also need to remove an extra space in the URL if one exists.) 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 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.