WORLD POKER TOUR® LAUNCHES ITS FIRST OFFICIAL LADIES POKER LEAGUE & TOUR—WPT LADIES
Source: WPT Enterprises, Inc.
Jan 10, 2008 - 6:05:17 AM
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WORLD POKER TOUR® LAUNCHES ITS FIRST OFFICIAL LADIES POKER LEAGUE & TOUR—WPT
LADIES™
WPTL Season I Tour Kicks Off January 20 at Borgata
LOS ANGELES (January 8, 2008) – With the dramatic rise of women
playing tournament poker, World Poker Tour® (WPT) has expanded its
female-focused tour offering with the launch of an official WPT ladies league
and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament circuit—WPT Ladies™ (WPTL). With buy-ins
ranging from $300 - $1,500, the tournament circuit provides multiple
opportunities for amateur, semi-pro, and professional female players to test
their skills in a tournament environment at prestigious gaming destinations
without having to pay a costly five-figure buy-in. Ladies also will have the
chance at each stop to win a WPT title and a seat in the WPT Ladies’
Championship.
“Women are a rising force in poker,” said Robyn Moder,
executive vice president of WPT Studios. “By bringing a WPT ladies league and
tour stops to top gaming destinations across the US, we hope to support and
perpetuate the evolution of the sport and recognition of the women who
play.”
Season I of the WPTL tour kicks off January 20 at the Borgata
Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ, and will feature additional
tournaments at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., Commerce
Casino in Los Angeles, and Bay 101 in San Jose, Calif. The tour will conclude
with a $1,500 Championship tournament at Bellagio in Las Vegas, who also will
host a player party in conjunction with the event. The WPTL Championship final
table will be filmed on the WPT set for television broadcast on WPT’s new
network home, GSN, in 2008. The winner will receive the first place cash prize
and the WPT Ladies’ Championship title.
To help end breast cancer, a
disease that statistically has or will affect one in every eight women competing
on the WPTL tour, WPT has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the
world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists
fighting to save lives by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and
energizing science to find the cures. Participants will have the opportunity to
donate at each tour stop and 15 percent of each $1,500 buy-in at the WPTL
Championship will be donated to benefit Komen for the Cure.
The WPTL
Season I schedule* is as follows. Visit www.worldpokertour.com/wptladies for
more details.
January 20 Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Atlantic
City, NJ
Buy-in:$300 Entry Fee: $50
February 2-3 Commerce Casino Los
Angeles, CA
In association with Ladies Poker Association (LPA)
Buy-in:$970 Entry Fee: $95
March 16 Bay 101 San Jose, CA
In
association with Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS)
Buy-in: $300 Entry
Fee: $30
March 29 Foxwoods Resort & Casino Mashantucket, CT
Buy-in: $530 Entry Fee: $70
WPT Ladies’ Championship
April
13-14:Tournament**
April 25: Final Table***
Bellagio Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $1,500 Entry Fee: $90
* Schedule subject to change.
**WPT
will provide up-to-the-minute coverage including blogs, interviews, chip counts
and more from the tournament floor. Visit WPT Live Updates at
www.worldpokertour.com for live coverage from the WPTL Championship at Bellagio.
***WPT Televised Final Table
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 Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy
G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in
her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G.
Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen
for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer
survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality
care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the
Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our
promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight
against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen
for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877
GO KOMEN.
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