Concluding its first official season, the World Poker Tour® (WPT) Ladies tour arrives at Bellagio this month for the inaugural WPT Ladies Championship. The $1500 tournament, which is expected to draw hundreds of amateur and professional players, will be filmed for broadcast as part of WPT’s Season VI now airing at 9 p.m. EST/PST Monday nights on GSN.

“The goal of this league is to provide opportunities for female players to step up their game, and that mission has been validated through the amazing turnout and feedback we’ve received during our first four stops,” said Robyn Moder, Executive Vice President, WPT Studios. “Almost 800 women have competed so far—and for many of them, it was their first live tournament. With so much excitement and support behind the league, we look forward to hosting the first WPT Ladies Championship with our long-time partners at Bellagio.”

WPT and Bellagio will kick off the WPT Ladies Championship at 10 a.m. April 13 with a champagne brunch at The Bank Nightclub. Rolling out the pink carpet for registered players, WPT and Bellagio will provide brunch and champagne by event sponsor Veuve Cliquot.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to donate and bid in an online auction at www.CharityFolks.com/wptladies to benefit WPT Ladies official charity and long-time partner, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to end breast cancer forever. To help fight a disease that will statistically affect one in every eight women playing in the event, 15 percent of each $1,500 WPT Ladies Championship buy-in will be donated to benefit Komen for the Cure. For more information about Komen, visit www.komen.org.

“Our partnership with WPT Ladies is one example of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s creative opportunities for all people to be a part of the breast cancer movement,” said Katrina McGhee, vice president of marketing at Komen for the Cure. “The online auction is a great example of how anyone can support the promise to end breast cancer and add hope to many women’s lives.”

Immediately following the brunch, WPT Ladies Championship Day 1 shuffle up and deal begins at noon. The remaining players at the end of the day will return April 14 to play down to six. The final six players will head to the WPT final table set on April 25 to battle it out in front of WPT cameras for the chance to win a WPT title and the first place cash prize.

Registration for the tournament is on-site only, starting April 12. Bellagio also will begin $350 satellites into the WPT Ladies Championship April 12 at 1 p.m., running through the morning of April 13.

Visit www.worldpokertour.com/wptladies for more details. For statistics on women in poker or to request an interview or media credentials to cover the WPT Ladies Championship, please contact Lyndsay LaGree at 323.330.9876 or llagree@worldpokertour.com.

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 GSN in the United States. 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. WPTE is a majority owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LACO). 

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 $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.