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World Poker Tour
The
World Poker Tour has been one of the greatest things that could have ever happened to poker. It is composed of two different aspects. On the one hand, it is an elite high stakes Texas Hold'em tournament drawing both amateurs as well as poker professions. On the other hand, it is a television show on the Travel Channel. Both the tournament side and the television side of the event are equally impressive. The World Poker Tour is more than just a television show. It has become a cultural phenomenon. Not only is it hugely popular for the Travel Channel, it has transformed the game itself. Poker has gone from a strange pursuit of middle-aged white guys in a smoke-filled corner of a casino that would rather use the space for more slot machines, to a passion for thousands of players of all ages and backgrounds. The show has already spawned other similar shows. ESPN has been covering the World Series of Poker for years, but they have increased their coverage from a single show to a series, and have been hugely successful with it as well.
The World Poker Tour is a series of 15 Texas Hold'em tournaments, 12 of which are aired on the Travel Channel. The World Poker Tour tournaments are held around the world with the WPT Championship tournament being held at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
In each of the 14 tournaments preceding the WPT Championship the winner receives both a $25,000 buy in to the World Poker Tour Championship, and the grand prize for the tournament itself. Individual tournament prizes vary depending on the number of entrants. In the past the grand prize has been ranged from $100,000 for smaller tournaments to $1,000,000 for the
WPT Championship.
Alongside the World Poker Tour tournaments, the
WPT television show provides a method for novice poker players and poker enthusiasts to watch the professional compete.
In addition to standard tournaments, each season The World Poker Tour holds a celebrity invitational tournament. This tournament pits Hollywood celebrities against poker professionals. Aside from being fun to watch, celebrities have a chance to win a large chunk of money for their favorite charity, as well as a seat at the
WPT Championship tournament.
The production standards are high and you can tell that having a tournament televised is a big deal to the tournament organizers. The producers do a good job in back grounding the players, which is important since the public does not know most of these people. And the Hole Card Cam is tremendously beneficial, since it allows viewers to see what the players are doing as they are doing it, instead of waiting until the cards are turned over. I've watched poker coverage without this advantage, and it is about as interesting as C-SPAN in Spanish. |
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