Poker Superstars
Phil Hellmuth
|
World Poker Tour Overview:
Similar to other large format tournaments, the World Poker Tour is in fact a tournament of tournaments. While some of its venues include European casinos, the WPT is primarily staged in the United States. The televising of its tournaments led to an enormous boom in the popularity of table poker all across North America, in casinos and especially online. Most of the sponsors of the WPT are unsurprisingly online poker rooms. The WPT television show is broadcast internationally, and is co-hosted by ex World Series of Poker champion Mike Sexton, and former actor Vince Van Patten. When the WPT debuted on TV is Shana Hiatt served as its sideline reporter for the first three season. Courtney Friel eventually replaced this role in the fourth season, and Sabina Gadecki in the fifth. In season six the host is currently Layla Kayleigh.
 --
--------------------The World Poker Tour ------------------------Gus Hansen at the WPT Table
World Poker Tour Facts:
The WPT began its first season in 2002/2003 with its very first WPT Final occuring in April 2003 at the famed Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. Surprisingly its first televised season aired on the Travel Channel in spring of the same year. When the WPT made its debut on NBC, it was aired against CBS coverage of the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre game show and did surprisingly well. While the Travel Channel continued to air the show up until season five of the WPT, the series eventually decided that it was going to move to GSN in 2008 for its sixth season. Originally the brainchild of its two hosts, Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, the WPT televised show airs today to an audience of approximately 4 million viewers. Players on the WPT can currently buy in at levels between $5,000 and $25,000 dollars depending on the size and structure of a WPT tournament. With talent the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Doyle Brunson having become regulars on the tour, its popularity is sure to keep soaring.
See more images of the World Poker Tour here.
|
|
WPT Top Money Finishers
Season 6
- Jonathan Little
$1,840,608
- Michael Vela
$1,739,208
- Dan Harrington
$1,600,365
- Roy Winston
$1,575,280
- Scott Clements
$1,361,724
|
