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WPT Invitational Draws Both Poker and Hollywood Stars to the Green Felt for Annual Pro-Am
Published: 2005-02-24
 WPT Invitational Draws Both Poker and Hollywood Stars to the Green Felt for Annual Pro-Am
Business Wire, Feb 24, 2005
COMMERCE, Calif. -- 40+ Celebrities Played Their Cards Right at the Commerce Casino Stop on the WPT Tour
The WORLD POKER TOUR's(TM) (WPT) annual star-studded WPT Invitational today at the Commerce Casino brought out Hollywood's new crop of poker aficionados including such personalities as Ray Romano, Camryn Manheim, Jon Favreau, the Masterson Brothers Danny and Chris, Brad Garrett, Dean Cain, Mimi Rogers, Mena Suvari, Ed Asner, Norm MacDonald, Lou Diamond Phillips, Stephen Collins and 30 others. While the last celebrity "survivor" will take home a $5,000 donation for charity, there is plenty more at stake for the 236 total players in the tournament that concludes tomorrow -- a $200,000 prize pool and a seat at the WPT World Championship in April. The winner will also receive the elegant and prestigious Argentium(TM) Silver trophy, designed especially for the WPT Invitational.
While the fans along the rail ogled the celebrities, the celebrities were in awe of their favorite poker stars...many of whom have made their names on WPT telecasts. Seated alongside the stars were such poker luminaries at Doyle Brunson, Layne Flack, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Laak, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, T.J. Cloutier, Gus Hansen and numerous other champions.
Said Lou Diamond Phillips: "I think the THE WORLD POKER TOUR was the fuse that helped poker just blow up. I know a lot of kitchen and home game players who now see the strategy and yell out the answers. It's like watching Jeopardy on TV."
The first celebrities to exit the tournament and tell their bad beat stories were former Los Angeles Ram superstar Deacon Jones, followed by Rossi Morreale (Junkyard Mega Wars), Erik Palladino (ER), Dean Cain (Superman), James Woods, Ed Asner, Ty Treadway (SoapNet), Chris Rich (Reba), Sarah Gilbert (ER) and Macauley (MAC) Culkin.
Other celebrities in the chips were Jennifer Tilly, Laura Prepon (That '70s Show), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: Next Generation), Adrian Young (No Doubt), David Sutcliffe (The Gilmore Girls), Gabe Kaplan (Welcome Back Kotter), Hill Harper (CSI:NY), Jeremy London (7th Heaven), comedian Kathy Griffin, Kelly Packard (Baywatch, Ripley's Believe It or Not), supermodel Natalia Vodianova, Skeet Ulrich (Scream), Tanya Roberts (That '70s Show), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), Traci Bingham, (Baywatch) and Willie Garson (Sex and the City).
The WPT Invitational's Final Table will be taped for the WPT's much-anticipated Third Season of high-drama, high-stakes poker play on the Travel Channel. The new season will air every Wednesday night beginning March 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The show that reinvented poker as a televised spectator sport, WORLD POKER TOUR has made stars of the poker players who have captured million-dollar purses on the Tour. Since their WPT Final Table appearances, they are frequently spotted in airports and restaurants, and pressed for autographs by fans, just like their celebrity counterparts. In Season Three, the WPT is averaging a "millionaire a month" with its record-breaking prize pool of approximately $70 million.
"The WPT Invitational has become a hot Hollywood ticket," says Steve Lipscomb, founder and President of WPT Enterprises (Nasdaq:WPTE). "It's a fan favorite, too... one of the WPT's highest rated shows each year. We embrace and share the stars' love of poker. It's great fun to see many of them hang around after they have lost their chips to watch and learn from the pros."
Fans may view the Final Table on Feb. 24, with seating available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The tournament will begin at 3:00 p.m., but it is suggested that fans arrive by 2 p.m. to ensure a spot. The Commerce Casino, the country's largest poker room, is located at 6131 East Telegraph Road in Commerce, just five minutes from downtown Los Angeles off the Washington exit of the 5 Freeway.
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(R), a television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the United States and more than 50 markets globally. WPT Enterprises 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. For show information, tools for improving poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to www.worldpokertour.com. The company is also engaged in the sale of corporate sponsorships. 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.
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Survey Exposes Attitudes on Online Poker, Sex and the President
Published: 2005-02-22
 Survey Exposes Attitudes on Online Poker, Sex and the President; PokerStars.com Survey Reveals Americans Would Abstain From Sex for One Year for a $2.3M Online Poker Jackpot
PR Newswire, Feb 22, 2005
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- What would it take for you to give up sex for one full calendar year? According to a recent national survey commissioned by PokerStars.com, more than half of Americans would say adios to sex for one year in exchange for winning an average $2.3 million in a game of online poker.
Conducted by StrategyOne, an independent public opinion research firm, on behalf of PokerStars.com, the scientific nationwide survey of American adults also found that men are more likely than women to exchange sex for super-sized online poker winnings, with 61 percent of adult males going on a year-long sexual furlough versus only 47 percent of women. Another seventeen percent indicated that they would need to win between $1 and $50,000 in online winnings to give up sex for a full year.
When it came to the pot needed to win, size mattered to men. The average cash amount men cited they would require to live sex-free for 365 days was $2.1 million; women were willing to sleep solo for a lesser $1.9 million.
The survey also asked respondents who they would most want to ante up with in a game of online poker. Americans selected President George W. Bush as their most-preferred celebrity poker competitor, followed closely by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton. Oprah was also the favorite celebrity among women and hotel heiress Paris Hilton was the celebrity of choice among Gen-Y respondents, easily beating out the President, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, among other high-profile celebrities.
The nationwide telephone survey of American adults 18 years of age and older held a margin-of-error of +/- 3.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
About PokerStars.com
PokerStars (http://www.pokerstars.com/), an official member of the World Poker Tour, is the world's most innovative online poker site. PokerStars was the first site to introduce advanced multi-table tournaments, integrated game statistics, players' notes, personalized images, time bank for tournaments and ring big bet games, satellite tournaments, multi-table sit and go tournaments, and much more. PokerStars' support team is truly unique, as help and support is available around the clock from people who know and understand both the game of poker, and the importance of impeccable customer service.
To date, PokerStars has dealt more than one billion hands and run more than four million poker tournaments. PokerStars utilizes industry-leading security software to ensure the integrity of the system, including encryption, card shuffle randomness and preventative measures against cheating and collusion.
PokerStars is the site where the 2003 and 2004 World Champions of Poker won their entries into the World Series of Poker, thus earning the trademark
-- "Where poker players become World Champions."
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