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Copyright © 2006 PR Newswire Association
LLC
January 24, 2006
HEADLINE:
WORLD POKER TOUR(R) Adds Las Vegas' Tropical Paradise
Mandalay Bay to Season V Tour Schedule
WPT's 2006-7 Schedule Will Continue to Ratchet Up Million Dollar
Prize Pools; Tour Estimated to Reach $250 Million Mark in Season
V
Body: [Win
your WPT Seat Free]
The WORLD POKER TOUR(R) announced today that Mandalay Bay Resort
& Casino in Las Vegas has joined its roster of host casinos
for a new event that will be staged as the second stop of the
Season V calendar. The Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, to be
held June 4 - 8, will become the next big event on the WPT's storied
17-stop tour which features exciting poker action at some of the
most beautiful, elegant and highly regarded resorts and card rooms
around the globe. In Season V, the WPT is expected to surpass
its Quarter Billion Dollar mark in prize money!
Steve Lipscomb, CEO and founder of WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:
WPTE) said, "This continues to build our solid relationship
with the MGM MIRAGE family of destination resort casinos."
We have scored a trifecta with Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Bellagio,
the best Las Vegas has to offer."
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is a luscious tropical-themed
resort. The site's 3,644 rooms and suites include 424 accommodations
managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The property also
has a House of Blues restaurant, concert hall and more than 100
House of Blues-themed rooms, decorated in the unique style for
which House of Blues has become famous. Mandalay Bay earned the
prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award, and offers two AAA Four Diamond
restaurants, Aureole and 3950. The Mandalay Bay Convention Center
brings the total meeting space to nearly 1.5 million square feet
and is the largest convention center on the Las Vegas Strip. Mandalay
Bay's brands include: THEhotel, an all-suite hotel featuring 1,117
luxurious one-bedroom suites and Mandalay Place, a collection
of 41 unique boutiques and restaurants. Mandalay Bay is a wholly
owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE, which also owns and operates The
Mirage and Bellagio, two additional Las Vegas WPT casino partners.
In other new developments, Foxwoods Resort Casino, after staging
some of the largest events in WPT history, will extend its involvement
with the tour by hosting a new spring event, to complement its
fall World Poker Finals. The Foxwoods' Poker Classic will be filmed
as part of Season IV April 6-9.
The Foxwoods' Poker Classic will replace the PartyPoker Million
on the WPT calendar. After several great seasons together in which
the WPT helped build international awareness for these now prominent
online sites, the WPT will bid adieu to both PartyPoker and Ultimate
Bet.
Explained Lipscomb: "We've had a great run with both companies,
but the circumstances have changed since we elected to launch
WPTonline.com, our own international gaming website. Although
they will no longer be on the tour, we continue to explore future
opportunities with both of these organizations."
In announcing the WPT's full Season V calendar, poker players
may now begin planning their tournament schedules and their shot
at the $100 million prize money up for grabs on the WORLD POKER
TOUR -- a tour with the slogan "Anyone can play; Anyone can
win." In just four years, the WPT has transformed poker into
a career destination for touring pros, just like players on the
PGA, while also enabling newcomers to get a piece of the estimated
$200 million prize money offered over the WPT's four seasons of
riveting play. With the announcement of the tour dates, the satellite
contact information will also be accessible on the newly re-launched
website: http://www.worldpokertour.com/.
WORLD POKER TOUR will once again feature events in Paris and
a stellar lineup of U.S. destinations. Season V begins and ends
in Las Vegas, initially with The Mirage Poker Showdown May 14,
2006 at The Mirage and concludes April 27, 2007 at Bellagio for
the exciting and much heralded WPT World Championship.
The WPT launched the poker phenomenon when it first aired on
the Travel Channel on March 30, 2003, and it continues to lead
the way in developing poker as a major international sport. Viewers
and aspiring tour players can log on to http://www.worldpokertour.com/
for ways to improve their game and to get the latest WPT schedules,
information and merchandise. The highest rated show ever on The
Travel Channel, the WPT is now seen in more than 130 countries
and territories worldwide. WORLD POKER TOUR(R) airs every Wednesday
at 9 p.m. EST/PST on the Travel Channel in the U.S.
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