The World Poker Tour is one of the most familiar and famous poker tournaments today. It is not as big as the WSOP, but it may be just as famous as it is regularly televised and broadcast worldwide. It is definitely one of the major reasons for the popularity of the game today.
Each season of the WPT is assembled from a series of tournaments, held mainly in the US but also in other countries, especially around Europe. Unlike the WSOP the WPT is based only on Texas Holdem and does not feature other variants of the poker game.
The show first aired on 2002, and is running its 8th season these days.
The WPT features all the famous names in the pro poker world. players Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Eric Seidel and Phil Hellmuth are regular participants in the tournament.
Since 2008, winners of the WPT are granted bracelets. Winners from previous years were granted bracelets retroactively in 2008.
The show is hosted by WSOP bracelet winner Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten. It is broadcast in Fox Sports Network, and is one of the highest rating shows on cable TV.
2008 was the first season of the WPT Ladies, a special tournament version for women only. The first season of the WPT Ladies featured 5 events. The final table of the final event was televised.
The WPT is owned and managed by the World Poker Tour Enterprise (NASDAQ:WPTE), a public company traded on the Nasdaq.
