The Professional Poker Tour to Debut July 5th on the Travel Channel

May 1, 2006-- The wait for poker fans is over. You've heard about it, now watch it! The highly anticipated PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR (PPT) from WPT Enterprises, Inc., creator of the WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT), will launch on Wednesday, July 5 at 9 p.m. on the Travel Channel. The action-packed new series will showcase poker's 250 leading stars in a new and exciting format, destined to ratchet up televised poker to a whole new level.

When viewers sit down to watch the PGA Tour on TV each week, they are thrilled to be watching only the very best players in the game- players who have earned their "tour card" with top consistent career performances.

That's the same premise behind the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR, bringing to TV viewers the cream of the crop, 250 of the top poker players in the world, culled from the thousands who aspire to the first rank. The first season of jam-packed action will stretch over 24 weeks, spotlighting a stellar lineup of poker's All-Stars - champions from the WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT), World Series of Poker, and European poker tournaments.

Enticed by five "freeroll" tournaments with a total of $2.5 million in prize money provided by the PPT, the game's legends and new young idols face off in four grueling quarters of tournament play and one championship round. Famous poker faces include Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Chris Moneymaker, Antonio Esfandiari, Bobby Baldwin, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, David "Devilfish" Ulliott, Samy Farha, Mel Judah, Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindgren, Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, Huck Seed, Tom McEvoy, Layne Flack, Carlos Mortensen, Chip Reese, Erik Seidel, Lyle Berman, Kathy Liebert, T.J. Cloutier, and Linda Johnson.

With its PPT Qualification system, the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR has ensured the highest level of play at each and every tournament. For its inaugural year, players receive membership based on their previous poker accomplishments -- including winning a WPT event, playing at more than one WPT Final Table in a season, placing in the top six at the WPT World Championship, by scoring as a top 10 point leader in WPT Player-of-the-Year rankings, by winning or placing among the final six at the $10K buy-in Main Event at the World Series of Poker, by securing a spot on either CardPlayer Magazine's Card Player of the Year Top 10 list or Poker Europa's Top 10 list, or by being a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

The shows take the viewers through the tournament start to conclusion, focusing on one featured table each day of the event. However, every time a player goes "All-In" anywhere in the room, cameras rush to the table to catch the action. As many as 15 tables will get their moment in the sun with "All-In" action throughout the preliminary rounds.

The Final Table is distinctive as well. Players at the Final Table must beat the 90-second clock in making their play or surrender their hand. A player may invoke his "time bank allowance" to extend that time period only once during the Final Table play. Another unique feature of the PPT includes a royal blue Final Table felt, instead of the traditional green.

The hosts include two-time World Series bracelet winner and WPT finalist Mark Seif, an accomplished and well- regarded player, who left law to play professional poker, and talented actor Matt Corboy, a veteran of such shows as JAG, Malcolm in the Middle, West Wing and Spin City, along with field reporter Kaye Han, a lovely and exotic beauty who has played poker for much of her life before embracing work in front of the camera.

The five PPT tournaments were filmed at some of America's true palaces of poker…Foxwoods Resort Casino (Mashantucket, CT), Commerce Casino (Los Angeles), Bay 101 (San Jose, CA) Bellagio (Las Vegas) and The Mirage (Las Vegas).

"With the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR we've created a feast for poker fans," said Steve Lipscomb, CEO and founder of WPT Enterprises (NASDAQ: WPTE). "Just about anytime they turn on the show, they'll see one of their favorite poker heroes or poker villains…the Best of the Best. They'll see career-long rivalries played out against the background of multiple-table action. And the 90-second Final Table clock ratchets up the tension, making every decision a possible make-or-break situation. Heated rivalries, larger than life personalities and millions of dollars on the line make the PPT a sure bet."

With the inauguration of the PPT on Wednesday nights, immediately on the heels of the conclusion of the WPT season, poker fans will be treated to 44 weeks of first-run poker action on the Travel Channel, crafted by the company that ignited the worldwide poker phenomenon.

"This allows Travel Channel to feature 44 weeks of premiere episodes of WPT and PPT programming each year, which is great for poker fans who have asked for additional premieres, and really bolsters our 'Wednesday Night is Poker Night on the Travel Channel' platform," said Pat Younge, an executive vice president and general manager of Travel Channel.

For more information on the PPT, go to: www.pptonline.com

SOURCE WPTE WPT Enterprises, Inc.