LOS ANGELES (Aug. 25, 2011) – World Poker Tour® kicked off its milestone 10th season today with the announcement of new enhancements, new talent, new player benefits and new tour stops.
Last year was the biggest in WPT® history, with TV ratings increasing more than 30% over the previous season, including the first episode to ever garner more than 1 million viewers on FSN, making it the No. 1 show on the network.* WPT also saw a 50% jump in tournament attendance.
WPT created a star with Tony Dunst’s “Raw Deal” and highlighted more rising stars in the “Ones to Watch” segment. WPT brought more style with the Royal Flush Girls™ and more substance with anchor Kimberly Lansing, all of whom return for Season X.
“Season IX was a watershed year that raised the bar for televised poker, but it was a New Day, not an ending. Season X will see it continue as we make our 10th anniversary unlike anything seen before in the poker world,” said WPT CEO Steve Heller.
NEW SHOWS
Season X returns to FSN and is scheduled to begin airing in the 1st quarter of 2012. It will once again be sponsored by ClubWPT.com, WPT’s subscription membership site that offers great benefits and unlimited poker with more than $100,000 in cash and prizes monthly. WPT airs Sundays at 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM (check local listings).
World Poker Tour will kick off the season with a highlight and preview show, revealing some of the exciting items upcoming in Season X, as well as a look back at the best stories of Season IX, featuring interviews with the biggest names in poker.
Plus, there will be a pair of one-hour, WPT behind-the-scenes specials featuring footage of Mike, Vince, Kim, Tony and the Royal Flush Girls like they’ve never been seen before. Produced by Joey Carson, former CEO of Bunim-Murray Productions, the company behind such reality show hits as The Real World and The Simple Life, the shows will give WPT fans a unique glimpse of life around the Tour.
NEW LIVE STREAMING
WPT is appealing to the most rabid poker fans, giving them the chance to see every hand from every Tour final table** with the introduction of Live Streaming, displaying hole cards, chip counts and analytics, alongside hand-by-hand commentary by WPT’s award-winning Live Updates team, which will now also provide Live Updates for all European events.
Hosted in the U.S. by “Raw Deal” analyst Tony Dunst and by various guest hosts in Europe, backed by an array of special commentators at each event, Live Streaming will offer in-depth commentary and analysis of the final six players. Get insight into player habits, trends and breakdowns of each and every move, player interviews, in-stream promotions and the latest news.
Live Streaming and Live Updates can be viewed at www.worldpokertour.com.
NEW CHAMPIONS CLUB AND NEW REWARDS
Champions Club
World Poker Tour Champions do more than just win tournaments; they join an elite circle of the best poker players in history. WPT created the Champions Club to recognize all former and future champions for belonging on this special list.
Champions Club members will receive exclusive benefits, be assigned a WPT personal concierge and receive VIP treatment at WPT events.
New Trophy: WPT Champions Cup
The new WPT Champions Cup will travel to each event and will feature engraved plaques with the name of every WPT champion as well as the event they won. Produced by the same company that makes the Emmy® Awards, this beautiful, 30-pound, 33-inch perpetual trophy will serve as a lasting tribute to all WPT winners and will be displayed at every Tour event around the world.
Starting in Season X, WPT Champions will also get a smaller replica of the Champions Cup, engraved with the event the player won.
New Champion’s Award
In Season X, WPT is replacing the standard champion’s bracelet with a sterling silver Tiffany & Co.® customized WPT engraved card protector.
New Player of the Year Trophy
Winning WPT Player of the Year is an amazing accomplishment that stays with a player for the rest of their life. WPT wanted the POY trophy to reflect this sizeable achievement. Season IX WPT Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger will be the first to receive the gorgeous 24” high, 35-pound, all-crystal trophy. All future WPT POY winners will get their personalized version of this unique trophy.
NEW STOPS
WPT continues to expose the world to exciting new venues, as Season X will see the Tour stop for the first time at the Jacksonville Poker Room in Florida and at Parx Casino outside of Philadelphia.
The Tour also continues to expand and extend its global reach. The entire cast and production team will descend upon Paris for the WPT Grand Prix de Paris in September 2011 and WPT Italy in 2012. Beyond that, there are exciting new European stops in places such as Malta, Ireland and Prague. The growth of the Tour in Europe means that all European events are scheduled to have Live Streaming, Live Updates and for the first time, European Royal Flush Girls, who will be introduced at a press conference in Paris on September 4th.
NEW ROYAL FLUSH GIRLS™
Two new Royal Flush Girls will be joining Melanie, Melyssa, Sunisa and Michelle for televised events in Season X.
Mica Javier is a promising model/singer who has represented major international brands, appearing in commercials for such products as Colgate and Nestea. She moved to New York in 2010 to work on her music career and has worked with the likes of Timbaland, The NuTRONs (Mquest & Sara Mia), WizzDumb, and Grinehouse.
Melissa Fisher has been modeling since she was 15 years old, having appeared in campaigns for Nordstrom, Sanyo and Wii. She has also worked promotional events on behalf of Maxim and ComicCon. A college student, Melissa is studying to become a nurse.
NEW SET, NEW TALENT, NEW FAN EXPERIENCE
WPT is dramatically improving the final table spectator experience with the Royal Flush Girls Social Bar, a 16' long bar with eight stools, four monitors and an Xbox 360 Kinect, serving not only as the home of the Royal Flush Girls from Day 1 through the final table, but as a new focal point of the set designed to engage the audience during championship play.
VIPs and a few lucky audience members will get to join the Royal Flush Girls at the Social Bar to watch the final table, enjoying their company and seeing the championship from a whole new perspective.
With new 42” interactive monitors throughout the set showing live Twitter feeds, chip counts and audience polls, audience members will be able to post comments, get opinions from Mike and Vince, banter with Kimberly or post comments for the Royal Flush Girls.
WPT is bringing in well-known poker personality Ali Nejad to serve as the final table host for live Tour events. His quick wit, energy and poker knowledge, along with fewer TV breaks and more action will make championship final tables more fun and memorable for players and spectators alike.