World poker tour - Large part of the boom in poker popularity

World Poker Tour is a name that will always be remembered for bringing the game of Poker into the homes of millions around the world. The unique concept of filming the final tables of some of the major poker events around the world, with the aid of a camera on the felt to let those viewers know exactly what cards the players are holding, makes the game that so much more exciting. The Travel Channel wasted no time in snapping up this entertainment and it has now been hailed as one of the most successful programs on the Travel Channel with over 5 million viewers watching some of the televised events.

The World Poker Tour has been a large part of the boom in poker popularity across North America and is the brainchild of television producer Stephen Libscomb who now also is the CEO of publicly traded WPT Enterprises which controls the World Poker Tour.

The World Poker Tour officially began in September 2001 when Steve Lipscomb conceived the idea. Steven Lipscomb developed his idea after watching the coverage of other poker events such as the World Series of Poker, Lipscomb felt that there was no excitement in the poker coverage being televised and he wanted to rejuvenate it making it more action packed for both the public and other professional poker players to watch. Lipscomb realized that although the final table had been televised before it lacked the excitement and true drama that was felt at the final table in major poker tournaments. Lipscomb decided that the best way for him to capture the drama was to use a revolutionary idea, which consisted of using 16 cameras, which are now known as the infamous "World Poker Tour-Cams" in order to give the viewer a greater insight into the player's strategy and position.

Due to the huge success of the World Poker Tour a new poker tour has been created by WPT, this is called the PPT or the Professional Poker Tour. The Professional Poker Tour consists of a variety of tournaments in which the players only qualify by exhibiting their skills as a player; in return the tournament is set up on a freeroll basis, which means that the money that is staked into the game is not the player's buy-ins, but rather from sponsors.