The World Poker Tour and Its Rise to Prominence

The World Poker Tour is an institution that is celebrated and televised around the world and as such, is also one of the largest tournaments around.

Featuring some of the deadliest and most effective poker players in the world, The World Poker tour, despite its name, is held mostly within the United States of America. The preferred poker variant in these tournaments is Texas Hold'em, which quickly and rapidly came into its own. Texas Hold'em could even compete with blackjack for the title of the most beloved card or casino game around the world.

Steve Lipscomb is the creator and founder of the World Poker Tour. Originally, Steve Lipscomb was a producer and an attorney. He has since moved on from those duties, fully and understandably devoting his time as the CEO of World Poker Tour Enterprises, the company that handles and manages the World Poker Tour. Generally, the series of tournaments hosted are televised as a single show on television. Among other factors, the World Poker Tour is partially responsible for poker's return to the limelight as more than a recreational game, but a tough competition wherein players can make real and profitable careers.

Many things make up the World Poker tour - among them are the various casinos that lend their support to the endeavor and poker websites that often host their satellite tournaments. The first season had an amazing climax, the World Poker Tour Championship, which was held in the famous and renowned Bellagio Casino. Its first season was luckily shown on the travel channel, which helped boost its popularity even further. NBC would pick up on the World Poker Tour and its growing popularity and thus, would show it as one of their shows starting February 1, 2004. World Poker Tour Enterprises would continue with their agreement with the Travel Channel until 2007, where they would go a different path, stepping onto GSN for their sixth season and eventually, moving to Fox Sports for their eighth.

Commentators Vince Van Patten and Mike Sexton add a touch of credibility and class to the show, as Mike Sexton himself is a poker player with significant skill as a holder of a World Series of Poker bracelet. Their co-hosts would cycle through a variety of beautiful and stunning women, including the ever striking Shana Hiatt and the bombastic Layla Kayleigh. As of 2008, there is no end in sight for the future of the World Poker Tour.