The World Poker Tour

The world poker tour is a gathering of many poker tournaments that feature many of the planet's professional and master poker players. The world poker tour debuted at the end of 2002 and the early part of 2003, culminating with the championship in April of 2003 held at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The Travel channel aired the first season of the world poker tour in the spring of 2003. The NBC special "Battle of Champions" aired the tournament's network debut on February 1, 2004.

The world poker tour is a gathering of international Texas Hold'em tournaments that are held worldwide and on cruise ships, but for the most part in the United States. With the airing of the tournaments on cable and network television, the tournament show has opened a wide array of support and following not just in the homes of American poker fans, as well as in many casinos, poker rooms and on the internet.

That's why it's no surprise that most sponsors of the world poker tour are casinos and internet poker sites. Even the television show is internationally syndicated.

In the poker tournament, each of the players is given equal amounts of money to start with in the form of chips. The chips have varying colors that represent different amounts. The poker tour usually lasts for days until one player emerges out of the many contestants who joined the tournament. The one player who wins the finals takes home the grand prize usually amounting from hundreds of thousands of dollars to sometimes up to a million.

The world poker tour attracts many players from around the globe and it gives them the opportunity to compete against the top contenders of the pro poker scene.

The growing popularity of the televised world poker tour enables the fans to witness the players' hole cards courtesy of the high tech capabilities and programming of networks. Currently there are celebrities competing with each other on television, The Celebrity Poker Challenge.

Every show is an elimination game, and who ever wins during the elimination rounds their choice of charities will receive the proceedings. And the champion will take home a golden chip courtesy of the sponsoring casino and the cash prize will go to the celebrity's charity.

The world poker tour created a Walk of Fame in 2004, and inaugurated by the poker masters Gus Hansen and Doyle Brunson, and the actor James Garner.