The World Poker Tour, as the name suggests, is not just a competition, but a series of events that take place around different high quality casinos all over the world. Every event starts with a certain number of people, who then have to fight it out, one by one, to finally reach a final table, where the winner goes home with more than a million dollars in his, or her, pocket. In March of 2005, the WPT reached a milestone in that over 100 million dollars was to be dealt out in the different events that had been arranged for everyone from college amateurs to seasoned poker professionals.
The World Poker Tour’s TV broadcasts have been so successful mainly due to their “intensive” filming of poker games. The viewers experience sitting at the table and playing million dollar bets with the help of, among others, their patented “WPT-cam”, which allows viewers to see the cards from the same angle as the actual players. By combining an exciting sport with a high tempo, skill and nerves, the World Poker Tour has become a successful high quality recipe and is broadcast in the US on the Travel Channel at prime time. The World Poker Tour is also shown in over 100 countries around the world and marks success after success.
The World Poker Tour is hosted by Courtney Friel, with commentators Mike Sexton and Vince van Patten
Courtney Friel began her career running her own company in the film world, where she wrote, cut and edited interviews she chose. Courtney is a big fan of surfing and skydiving, but also enjoys taking long walks in the southern California landscape. When not in front of the camera at the World Poker Tour, she spends a lot of her time with her new husband and their two cats.
Mike Sexton is sometimes called one of the ambassadors for poker. He began his poker career, like so many others, whilst he was in college. Before becoming a professional poker player, he worked as a sales person and was in the special forces. With his charisma and enormous knowledge base of poker strategy and tactics, he performs a significant role as commentator and is one of the reasons behind the WPT’s successes.
Vince van Patten began his career as a young actor and decent tennis player. He picked up his interest in poker through his father, at the age of 13, and by the age of 17, he had already begun playing professionally. Vince contributes with a lot of experience and fantastic knowledge to the World Poker Tour’s TV broadcasts.
World Poker Tour Hosts – Mike Sexton, Courtney Friel and Vince van Pattern are the hosts for season four of the World Poker Tour