World Poker Tour Hit Borgata

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Borgata casino kicked off the fourth stop on the acclaimed WORLD POKER TOUR Sunday, attracting record numbers of players to the second annual Borgata Poker Open. This year's event attracted 302 players for a $3,020,000 prize pool, a $1,845,000 increase over last year's event which drew 235 players. The winner of this year's $10,000 buy-in event will take home $1,117,400 and will advance to the WPT Championship when the tour's season culminates at Bellagio in April 2005. The WORLD POKER TOUR is the highest rated series in the history of the Travel Channel, airing Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The WORLD POKER TOUR continues to average a "poker millionaire a month" in its 15-tournament season. In Season Three the total prize money has already reached $11,194,570, a $5,786,590 increase over Season Two stops to date. The high stakes action is attracting increasing numbers of players vying for the prize money and fans eager to witness the minting of a millionaire at the Final Table. Projected to reach a total of $70 million, Season Three's prize pool is rising with every stop on the tour.

The public is invited to be part of the Final Table television audience when the Borgata Poker Open concludes on Wednesday, September 22, 2004. Fans will partake in a first-ever WPT Viewing Party, where they can fine-tune their game, win prizes, and socialize with other poker enthusiasts. Admission is free, and the first 1000 guests will receive a collectible WPT poker chip to commemorate the event. The doors open at 3:30 PM.

Some of the most recognizable faces playing at Sunday's tables included Borgata Poker Open's defending champion Noli Francisco, in addition to WPT stars Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, and Antonio Esfandiari.

The fifth stop of the WORLD POKER TOUR'S 15-tournament season is the Aruba Poker Classic, hosted by UltimateBet.com from September 26 through October 1. For the complete tournament schedule and casino contacts, please visit www.worldpokertour.com.