World Poker Tour, WagerWorks Finalize Online Agreement

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:WPTE) and WagerWorks finalized its agreement today to develop a World Poker Tour branded real-money gaming website. The two companies also announced that the site, WPTonline.com, is expected to go live in the second quarter of this year. WPTonline.com will prohibit bets from players in the U.S. and other jurisdictions where online gaming is prohibited.

"This is the next step in our global branding initiative," explained Lyle Berman, CEO of WPT Enterprises, Inc. "With the World Poker Tour now airing in nearly 60 countries, the addition of an international gaming site provides a synergistic engine for growth. We believe the future of online gaming will be driven by strong brands, and the World Poker Tour is achieving the kind of worldwide recognition that will position us at the forefront of this burgeoning business sector."

The poker craze that ensued when the World Poker Tour revealed players' hidden cards on television is now fueling the growth of online poker. According to market research firm Christiansen Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (CCA), the global online gaming industry will reach the $10 billion mark in 2005, more than double total revenues in 2002. According to CCA, the European market alone is expected to experience triple-digit growth in online poker over the next two years. As consumer access to broadband continues to grow and technical demands are answered across the globe, WPTonline.com will offer increasing numbers of consumers a best-in-class online gaming experience.

WPTonline.com will showcase a WPT-branded poker room featuring ring games, Sit and Gos, and multi-table tournaments for poker games including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, and 7 Card Hi-Lo. Additionally, the site will feature an online casino with a broad selection of slots and table games including WagerWorks' exclusive online titles Monopoly(TM), Wheel of Fortune®, and The Price is Right(TM). On-air promotion of WPTonline.com via international World Poker Tour television broadcasts will be a primary marketing tool for driving poker players to the site. WPT Enterprises recently expanded distribution of its World Poker Tour television series into Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing the total number of countries where the show is aired to 57.

"We believe that the World Poker Tour brand and WagerWorks' Internet gaming assets will be key factors in enabling WPTonline.com to get out of the gate quickly," stated Paul Miltenberger, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WagerWorks. WagerWorks is recognized as an industry leader in terms of legal and regulatory compliance online. The combination of WagerWorks' proven online gaming platform, commitment to regulatory compliance, proprietary premium content, and successful operating history solidified WagerWorks as the vendor of choice for WPT Enterprises.

WagerWorks does not license its software to or support any operator that accepts U.S. wagers or wagers from other markets and jurisdictions where it is illegal to do so. The company is licensed out of the island of Alderney, one of the U.K.'s Channel Islands, and is fully regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. The firm's core technologies have been independently validated by testing labs TST and GGS.

The World Poker Tour, the show that launched the sport, will broadcast 16 new tournaments filmed at leading casinos from Las Vegas to Paris, beginning with the launch of its Third Season on March 2, 2005. The World Poker Tour airs in the U.S. Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the Travel Channel and is the highest rated series in the network's history.