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WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE
WPT Brand & International TV Exposure Expected to Drive Players to Site Worldwide; WPTonline.com To Debut in 2nd Quarter of '05

WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:WPTE) and WagerWorks finalized its agreement today to develop a WORLD POKER TOUR(TM) (WPT) 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(R) 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(R), 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.

About WPT Enterprises, Inc.

WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:WPTE) is a company engaged in the creation of internationally branded entertainment and consumer products driven by the development, production, and marketing of televised programming based on gaming themes. WPTE is the creator of the World Poker Tour(R), a television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the United States and more than 50 markets globally. WPT Enterprises currently licenses its brand to companies in the business of poker equipment and instruction, apparel, publishing, electronic and wireless entertainment, DVD/home entertainment, casino games, and giftware. For show information, tools for improving poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to www.worldpokertour.com. The company is also engaged in the sale of corporate sponsorships. WPT Enterprises, Inc. is a majority owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LACO). Photos and media information can be found online at: www.worldpokertour.com/media.

About WagerWorks

WagerWorks develops, markets and operates a complete Internet gaming solution that enables established consumer-oriented companies to leverage their operating expertise and brand equity online. As a veteran of the traditional casino industry, WagerWorks adheres to the highest standards imposed by the various regulatory and control authorities. Founded in April of 2000 the company has implemented a broad line of products with unparalleled integrity and unmatched quality. With premier titles such as Monopoly (TM), Wheel of Fortune(R) and a robust Multiplayer poker product, WagerWorks is the industry's leader in creating casino games. The WagerWare platform and the accompanying library of innovative game titles and premier gaming franchises can be found at www.skybetvegas.com, www.virgingames.com, , www.paddypowercasino.com, www.bluesquarecasino.com, www.hardrockcasino.com, www.getmintedxtra.com, www.thepriceisrightgames.com. For more information, please visit www.wagerworks.com.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by WPT Enterprises, Inc.) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to the expansion of WPT's brand licensing, the development of new television and film projects, the development of WPT corporate sponsors and other business development activities, as well as statements regarding other capital spending, financing sources and the effects of competition. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of WPT. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, WPT's significant dependence on the Travel Channel as a source of revenue; the potential that our television programming will fail to maintain a sufficient audience; the risk that competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence might develop television programming that would directly compete with WPT's television programming; the risk that WPT may not be able to protect its entertainment concepts, current and future brands and other intellectual property rights; risks associated with future expansion into new or complementary businesses; the termination or impairment of WPT's relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and WPT's dependence on its senior management team. For more information, review WPT's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Editors Note: Press releases and 300 dpi downloadable photos are available at www.media.worldpokertour.com.

WPTEG

Don't confuse All In for yet another shelter or lifestyle magazine. It's for readers who want to "improve your poker game" or reclaim the deed to the house they lost in a game of Texas Hold 'em.

That's the premise for this new national paid-circulation poker magazine.

"The opportunity is to build a major enthusiast title in a niche that has not [generally] been explored before," said All In founder and publisher Bhu Srinivasan in New York. "And one of the primary reasons is that poker wasn't acceptable and wasn't mainstream up 'til now. Television made it acceptable. Television brought it from the backrooms to the boardrooms."

TV networks are said to have generated some of their highest ratings with poker programming. Popular shows include the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour," ESPN's "World Series of Poker" and Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown."

Online poker playing has added to the game’s popularity. Investment bank Bear Stearns estimates the poker industry's 2003 revenue at $4.2 billion. Ninety-three percent of the poker-playing audience is male.

It is this market, particularly those ages 21-49, that All In vies to reach. But the poker magazine publishing segment is treacherous. Nearly a dozen related titles have disappeared over the past few decades except for Bluff and industry leader Card Player magazine from Las Vegas.

"They go after the professional and semiprofessional tournament players, and we go after mainstream audiences," Srinivasan said.

Launched in December, the bimonthly All In guarantees a rate base of 150,000 starting with its March/April issue. The publisher hopes to increase the rate base to 500,000 by the end of 2006.

The magazine's trim size is 8.25-by-10.75 inches. Paper is 60-pound stock and grade #3. Advertisers include Oakley, Belvedere Vodka, Samuel Adams, Bellagio, Crown Royal, Mirage, ESPN and the Travel Channel.

Time Distribution Services is distributing All In. The magazine sells for $4.99 at retailers like Wal-Mart Stores, Target, Barnes & Noble, Borders and 7-Eleven. A year's subscription costs $17.95 for six issues.

Mail drops, keyword buys on Google and Yahoo's Overture and Amazon are expected to generate interest and subscriptions.

"For a major consumer enthusiast title, 10 to 15 percent of the copies will go through newsstand and 85 percent are subscriptions," Srinivasan said. "To get to the subs level could take three to five years."

All In's editorial is aimed at consumers who play poker for fun, not for a living. The professional poker market is more the province of Card Player, a biweekly with 65,000 copies distributed via newsstands, card rooms and hotels. One-third of the distribution is paid circulation at $39.95 for 26 copies yearly.

Consider editorial from All In's debut January/February issue. Former World Series of Poker champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson is on the cover. He will contribute regularly. So will poker celebrities like Howard Lederer and "Celebrity Poker Showdown" host Phil Gordon.

Inside that issue is Gordon's take on his charity poker tournament with quarterback Tom Brady of the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Another article features Annie Duke's $2 million victory at the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. And a 25-page spread focuses on the art of bluffing.

Each issue will have poker book reviews, player rankings, a calendar of notable poker events and gadgets.

"There's a reason why Maxim, Stuff, FHM, Esquire and Cigar Aficionado feature some type of poker article or tidbits in every issue," Srinivasan said. "It's because poker is popular for that audience, and what we're trying to do is bring about a complete magazine about poker that simulates those same sensibilities."

By: Mickey Alam Khan
Senior Editor
mickey@dmnews.com

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