WPT Enterprises Inc., the entertainment firm behind the international World Poker Tour franchise, is to enter the video gaming business, competing with imminent poker productions such as Daniel Negreanu’s “Stacked”.
The group has announced that an impressive list of familiar faces who will appear in the game, which currently has the rather unimaginative working title of WPT2K6. The list includes WPT Champions Erick Lindgren (the 2004 WPT Player of the Year), Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari and Phil “The Unabomber” Laak.
All will be featured prominently in the game together with poker professionals like Evelyn Ng, WPT Chairman of the Board Lyle Berman, celebrity and poker star Mimi Rogers and WPT announcers Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten.
Six major international casinos used at WPT tournaments will feature prominently in the game. The Bicycle Club and the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, Bay 101 in San Jose, the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, the Borgota in Atlantic City and the Aviation Club in Paris, France have all agreed to be represented. Early reports suggest that the virtual replication of the casinos is already being applauded for its accuracy, from the carpeting to the lighting and the décor of each world famous casino.
Poker video gaming is already a competitive arena, with other poker related video games set to come out this Fall. Daniel Negreanu’s “Stacked” has yet to hit the streets and Crave Entertainment’s “World Championship Poker” featuring Howard Lederer and Activision, is due out too.
It was not all good news from WPT this week. The company said on Monday that it had recorded a second-quarter loss as the costs of putting on its shows and tournaments nearly doubled. Losses totaled $426,000, or 2 cents per share, compared with last year’s profit of $887,000, or 6 cents per share. Revenue rose 40 percent to $6.6 million from $4.7 million.