WPT Enterprises, Inc. welcomed Budweiser this week as the “Official Beer” of the World Poker Tour in its fourth exciting season of riveting televised poker on the Travel Channel.
“As the World Poker Tour re-positions poker as a leading sport – not just a pastime – Budweiser is the ideal sponsor. Our long association with sports increases poker’s recognition by the sports-loving consumer and television viewer,” said Peter McLoughlin, Vice President, Corporate Media, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
Budweiser television spots will air on Travel Channel’s broadcasts of Season IV. Additionally, viewers will see the Budweiser logo on the “table ring” around the Final Table arena and on in-show graphics for the WPT’s popular “hole card camera” segment. The winners of each WPT tournament will celebrate a toast with Budweiser as part of the WPT’s traditional closing sequence.
In jurisdictions where it is legal, Budweiser will support the sponsorship with retail promotions which will begin in December 2005 and will run through February 2006 with a “Texas Hold’em tournament”, to feature a shortened elimination version of Texas Hold’em.
Players will begin each round with an equal number of chips and play until they “bust out.” Only the top chip winners will progress to the next round. Players will not pay or purchase anything to play in this tournament, but must be 21 or older.
The top two players at the National Finals will secure seats in the WPT Invitational, the World Poker Tour’s celebrity pro-am tournament boasting 300 players vying for a $200,000 prize pool. Skilled celebrities such as Ben Affleck, James Woods, Jennifer Tilly and Tobey Maguire have joined the roster of WPT tournament winners and leading pros who participate in the WPT Invitational.
Steve Lipscomb, CEO and founder of WPT Enterprises described the deal as “….a great match of two iconic brands.”