Tuesday, January 22, 2008

STATS LLC and World Poker Tour® Partner



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


STATS LLC and World Poker Tour® Partner to Offer Poker Industry’s First Ever Sports-Style Breakdowns and Analyses


Analysis and Stats of Every WPT Final Hand Played Will Be Featured on WorldPokertour.com, Allowing Fans to Study the Game Like Never Before


Los Angeles and Northbrook, IL – January 22, 2008 – STATS LLC, the world’s leading sports information provider, and WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPTE), the leader in worldwide poker entertainment, announced today a partnership to deliver the first ever in-depth analyses and strategic breakdowns for the poker industry.

STATS—which provides data collection and analysis for 85 sports leagues and more than 55,000 events per year, including Major League Baseball, National Football League, and National Basketball Association—will deliver stats and information from every past and present World Poker Tour® (WPT) final table. WPT STATS data results are now available in the WPT player database exclusively on www.worldpokertour.com with new updates following each tournament, allowing poker fans and players to study intricacies of the game in ways never available before.

STATS will compile the aggregate actions of each final table hand in the company’s proprietary databases featuring over 100 tournaments in World Poker Tour history, as well as all tournaments going forward. STATS’ information will detail “playing style” along with situational analysis, breakdowns and trends for a more complete portrait of each World Poker Tour star. Examples include how often a player plays a pot; how often they take a hand to “showdown”; and the average bet size relative to the pot by player.

“This is an incredibly exciting move for us, as it will really change the way the game is studied and played,” said Ken Graiwer, Vice President of WPT Interactive. “This partnership with STATS will really bring poker information up to the level of sports analytics, giving fans and players a whole new perspective on the game. Before, you could watch the show to see how players play and speculate on why—NOW you can actually access statistical information on why they played a certain way and the success of their particular methods. Players can study each other and themselves.”

“We’re excited to partner with the World Poker Tour and unveil new insights for one of the world’s most popular games,” said Steve Byrd, Executive Vice President at STATS. “STATS enjoys a proven history of providing an alternative way for both fans and media alike to view and understand sports. We strongly believe this type of analyses will make the game more enjoyable for the growing legion of World Poker Tour fans.”

In 2003, WPT revolutionized televised poker and brought Texas Hold'em, the “Cadillac of Poker,” to the forefront of international excitement. WPT has turned poker into a sporting event that draws the young and old, men and women and people of all nationalities into the game; it has reshaped the face of poker and has raised the competitive bar to a new level. Now in it’s sixth season, WPT has made over 100 tour stops around the globe, has been licensed for broadcast in over 150 countries and territories, has awarded over $300 million dollars in prize money, created over 80 WPT Poker-Made Millionaires™ and recently announced a partnership with the Chinese Leisure Sports Administration Center to build the first ever National Traktor Poker Championship in China.

Contact: Nick Stamm
STATS, Inc.
847-583-2110
stamm@stats.com

Lyndsay LaGree
World Poker Tour
323-330-9876 (o)
llagree@worldpokertour.com

About STATS LLC
With more than 25 years experience in mission critical sports data collection, processing and distribution - STATS is the world's leading sports information, content and statistical analysis company. STATS offers a world-wide portfolio of sports information solutions - including the company’s hallmark of real-time scores, historical sports information and turnkey fantasy sports operation along with AP editorial content, breaking sports news and photos. STATS’ innovative sports information solutions are utilized in numerous business segments: professional teams; sports broadcast production, cable and satellite networks; interactive television; broadband, wireless and internet; game developers and fantasy sports providers; print media and wire services. STATS has offices in Bangalore, Barcelona, Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Milan, Mumbai, Münster, New York, The Hague and Tokyo.www.stats.com



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®, a television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the United States and is scheduled to begin broadcasting on GSN in early 2008. WPTE is licensed for broadcast globally. WPTE also offers real-money online gaming on its website, www.worldpokertour.com, which prohibits wagers from players in the U.S. and certain other restricted territories. WPTE 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. The company is also engaged in the sale of corporate sponsorships. For show information, tools for improving poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to www.worldpokertour.com. WPTE is a majority-owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: LACO). Photos and media information can be found online at: www.worldpokertour.com


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