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WPT release details of the roll call for the PPT

Professional Poker Tour starts next month with 200 of poker playing world’s elite

Tuesday 19th October 2004

The World Poker Enterprise’s professional poker tour, or PPT as it is known, will kick off on the 9th of November at the Foxwoods Resort Casino. WPT have now published its list of eligible players, with the final count coming to around the 200 mark. The list comprised of champions from tournaments including the World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker and European Poker competition.

The PPT differs from the WPT in that only those who qualify are able to play. Participation is by invite to the most successful poker players on the circuit. The criteria for eligibility includes: having won or reaching a final table at APT event or championship; by ranking in the top ten point leader table in the WPT Player-of-the-Year rankings; by becoming a member of the Poker hall of Fame; securing a spot on either CardPlayer Magazine’s Card Player of the Year Top 10 list, or Poker Europa’s Top 10; or by winning or placing highly in the US$10,000 buy in event at the World Series of Poker.

President of WPT Enterprises, Steve Lipscomb, explained the strict rules regarding entry to the PPT: 'This qualifying process ensures that the television audience will have a chance to consistently see the most exciting, skilled poker played by the sport's All-Stars. The PPT will be a league of poker Titans.' The names of those qualifying include: Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Phil Gordon, Men 'The Master' Nguyen, Chris Moneymaker, Antonio Esfandiari, Bobby Baldwin, Daniel Negreanu, Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, David 'Devilfish' Ulliott, Samy Farah, Mel Judah, Scotty Nguyen, Erick Lindgren, Phil 'The Unabomber' Laak, Huck Seed, Tom McEvoy, Layne Flack, Carlos Mortensen, Chip Reese, Erick Seidel, Lyle Berman, Kathy Liebert, T. J. Cloutier, Ted Forrest and Linda Johnson.

The event in November will mark the first year of the Professional Poler Tour, which will feature five US$500,000 free-roll tournaments. After Foxwoods, the tour moves to Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Goldstrike Casino in Tunica, Commerce Casino in California and back to Las Vegas at The Mirage. The action will be broadcast on the Travel Channel in the US on Wednesdays at 9pm, with more television partners still to be announced.




Source: OnlineCasinoNews