Any player who wins a satellite tournament into the event or is able to pay the buy-in amount, can enter the WPT. Many satellite tournaments are held which award seats in the WPT and these are especially popular at online casinos. The WPT is a popular tournament among professional poker players and as such attracts many other players as well. Lipscomb is now CEO of WPT Enterprises (WPTE), the company that controls the WPT. Bracelets were awarded retroactively to winners at the WPT prior to the bracelets release. In 2008, the WPT started awarding bracelets to its champions.
There have been no new inductees since 2004. The original inductees included poker legends, Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen and actor, James Garner. It aims to honor poker players who have excelled in the game and promoted it through media.
It is a collection of Texas Hold'em poker tournaments that are held internationally, but primarily in the United States. The inaugural WPT Championship event was held in April 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Bellagio Casino. The World Poker Tour (WPT) was launched by attorney/ television producer Steven Lipscomb in the United States in late 2002, early 2003. The World Poker Tour is a popular poker tournament which has particularly grown in popularity due to its screening on national television.
