The television broadcasts of the WPT are on a few cable channels. GSN has the most coverage, and the Travel Channel and local stations air coverage of recent events. The coverage currently running is of the Bay 101 Shooting Star event. The players involved in the final include Michael Baker, Noah J Jefferson, Brandon Cantu, John Phan, Jennifer Harman, and Steve Sung.

On August 5th GSN will air coverage of the World Poker Challenge from the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. Players at the final table include Jeff Dewitt, Jason Potter, Zach Hyman, Bryan Devonshire, Lee Markholt, and David Pham.

Events to watch out for in the future on GSN include coverage of the Foxwoods Poker Classic airing August 11th, the WPT Ladies’ Championship airing August 18th, and the WPT World Championship airing August 25th. There are also DVDs available for previous season’s coverage that you may have missed.

The 2008 version of the World Poker Challenge will be the last we will see. The event has not made it on the WPT schedule for next season, despite being an annual event for the last six years. Many industry insiders were surprised with the move because of the popularity the event has enjoyed.

This year’s edition has a $7,500 buy-in, which represents a 50% increase from previous years. But even this won’t be enough to get the event back on the schedule next year. This event has had some of the best poker players in the business at the final tables in the past. Players such as J.C. Tran, David Pham, Mark Seif, Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Blair Rodman, Young Phan, Greg “FBT” Mueller, Paul “Eskimo” Clark, T.J. Cloutier, and 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider have all come close to winning the big World Poker Tour prize in Reno.

The World Poker Tour has created a new league for the female players on tour which will be called the World Poker Tour Ladies (WPTL). The tour will have five events on the season, with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $1,500 plus entry fee. Cities and casinos included on tour are:

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa - Atlantic City, NJ
Commerce Casino - Los Angeles, CA
Bay 101 - San Jose, CA
Foxwoods Resort & Casino - Mashantucket, CT
Bellagio - Las Vegas, NV

The last date at the Bellagio will be the $1500 championship, running from April 13-14, 2008. The event will be broadcast on the Game Show Network where the WPT has found a new home. The WPTL will also donate 15% of the championship event towards finding a cure for breast cancer. Players will also have the chance to donate to the cause at each WPTL event.

The Bodog Poker room will be celebrating its One Billionth Hand some time this month. In only three years the room has achieved this milestone occasion, and they are planning on celebrating it in a big way. Every day from Nov 5 to 26 Bodog Poker will be giving away $50 to ten players a day. The remaining $12,000 will be given to the player who wins the billionth hand, in the form of $1000 per month for a year.

Players at the table of the big hand will split $10,000, and there will be increasing giveaways after the 980,000,000th hand has been played. The prizes will be given away every five million hands until the billionth. Players involved in those hands will get $109 worth of tournament credits, which include the weekly $100,000 Guaranteed and Player’s Choice qualifiers. Those events can get you into a WPT or EPT event in the future.

The WPT is running bootcamps through the fall and winter this year, then into the New Year. Players can choose which type of poker setting they would like to learn. Some are for tournament play and others for cash games.

Many big-name players have offered their expertise; here’s who and when:

Nov 03, 2007 – there will be a two-day tournament camp at the Wild Horse Resort Casino. Rick Fuller and T.J. Cloutier will be there to help out.

Dec 21, 2007 – classes will be at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. They will hold a two-day cash game camp with Mike Matusow and Nick Brancato.

Jan 12, 2008 – there will be another two-day cash game camp at the Commerce Casino that will have Mark Seif, Nick Brancato and Rick Fuller.

Feb 09, 2008 – will be the date for the Foxwoods poker camp, where John D’Agostino will be on hand to share his knowledge

The World Poker Tour will make its inaugural visit to Barcelona, Spain for the WPT Spanish Championship this month. It begins on the 11th and runs until the 16th. The 7,500 Euro + 300 Euro buy-in will surely attract the best players in the world. All eyes will be on Spanish poker star Carlos Mortensen.

Schedule

Oct 11 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 1)
Oct 12 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 2)
Oct 13 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 3)
Oct 14 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 4)
Oct 15 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 5)
Oct 16 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship Final Day

The WPT Spanish Championship will be hosted by the Casino Barcelona and there is a buzz about this event. Any new site for the WPT brings out the best players, and very few of the top pros will pass on a city like Barcelona.

The WPT makes two stops in October. The first is the WPT Spanish Poker Championship at the Casino Barcelona starting on the 11th. The final table is scheduled for the 16th with a buy-in of EUR 7500, and there’s a limit of 400 players.

The next stop is the North American Poker Championships on the 26th at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. The buy-in is $10,000 Canadian, and regulations allow 19-year-old players.

November has only one stop at the Foxwoods World Poker Finals. It will run from Nov 7-13 at the beautiful Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut. The year’s events wrap up at the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic from Dec 13-18.

Most have satellites available online if you want to win your way into one of these premier events. Many players got their start on the WPT and the league continues to bring out the best in the world.