WORLD POKER TOUR(R) Adds Las Vegas' Tropical Paradise Mandalay Bay to Season V Tour Schedule

WORLD POKER TOUR(R) Adds Las Vegas' Tropical Paradise Mandalay Bay to Season V Tour Schedule

WPT's 2006-7 Schedule Will Continue to Ratchet Up Million Dollar Prize Pools; Tour Estimated to Reach $250 Million Mark in Season V

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The WORLD POKER TOUR(R) announced today that Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas has joined its roster of host casinos for a new event that will be staged as the second stop of the Season V calendar. The Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, to be held June 4 - 8, will become the next big event on the WPT's storied 17-stop tour which features exciting poker action at some of the most beautiful, elegant and highly regarded resorts and card rooms around the globe. In Season V, the WPT is expected to surpass its Quarter Billion Dollar mark in prize money!

Steve Lipscomb, CEO and founder of WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE) said, "This continues to build our solid relationship with the MGM MIRAGE family of destination resort casinos." We have scored a trifecta with Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Bellagio, the best Las Vegas has to offer."

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is a luscious tropical-themed resort. The site's 3,644 rooms and suites include 424 accommodations managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The property also has a House of Blues restaurant, concert hall and more than 100 House of Blues-themed rooms, decorated in the unique style for which House of Blues has become famous. Mandalay Bay earned the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award, and offers two AAA Four Diamond restaurants, Aureole and 3950. The Mandalay Bay Convention Center brings the total meeting space to nearly 1.5 million square feet and is the largest convention center on the Las Vegas Strip. Mandalay Bay's brands include: THEhotel, an all-suite hotel featuring 1,117 luxurious one-bedroom suites and Mandalay Place, a collection of 41 unique boutiques and restaurants. Mandalay Bay is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE, which also owns and operates The Mirage and Bellagio, two additional Las Vegas WPT casino partners.

In other new developments, Foxwoods Resort Casino, after staging some of the largest events in WPT history, will extend its involvement with the tour by hosting a new spring event, to complement its fall World Poker Finals. The Foxwoods' Poker Classic will be filmed as part of Season IV April 6-9.

The Foxwoods' Poker Classic will replace the PartyPoker Million on the WPT calendar. After several great seasons together in which the WPT helped build international awareness for these now prominent online sites, the WPT will bid adieu to both PartyPoker and Ultimate Bet.

Explained Lipscomb: "We've had a great run with both companies, but the circumstances have changed since we elected to launch WPTonline.com, our own international gaming website. Although they will no longer be on the tour, we continue to explore future opportunities with both of these organizations."

In announcing the WPT's full Season V calendar, poker players may now begin planning their tournament schedules and their shot at the $100 million prize money up for grabs on the WORLD POKER TOUR -- a tour with the slogan "Anyone can play; Anyone can win." In just four years, the WPT has transformed poker into a career destination for touring pros, just like players on the PGA, while also enabling newcomers to get a piece of the estimated $200 million prize money offered over the WPT's four seasons of riveting play. With the announcement of the tour dates, the satellite contact information will also be accessible on the newly re-launched website: www.worldpokertour.com.

WORLD POKER TOUR will once again feature events in Paris and a stellar lineup of U.S. destinations. Season V begins and ends in Las Vegas, initially with The Mirage Poker Showdown May 14, 2006 at The Mirage and concludes April 27, 2007 at Bellagio for the exciting and much heralded WPT World Championship.

The WPT launched the poker phenomenon when it first aired on the Travel Channel on March 30, 2003, and it continues to lead the way in developing poker as a major international sport. Viewers and aspiring tour players can log on to www.worldpokertour.com for ways to improve their game and to get the latest WPT schedules, information and merchandise. The highest rated show ever on The Travel Channel, the WPT is now seen in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide. WORLD POKER TOUR(R) airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST/PST on the Travel Channel in the U.S.

World Poker Tour Season V Tournament Schedule

Tournament Name Hosting Casino/Location Date

The Mirage Poker The Mirage, Las Vegas May 14 - 17, 2006
Showdown

Mandalay Bay Poker Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas June 4 - 8, 2006
Championship

Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de June 12 - 16, 2006
France, Paris

Legends of Poker The Bicycle Casino, August 26 - 30, 2006
Los Angeles

Borgata Poker Open The Borgata, September 15 - 19, 2006
Atlantic City, NJ

North American TBA October 23 - 27, 2006
Poker Championship

World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino November 11 - 14, 2006
Mashantucket, CT Final Table November 16,
2006

Bellagio Five Bellagio, Las Vegas December 15 - 19, 2006
Diamond World Poker
Classic

PokerStars.com PokerStars.com, January 6 - 13, 2007
Caribbean Adventure Atlantis, Paradise (tentative dates)
Island, Bahamas

World Poker Open Gold Strike Casino, January 21 - 25, 2007
Tunica, MS

L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, February 15 - 20, 2007
Los Angeles

WPT Invitational Commerce Casino, February 21 - 23, 2007
Commerce, CA

Bay 101 Shooting Bay 101, San Jose, CA February 27 -
Star March 3, 2007

World Poker Reno Hilton, Reno, NV March 26 - 29, 2007
Challenge

WPT World Bellagio, Las Vegas April 21 - 27, 2007
Championship

Two additional tournaments to be confirmed at a later date.

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(R), a television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the United States and more than 130 countries and territories globally. WPT Enterprises 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. For show information, tools for improving poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to www.worldpokertour.com. The company is also engaged in the sale of corporate sponsorships. WPT Enterprises, Inc. is a majority owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Photos and media information can be found online at: www.worldpokertour.com/media.

(WPTEG)

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by WPT Enterprises, Inc.) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to the expansion of WPTE's brand licensing, the development of new television and film projects, the development of WPTE corporate sponsors and other business development activities, as well as statements regarding other capital spending, financing sources and the effects of competition. Such forward- looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of WPTE. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, WPTE's significant dependence on the Travel Channel as a source of revenue; the potential that our television programming will fail to maintain a sufficient audience; the risk that competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence might develop television programming that would directly compete with WPTE's television programming; the risk that WPTE may not be able to protect its entertainment concepts, current and future brands and other intellectual property rights; risks associated with future expansion into new or complementary businesses; the termination or impairment of WPTE's relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and WPTE's dependence on its senior management team.

For more information, review WPTE's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:
Aimee Lirette/WPT: 323-330-9872
alirette@worldpokertour.com
Scott Ghertner/MGM MIRAGE Public Relations
702-891-7272

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050809/LATU100LOGO)

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050809/LATU100LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: WPT Enterprises, Inc.

CONTACT: Jackie Lapin, +1-818-707-1473, jackielapin@cs.com, or Aimee
Lirette, +1-323-330-9872, alirette@worldpokertour.com, both of WPT
Enterprises, Inc.; or Scott Ghertner of MGM MIRAGE Public Relations,
+1-702-891-7272

Web site: http://www.worldpokertour.com/media

Web site: http://www.wptonline.com/

Web site: http://www.worldpokertour.com/

NOTE TO EDITOR: 300 dpi downloadable images available at www.media.worldpokertour.com

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