World Poker Tour Looking Stronger in 2009

The World Poker Tour, a company at the heart of the poker boom in the US, reported a stronger than expected financial picture in their quarterly report last week. The news came as a surprise to many industry observers, especially considering the rocky revenue ride the company took in 2008.

The first quarter of 2009 saw WPT eek into profitability, excepting a non-cash asset impairment charge of $1 million related to the company’s investment in Cecure Gaming. Increased revenue from TV deals and licensing arrangements, most notably a multi-million dollar deal with PokerStars to sponsor the international version of the show, were the main forces responsible for improving the company’s outlook.

WPT also worked to shave costs, jettisoning WPT China and trimming personnel and logistical expenses by nearly $2 million when compared to first quarter 08.

“In the first quarter of 2009, we made significant progress in our turnaround efforts to position the Company for future profitability” said Steve Lipscomb, President and CEO of WPT Enterprises. “We signed our first international sponsor for Season Seven of the World Poker Tour television series, we signed marketing partnerships for non-televised WPT tour stops, we shut down the WPT China business and we reduced our ongoing costs. We also completed the initial airing of the 13 episodes we produced for our ClubWPT.com online subscription poker business. FSN began airing 26 all-new episodes of Season Seven of the World Poker Tour television series across the U.S. in January as a part of FSN’s Sunday sports block. FSN also agreed to air Season Eight of the World Poker Tour television series.”