February 18^th, 2005 (12:13am) - 2K Sports, the sports division of 2K Games, announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with WPT Enterprises for World Poker Tour (WPT) interactive poker games. The console, PC, and handheld games are in development at both Coresoft and Backbone studios.

"The World Poker Tour is fast becoming one of the most recognizable properties in entertainment," said Steve Glickstein, Vice President of Publishing for 2K Sports. "We are very excited to be partnering with WPT Enterprises, Inc. to bring everyone’s favorite poker show into the virtual world of interactive gaming. Poker is one of the world’s most popular pastimes and a natural fit for our lineup."

"This agreement with 2K Sports takes the World Poker Tour into people’s homes in a truly interactive manner," said WPT Enterprises, Inc. founder and President Steve Lipscomb. "Gamers will have a chance to feel the exhilaration that our WPT players do when they grab one of those monster pots. We are looking forward to having our WPT brand available on the world’s most popular game platforms."

The games will create an authentic World Poker Tour experience for users simulating the excitement of the smash hit television show. World Poker Tour, the show that launched the sport, will broadcast 16 new tournaments filmed at leading casinos from Las Vegas to Paris, beginning with the launch of its Third Season on March 2, 2005. World Poker Tour airs in the U.S. Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the Travel Channel and is the highest rated series in the network’s history.