Disclaimer: As most of you know, I work for the World Poker Tour as their lead tournament reporter. The thoughts expressed in this article are entirely my own, and don't represent the views (official or otherwise) of the World Poker Tour.
Earlier today, there was a press conference at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure to announce the long-rumored North American Poker Tour (NAPT). It's a huge announcement, but nobody in the poker world should be surprised by this.
The European Poker Tour (EPT) began in 2004, copying the concept of the then two-year-old World Poker Tour (WPT) -- they even copied the name. However, the EPT greatly improved the business model. How? While the WPT was primarily a TV show making money on the back end (based on ratings), the EPT made its money on the front end, through online poker satellites and signing up new players. The EPT itself didn't have to make money to be a success.
And a success it was. (And is.) The EPT was a launching point for PokerStars to reach out to nearly every corner of the globe -- the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), and the Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT).
And now, the inevitable North American Poker Tour.
With 441 Productions producing episodes (the same crew that superbly produces the WSOP for ESPN) and a television deal in the works (possibly, but not necessarily, ESPN), this immediately becomes a direct competitor to the WPT.
The WPT has weathered a challenge like this once before, back at the height of the poker boom in 2005. Harrah's launched the WSOP Circuit, a tour of events around the U.S. with $10,000 buyins and TV coverage on ESPN. Ultimately, the WPT won that battle, and ESPN dropped the WSOP Circuit and Harrah's dropped the buyins to $5,000 or less. The WSOP Circuit has evolved into a mid-level tour, between the WPT and the Homeland Poker Tour (HPT), without a lot of participation from the high-profile pros.
But the NAPT is a much different, much stronger animal than the WSOP Circuit events.
While the WSOP Circuit promotes Harrah's brick-and-mortar casinos, the NAPT will be promoting PokerStars. And that leads to the second point -- PokerStars will be funneling players into these events through online satellites. Once it gets settled in, field sizes should be healthy. And big fields of satellite winners combined with TV coverage is a surefire formula for attracting the high-profile pros.
I don't expect TV ratings for the NAPT to be particularly strong, but they don't have to be. While the WSOP Circuit coverage on ESPN was forced to live or die based solely on the ratings, the NAPT has a big advantage with PokerStars behind it -- the show itself is effectively an hour-long commercial. In a worst-case scenario, PokerStars could do a time-buy to get it on TV, but it will probably be enough to merely guarantee sponsorship and a certain number of 30-second commercials.
The NAPT currently has three tournaments on its schedule, starting with the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. (Ironically, that event was originally part of the World Poker Tour.) The WPT has exclusive contracts with its member casinos, so you won't see any NAPT events at Bellagio, Commerce, or Foxwoods anytime soon. But there are still dozens of available casinos out there that would eagerly welcome a high-profile poker tournament with TV coverage.
The U.S. is the largest live poker market in the world, and it can easily support two major tours -- it already supports the WSOP, the WPT, the WSOP Circuit, the Homeland Poker Tour, and plenty of unaffiliated major events. So there is definitely room for the NAPT.
All of this leads to one conclusion -- the NAPT was just announced, but it is already here to stay. The chance of failure seems miniscule.
Keep in mind that PartyPoker recently purchased the WPT, so the battle between the NAPT and the WPT will, to some extent, represent a battle between PokerStars and PartyPoker. PartyPoker hasn't implemented any changes in the WPT (yet), but presumably, they didn't buy it to keep things as they were. Just as the EPT learned lessons from the WPT, expect PartyPoker to improve the WPT based on lessons learned from PokerStars and the EPT.
As the NAPT inevitably grows in the WPT's backyard, it will raise some competitive questions:
1. Which tour will attract larger fields?
2. Which tour will attract the most high-profile pros?
3. Which tour will have the higher TV ratings?
The wild card, of course, is the UIGEA and the hope that online poker will be legalized and regulated in the United States.
The first key test of the NAPT will be their next event, held at the Venetian in Las Vegas ($5,000 buyin) -- it starts the same day as the WPT Invitational, which is during the Matt Savage-led L.A. Poker Classic. Savage has created a fantastic tournament schedule, and some players will just stay in LA. However, promises of TV coverage will lure some pros to make the four-hour drive to Vegas for the NAPT. Some of those players will likely play aggressive at the start, and then return to LA for the WPT Invitational if they bust early. (The WPT Invitational starts in the evening.)
For more analysis on the just-announced NAPT, tune into tomorrow's episode of The Poker Beat. I'd say there's a better-than-even chance that we discuss this.
Friday, January 8, 2010 at 03:45PM 
