World Poker Tour

World Poker Tour's Ladies Night II

Women's Intuition and Poker Prowess to Take Center Stage in World Poker Tour's Ladies Night II

World Poker Tour's Ladies Night II: A Novice, a Grandmother, a Political Consultant, and Poker Pros are Showcased on December 15

The Girls are Back! Last December, legions of poker fans across the country tuned in to see if women had the skill and the finesse to play their own brand of cutthroat poker. In a broadcast that became the WORLD POKER TOUR's® most highly rated show of 2003, Ladies' Night did not disappoint. The show instantly debunked the myth that high-stakes poker is the exclusive purview of men and catapulted a beautiful blond stranger from Texas to instant stardom. The WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT) is the highest rated series in the history of the Travel Channel, airing Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Update: The results are in! Players listed in order of placement below. Isabelle Mercier Lavinna Zhang Sharon Goldman Wendeen Eolis Cindy Violette Cycalona Gowen PokerPages congratulates Isabelle in her spectacular finish and wish all the participants good fortune in all of their poker endeavers. PokerPages Results

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Now five new women and that beautiful blond from Texas return for an encore. This December 15th, poker fans can tune in to the Travel Channel to see if the aptly named Texan, Cycalona "Clonie" Gowen, can again take five formidable female opponents by storm in a brand new Ladies Night II Tournament. The showdown will air as a special new episode of the WORLD POKER TOUR, prior to the series' much anticipated Third Season beginning in March 2005. At stake are a $25,500 seat at the 2005 World Poker Tour Championship and a chance at the WPT season finale's anticipated prize pool of $25 million. The Ladies Night II show will air at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the Travel Channel.

By providing a televised forum to showcase these players' skills, the WORLD POKER TOUR has become poker's foremost booster of women players. To date, five women have made regular season Final Tables on WORLD POKER TOUR broadcasts. A half dozen are among the Tour's 75 regulars who play at all the WPT stops.

The WPT Ladies' Night II Contenders:

In the first Ladies' Night, Clonie Gowen proved that it is indeed anybody's game when she triumphed over five far more decorated players, including Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, and Kathy Liebert. In Ladies Night II she takes on four new invited female poker pros and a self-described "freshman" who won her way in by triumphing at the Bicycle Casino's "Ladies Poker Party Tournament" - her second tournament ever and first no-limit event. The players at the Ladies Night II table, in alphabetical order, are:

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WENDEEN EOLIS of New York City holds a number of poker records, including being the first woman ever to finish in the money at the World Series of Poker. Eolis is also a player in the worlds of New York politics and international business, as she owns a legal consulting firm and was an adviser to New York governor George Pataki. Eolis is a grandmother of six.

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SHARON GOLDMAN of Los Angeles grew up playing cards with her family, but it was while waiting in the emergency room for a possible appendectomy that her then fiancé taught her how to play Hold'em. She later became a bona fide tournament player, finishing in the money in two WORLD POKER TOUR events.

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CLONIE GOWEN entered a WORLD POKER TOUR Season One tournament for $500 while on a scuba diving vacation in Costa Rica, and started swimming with another kind of shark altogether. No one knew the then-amateur player or paid her the slightest attention. She placed tenth in this tournament, in the money, and just a few seats away from the Final Table. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know who was this beautiful blond stranger. The impressive finish in Costa Rica earned Gowen a seat in the first WPT Ladies Night Tournament. When the show aired nationally on the Travel Channel in December 2003 and Gowen triumphed over far more seasoned poker players, she became an instant celebrity.

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ISABELLE MERCIER of Montreal, Canada is known for her aggressive and shrewd style of play, and was instantly dubbed by WORLD POKER TOUR commentator Mike Sexton, "Isabelle 'No Mercy' Mercier." She has been a lawyer, poker dealer, and poker manager at the Aviation Club in Paris, a post she left to devote herself to her own professional poker career.

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CINDY VIOLETTE is a high-stakes player from Atlantic City known as the "Poker Flower." Now in her 40s, she started playing poker 20 years ago, a time when her peers were graduating from college or getting married. In her first tournament, she placed fifth and the rest was history. She won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2004, one of the few women to do so, and counts Donald Trump among her biggest fans.

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CUILING "LAVINNA" ZHANG hails from San Gabriel Valley, California. Prior to her victory at the Bicycle Casino event that won her a seat in WPT's Ladies Night II, Zhang had only played in low-limit games. Her story proves that you don't have to be a pro to make it big in poker, and although she is a novice, she is still a force to be reckoned with.

The WORLD POKER TOUR, which was the first poker show on U.S. television to reveal the players' hole cards, will broadcast 16 new tournaments filmed at leading casinos and exotic locales from Las Vegas to Paris, beginning with the launch of its Third Season in March 2005.

About WPT Enterprises, Inc. WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPTE) is a media and entertainment company engaged in the creation of branded entertainment through the development, production and marketing of televised programming based on poker and other gaming themes. To date, operations have principally revolved around the creation of the World Poker Tour™ brand through the production and licensing of a television series exhibited on the Travel Channel that is based on a circuit of previously established high-stakes poker tournaments that we have affiliated under the "World Poker Tour" brand. WPT Enterprises, Inc. is a majority owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: LACO). Photos and media information can be found online at: www.worldpokertour.com.

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 WPT's brand licensing, the development of new television and film projects, the development of WPT 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 WPT. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, WPT'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 WPT's television programming; the risk that WPT 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 WPT's relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and WPT's dependence on its senior management team. For more information, review WPT's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Editors Note: 300 dpi downloadable images available at www.media.worldpokertour.com.

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