GUKPT

Big plans from Grosvenor and online operator Blue Square as they launch an ambitious UK tour that will be televised by Channel 4.

The two companies, both part of the Rank Group, have announced the launch of the first major UK-only poker tour to hit the UK. This new tour – the largest in the UK, with a £4m total prize pool – will commence in January 2007 and tour different Grosvenor casinos each month.

The tour consists of 10 legs, starting in Bolton on January 12th 2007, culminating in the Grand Final in December at the world famous London Grosvenor Victoria Casino. Winners of each leg of the tour will also win a seat at the UK Poker Tour Grand Final to be held at the end of the year.

Each leg of the tour is a £1,000 buy in, with players also able to qualify in satellites at Grosvenor Casinos or online at Blue Square Poker. There is a £3,000 buy in to the Grand Final for non-leg winners. All participating players will have the chance to play for a share of an anticipated £4 million total prize pool across the ten events.

Peter McCann, Managing Director of Grosvenor Casinos, comments “Grosvenor Casinos have long been a home of live poker, but up until now there has been no major dedicated poker tour in the UK. We feel that a professional tour accessible to all is the natural progression of our existing poker offering and a means of attracting new players who wish to experience live poker tournaments.”

Martin Belsham, Managing Director of the tour sponsor Blue Square, adds: “The popularity of poker continues to grow and Blue Square hope to maximise on the synergy between us and our sister company Grosvenor Casinos. We aim to give people an opportunity to cross the threshold from playing poker online to playing live at high profile tournaments throughout the UK.”

Each leg of the tour will be filmed and broadcast on Channel 4 in the second half of 2007.

Deborah Poulton, Deputy Editor of Sport at Channel 4 commented: “We are proud of our reputation for bringing high quality poker programming to our audience, with brands such as Late Night Poker. We are excited to be working with such established brand names as Grosvenor Casinos and Blue Square Poker on the UK Poker Tour next year. We consider this a valuable addition to our Poker programming.”

John Leach, Managing Director of Sunset + Vine said: “Sunset + Vine have long been at the fore of TV production innovation for the sports industry and we’re excited to be using our deep expertise of the market to produce the GUKPT series for Channel 4. We will be using new technical processes and down-to-earth commentary to demystify the game of poker and make it more accessible to Channel 4’s audiences.”