The First Season of the World Poker Tour, 2002-2003

The debut season of the World Poker Tour proved to be a success after it made an immediate impact on the world of poker. Several poker players and enthusiasts who have managed to watch the tournament were inspired by the success of the event. Various poker tournaments were held to complete the first season of this poker tour.

Several tournaments were held in the different parts of the world including Aruba, Costa Rica and France. The World Poker Tour gave the game of poker an international appeal that almost no one can resist. The events were held between the first day of June 2002 and the 18th of April 2003. The series immediately drew a huge number of crowds who are very much into the game of poker.

The first tournament was held at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas Nevada. A total of $556,480 was won by the big winner Gus Hansen. He was considered as the very first tournament winner in the history of the event. He emerged as the ultimate winner of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

The next tournament was held at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California, on August 31, 2002. Chris Karagulleyan emerged as the ultimate winner of the Legends of Poker by winning a total amount of $258,000. This event was then followed by the Ultimate Poker Classic tournament which was held in Aruba from October 10 to 11, 2002. The ultimate winner of the event was Juha Helppi who brought home a sparkling $50,000.

Next in the set of tournaments was the Costa Rica Classic which was held at the Casinos Europa on the 19th of October in the same year. Jose Rosenkrantz emerged as the ultimate winner by taking home a total of $108,730. This successful tournament was then followed by the Gold Rush Tournament that was held at the Lucky Chances Casino in Colma, California, on the 11th of November. This tournament was capped off by Paul Darden taking home a total of $146,000.

The World Poker Finals was then held at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on the 17th of November. Howard Lederer won the last tournament for the year 2002 by taking home a grand total of $320,400. This tournament was followed by the Jack Binion World Poker Open. The event was won by Dave Ulliott, which was held at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

In February 2003, three tournaments were held including the Euro Finals of Poker at the Aviation Club de France in Paris, the L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino in California, and the WPT Invitational: $200,000 Free Roll also at the Commerce Casino. The ultimate winners of the different tournaments are Christer Johansson, Gus Hansen, and Layne Flack respectively.

The final three tournaments to complete the successful first season are the PartyPoker Million II at a Caribbean Cruise, the World Poker Challenge at the Reno Hilton in Nevada, and the WPT Championship at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. These events were won by Howard Lederer, Ron Rose, and the season champion Alan Goehring. Goehring brought home an astounding amount of $1,011,886 from the WPT Championship to finish off the first season of the World Poker Tour.