WPT CEO Steve Heller: We Took Things To a New Level

We sat down with one of the minds behind the World Poker Tour and conducted an exclusive interview. Find out what WPT CEO Steve Heller thinks about WPT events in Europe, the success of the last WPT season and future plans of the popular poker tour.

Steve Heller is not only the CEO of bwin.party US but also of the World Poker Tour, a position which he has had since January 2010. Prior to that, he held several executive positions at PartyGaming, which became bwin.party Digital Entertainment in March this year. We talked with Steve Heller about the last WPT season and his future plans for the popular poker tour.

Poker events are booming in Europe

WPT CEO Steve Heller

PokerStrategy.com: Mr. Heller, the 9th season of the World Poker Tour has just finished and you are already getting ready for the next season. Don't you need a little break in between?

Steve Heller: Poker events are booming in Europe. Even with a full schedule of $5k and $3k+ events, we feel there's room for more. Demand for new events has been high and we've been adding so many venues that the poker calendar is getting tight to the point where a new season has to begin right after another ends.

PokerStrategy.com: There were 20 events this season, including the WPT World Championship. Did the season match your expectations regarding number of participants, prize pools and attendance of big names playing at your tournaments?

Steve Heller: This was a year marked by tremendous expansion both in number of events and growth in field size, particularly in Europe. We had phenomenal successes in Amneville, Venice and Vienna, each of which had over 500 players. We are thrilled by the success of WPT in Europe. You can expect to see even more from us this year.

Trend towards more accessible buy-ins

The WPT team: Mike Sexton, Kimberly Lansing, Vince Van Patten and Tony Dunst

PokerStrategy.com: What are your best memories of this season?

Steve Heller: In addition to fielding three European events with over 500 players, the record-breaking Borgata turn-out and WPT Vienna with 555 players set a new record for us in Europe, they were both exciting moments.

The Seminole Hard Rock Showdown in Florida was a great event. It was the first big buy-in event in the state and had more than 400 players including some of poker's top talent who flew in from around the globe to play.

PokerStrategy.com: At the World Championship, the buy in to the Main Event was $25,000 + $500 (like every year) and there even was a $100,000 High Roller Event. Is there a tendency for tournament buy-ins to get higher and higher?

Steve Heller: WPT World Championship is so prestigious that it is the only mainstream event able to maintain such a high buy-in. The WPT Super High Roller $100k event was also a startling success with 29 players. But that is a very unique and exclusive event targeting the high money players in the sport.

In general the trend is towards more accessible buy-ins. Our Borgata event fielded a record 1,042 players. Other events with more accessible buy-ins are seeing growth as well.

The future: More events, bigger events

The Royal Flush Girls

PokerStrategy.com: How do you see the WPT development during these past few years? What do you think are the main improvements to it?

Steve Heller: WPT has always been one of the world's leading live event tours, but this year we took things to a new level. We added sizzle to the live events and television product with the return of Kimberly Lansing as the anchor, the Royal Flush Girls, and Tony Dunst's "Raw Deal" segments.

We are including more play down footage in each episode and US viewers are loving these enhancements - season IX will begin airing in Europe in the coming months. At all our live events, we've really embraced providing an enhanced player experience wherever possible. We brought in renowned tournament director Matt Savage to serve as Executive Tour Director and act as a liaison between the WPT and the players.

Working in concert with our casino partners, we have added many features to benefit players including launching the pre-registration website and augmenting tournament structures to offer more play and, therefore, more value.

PokerStrategy.com: What are your expectations in regards to the new WPT season?

Steve Heller: You can expect even more events, bigger events and an overall expansion on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. And of course there will also be lots more improvements and surprises for players and viewers throughout Season X.

PokerStrategy.com: How important are the European WPT stops to you? Are you happy with the way they are accepted by the players?

Steve Heller: We've been thrilled with the way the European poker community has taken to World Poker Tour. We've been met by virtually across the board enthusiasm from casinos, partners and players. Continued geographic expansion is at the core of the WPT strategy for Season X and the foreseeable future.

PokerStrategy.com: Nevertheless, in Europe there is a big competitor named EPT. Do you think the demand for live tournaments is big enough for both Poker Tours?

Steve Heller: The strength of WPT Season IX has shown that there is strong demand for WPT poker in Europe. We've shown tremendous growth in the number of events worldwide and expect the trend to continue through Season X.

PokerStrategy.com: Mr. Heller, thank you for the interview and good luck with WPT Season X.