World Poker Tour(R) Signs New Five-Year Partnerships to Broaden Player Experience

Taking poker by land and sea, WPT Enterprises (Nasdaq: WPTE) today announced that it has finalized two five-year deals with the Amateur Poker League and Classic Gaming Cruises. The new partnerships will complement the growing WPT brand portfolio while creating new World Poker Tour® (WPT) experiences for fans and players of all levels. Providing the opportunity for amateur players to qualify for a seat in a professional level tournament, the Amateur Poker League (APL) and the WPT are joining forces to create the World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League (WPTAPL). On a weekly basis, over 500 APL tournaments are held seeing over 30,000 gamers gather in approximately 180 venues. Under the new partnership, all players participating in APL events will earn WPTAPL points, which will post to a leaderboard on www.wptapl.com. Points will qualify players for regional tournaments, and the regional winners will go on to compete in a WPTAPL Championship event held in Orlando, Fla., in April 2008, for the chance to win a $10,000 seat into a WPT Main event. Additionally, each month WPT will give away to WPTAPL members one seat into the WPT Celebrity Invitational tournament, an invite-only tournament where top poker pros and Hollywood celebrities compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and a $25,000 seat into the WPT World Championship. The five-year agreement covers tournaments in the United States, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, bringing free, live, No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em to the masses. For more information on participating in a WPTAPL event as a player, venue, or sponsor, visit www.wptapl.com. WPT also signed a five-year partnership deal with Classic Gaming Cruises (CGC) to create WPT Cruises, which will officially launch its inaugural cruise in February from Miami to the Caribbean on CGC’s cruiseline partner Norwegian Cruise Line. WPT Cruises will offer players the chance to sail aboard the premium cruise ships while enjoying exclusive parties, events, a full spread of cash games, and a WPT tournament earning the victor a seat into a WPT tournament. WPT Cruise guests will also receive the unique "eat when and where you want” dining experience of Free Style Cruising provided by Norwegian. Classic Gaming Cruises has been hosting poker cruises for over 10 years and has an impeccable reputation for providing first class customer service and professional poker operations. WPT Cruises will feature cruises throughout the year from New York to the Caribbean, Seattle to Alaska, Southampton England to the Mediterranean, New England to Canada and Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera. For additional information on Classic Gaming Cruises WPT Cruises, visit www.classicgamingcruises.com. "These innovative partnerships are an exciting addition to our business as they help create a broader experience for WPT fans and players of all levels and locations,” said Steve Lipscomb, WPTE Founder, President and CEO. "Poker is not just about the tournaments anymore. It’s a phenomenon that has captured and held the attention of millions of people around the globe, and we want to continue creating these exciting opportunities for everyone to experience and enjoy the sport of poker.” About WPTE WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: WPTE) is a company engaged in the creation of internationally branded entertainment and consumer products driven by the development, production, and marketing of televised programming based on gaming themes. WPTE is the creator of the World Poker Tour®, a television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the United States and is scheduled to begin broadcasting on GSN in early 2008. WPT is licensed for broadcast globally. WPTE also operates a real-money online gaming website, www.worldpokertour.com, which prohibits wagers from players in the U.S. and other restricted jurisdictions. WPTE currently licenses its brand to companies in the business of poker equipment and instruction, apparel, publishing, electronic and wireless entertainment, DVD/home entertainment, casino games, and giftware. The company is also engaged in the sale of corporate sponsorships. For show information, tools for improving poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to www.worldpokertour.com. 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/media WPTEG 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 WPTE's brand licensing, the development of new television and film projects, the development of WPTE 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 WPTE. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, WPTE's significant dependence on the Travel Channel as a current source of revenue and GSN as a future source of revenue, and the risk that GSN will not exercise its options to air season of the WPT series beyond Season VI; difficulty of predicting the growth of our online gaming business, which is a relatively new industry with an increasing number of market entrants; reliance on the efforts of CryptoLogic to develop and maintain the online gaming website in compliance with WPTE’s business model and applicable gaming laws; 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 WPTE's television programming; the risk that WPTE 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 WPTE's relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and WPTE's dependence on its senior management team. For more information, review WPTE's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.