Hansen Gray & Company Subsidiary NAPP Tour, Inc. Recruits Top Rated Championship Players for Its Tour Events
Wednesday March 15, 5:00 am ET
- NAPP Tour Featured in March Issue of Bluff Magazine -
LAS VEGAS, March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hansen Gray & Company, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HGCP - News) today announced that its subsidiary NAPP Tour, Inc., an event management, television production company and founder of both the North American Poker Tour(TM) (NAPT) and International Poker Association(TM) (IPA), has recruited several of the world's top rated championship players for its tour events.
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To date, NAPP Tour has already recruited such first-rate championship players as Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Laak, Mike Matusow, Layne Flack and actress/poker champ Jennifer Tilly, among dozens of other top players.
Frank Weber, President of Hansen Gray said, "This is truly an exciting time for NAPP Tour as it continues to expand its array of world renowned poker players who will generate greater interest and excitement in the world of competitive poker. We are delighted that an industry leading publication like Bluff Magazine has featured NAPP Tour in its current issue."
The Bluff Magazine article focuses on how NAPP Tour will be changing the face of televised poker by limiting participation in the $10,000 main events to the top professional poker players in the world. To qualify for a NAPP Tour event, players must be in the top 200 as ranked by Bluff Magazine and Card Player Magazine or they can earn their seat through a qualifying tournament. The NAPP Tour will continue its effort to change the perspective of poker from a game to a sport. By modeling the tour after the PGA, focusing on the player's skills, high-lighting player personalities and bringing in corporate sponsors, NAPP Tour is on its way to achieving its goal.
With its high-stakes competition, national reach, and the commitment of over 50 of the world's best players, the North American Poker Tour will launch in May 2006, offering a concept tantamount to a royal flush. Distinguished as the first professional, standardized poker tour, with a limited number of qualified competitors in each of its main events building up toward a multi- million dollar championship, the Tour is currently finalizing its agreements with sponsors and a broadcast partner, fulfilling its intention to televise each event.
Tournament events include $200 No Limit, $300 No Limit, $500 No Limit, $1000 No Limit, $5000 Chinese Poker, $5000 Mixed Game and $10,000 No Limit Hold'em. The playing format developed by Matt Savage will allow the professionals to showcase their abilities in a fun-filled competitive environment.
NAPP Tour is managed by entrepreneur William Waldrop (Chairman/CEO), former president and COO of College Partnership, a publicly traded company that assists high school students with college selection and financial aid, VP of operations for Leading Edge Broadband Services and a senior manager at AirTouch Cellular (now Verizon Wireless); Wade Mezey (President and COO), former chief legal officer of College Partnership, and an attorney for Steptoe & Johnson in Washington D.C.; Lisa Tenner (EVP Marketing and Branding), one of the leading figures with over 20 years of experience in the world of event marketing, music management, and branding; and Matt Savage (Tournament Operations), one of the most sought-after poker tournament directors with experience on over 200 televised poker shows, including the World Series of Poker, and co-founder of the Tournament Directors Association which has been instrumental in standardizing poker tournament rules worldwide.
Bluff Magazine (www.bluffmagazine.com) is America's Largest Poker Magazine with 250,000 copies printed and distributed nationwide. Bluff's 191,000 newsstand copies and 60,000 event, location, and subscription copies gets Bluff into the hands of poker enthusiasts eager to keep up with the fast-paced modern poker lifestyle. Regular contributors to Bluff Magazine include: Jennifer Tilly, Marcel Luske, Josh Arieh and Annie Duke.
NAPP Tour, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hansen Gray & Company, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HGCP - News), is an event management and television production company that promotes, manages, hosts and televises national professional poker tournaments. NAPP Tour, Inc. will televise it events under the brands North American Poker Tour(TM) and International Poker Association(TM).
Hansen Gray and Company, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HGCP - News; www.hansengray.com) is a strategic venture capital firm that acquires or invests in companies, which through growth or acquisition, have the potential to become leaders in their respective markets.
Source: Hansen Gray & Company, Inc. |
