Travel Channel and World Poker Tour to Allow Logos

Players have wanted the World Poker Tour (WPT) to allow them to wear sponsorship logos on television and now the WPT and the Travel Channel will allow it. But the agreement is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The sponsors must be on the “approved” list. If they are, a player can wear a breast-pocket logo for that company. Additionally, no more than two players at a final table can wear logos from the same sponsor, a rule put in to prevent companies from swooping in before the final table and essentially buying-out all the players.

So, this is great news. But wait, there’s still this “approved” list. Not included on this list are some obvious suspects -- pornography, firearms, tobacco, personal hygiene, sexual aids, hard liquor, and anything that encourages illegal activity. Ok, no problem. The other prohibited sponsor: internet gambling sites. That’s right. So the companies that award many seats to these WPT events cannot put their logos on the players representing them.

Now, to be fair, the WPT and the Travel Channel may do what the World Series of Poker did and allow a “.net” site on a logo instead of a “.com”, as the “.net” variations are the free versions of the gambling sites. They also might end up permitting the “.com” be removed from a logo altogether, since it would not technically be promoting a website.

Anyone interested in acquiring more information about being included on the “approved” sponsor list can e-mail sponsor@worldpokertour.com.

The logos will make their debut at the Borgata Poker Open on September 19 in Atlantic City.

Originally published August 24, 2005