With 1.3 billion citizens, China is looked at by businessmen from all industries as a sort of golden goose, a country so big that corporations across the globe are desperate to gain a foothold there.
World Poker Tour Enterprise (WPTE) has done just that by entering into an agreement with the government-sanctioned China Leisure Sports Administrative Center (CLSAC) to promote, brand and exploit a national card game called Traktor poker through the new
Traktor Poker Tour.
"Obviously, everyone has their eyes on the Chinese market place," said Peter Hughes, WPTE's COO. "For us, it's really about building the brand, getting the brand in front of mainstream China. We look at this as a long-term investment. It's not necessarily going to be a game changer at this moment."
WPTE will put on up to 15
Traktor Poker Tour competitions in providences throughout China. Tour details are still being worked out, but the first event is set to take place in September.
Traktor poker, also known as Tuo La Ji, pits teams of two against each other, similar to four-way gin. A double deck of 108 cards (jokers included) is used, and the players try to make tricks using tens and kings. The entire deck is dealt out per hand. It's considered an official sport by the CLSAC and Westerners have described it s a cross between bridge and gin.
Players will not pay to compete in the events. It's not yet known how teams will qualify for the events, but they will be similar to how heads-up tournaments take place (think NCAA basketball).
The winners of the regional tournaments will meet in Beijing sometime next year to play for the championship. Tournament prize pools will depend on sponsors.
Road to China
Last fall, WPTE started to figure out how it could enter the Chinese market. Since most forms of gambling are banned in China - and its citizens have received zero exposure to Texas hold'em - basing a series of tournaments around hold'em was out of the question. Traktor poker was the obvious choice, especially since Traktor poker tournaments have been held in China in the past.
It hired Bendigo, a company based in New Jersey that specializes in what it calls "brand asset mining," to help plow the road. Bendigo had a hand in placing Reebok in China and the company worked with CLSAC to convince it that the tour should go on.
In April, WPTE and Bendigo brought CLSAC's director, Xing Xiaoquan, to Las Vegas to witness the
World Poker Tour championship event that was held at the Bellagio in order to experience "the glitz and glamour" that is tournament poker in Las Vegas. He must have liked what he seen because soon after he signed off on the deal.
Hughes also said that Xing is a huge Traktor poker buff.
An office in Beijing was opened for the newly formed WPT China, which will be managed by Bendigo and in conjunction with the China Olympic Garden Marketing Group, a company that specializes in sports marketing in China.
During its short history, WPTE has successfully used outside companies to grow its brand, particularly the worldwide marketing firm Brandgenuity, which helped get the
WPT brand on products ranging from pinball machines to talking key chains and underwear.
WPTE is paying CLSAC $505,000 a year, which increases 10 percent each year, for the rights to run the tour.
Not all the events will be filmed for broadcast, and the contract the WPTE has with CLSAC only requires CLSAC to broadcast the championship event on state-owned television, but WPT China will try to find local stations to broadcast filmed events.
This deal is the biggest step WPTE took yet to expand its brand outside of the U.S., and company officials hope that WPT China will allow the company to gain a foothold in the biggest market in the world, the one that's also known as Asia.
