Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G) announced today that it has acquired Heartland Poker Tour (HPT), the nation’s leading grassroots poker tour and one of the largest independent producers of poker content on television.
“HPT is one of the great success stories in the poker industry,” said Jeffrey Pollack, chairman of Federated Sports + Gaming. “In a relatively short period of time, the Heartland Poker Tour has firmly established itself as an important national brand with a passionate, loyal player base. We are committed to poker entertainment in the broadest sense and to serving players and fans across the spectrum. The addition of HPT to the FS+G family fits perfectly with our approach.”
Founded in 2005 by entrepreneurs Todd Anderson and Greg Lang, HPT provides poker enthusiasts across the country with a televised tournament experience that prides itself on affordable buy-ins. HPT is currently filming its seventh season and is syndicated to more than 100 million US homes each week, as well as markets throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Both Anderson and Lang, along with the rest of the HPT management and production team based in Fargo, North Dakota, will continue to lead the HPT, manage its day-to-day operations, deliver first-class events and television programming, and serve the tour’s mission of “Real People, Unreal Money.”
“I believe our partnership with FS+G goes a long way to round out the American poker market,” said Todd Anderson, president and co-founder of Heartland Poker Tour. “Our tour, combined with the new FS+G professional poker league, creates an offering that serves aspiring enthusiasts of the game, as well as top poker professionals. This alliance will create bigger fields for HPT events, and even greater television coverage and viewership, which will ultimately benefit players, fans and the game.”
HPT has hosted more than 81,500 entrants, awarded more than $28.6 million in prize money, produced more than 170 hours of “high quality poker” television content, and staged nearly 90 events since 2005.
“Uniting with Federated Sports + Gaming is a natural fit because we share the common goal of innovating and growing the poker market,” said Greg Lang, executive producer and co-founder of Heartland Poker Tour. “As entrepreneurs with an established history of forging an independent path, we look forward to breaking new ground in poker by leveraging the talents of the accomplished team that FS+G has assembled. As poker players, we are fired up about taking HPT to a new level of excitement and fun for our players and fans.”
Earlier this year, FS+G, in conjunction with the Palms Casino Resort, announced the launch of a revolutionary new professional poker league to serve more than 200 of the world’s top live tournament players. The first of four inaugural tournaments kicks off this August.
The four professional league main events will feature different formats of No-Limit Texas Hold’em, including six-handed play, a heads-up tournament with an innovative seeding structure and a special multi-format tournament to round out the season. Each event week will include a Pro-Am event, a charity tournament, and a $20,000 buy-in rake-free main event.
| 2011 Heartland Season VII Tour Schedule | ||||||
| Jan 10 – 16 | Red Rock | Las Vegas | ||||
| Feb 19 | Raise Your Hand for Africa-Golden Nugget | Las Vegas | ||||
| Feb 18 – 28 | Downstream | Quapaw, OK | ||||
| March 13 – 20 | Shooting Star | Mahnomen, MN | ||||
| March 27 – April 3 | Meskwaki | Tama, Iowa | ||||
| April 1 – 10 | Golden Gates | Black Hawk, CO | ||||
| April 8 – 18 | Majestic Star | Gary, IN | ||||
| May 6 – 15 | Soaring Eagle Casino | Mt. Pleasant, MI | ||||
| May 13 – 23 | Peppermill | Reno, NV | ||||
| August 8 – 15 | Turning Stone | Verona, NY | ||||
| Sept 16 – 25 | Downstream | Quapaw, OK | ||||
| Sept 23 – Oct 2 | Golden Gates | Black Hawk, CO | ||||
| Sept 30 – Oct 9 | Daytona Beach Kennel Club | Daytona Beach, FL | ||||
| Oct 30- Nov 6 | Meskwaki | Tama, Iowa | ||||
| November 15 – 20 | Soaring Eagle – Championship Open | Mt. Pleasant, MI | ||||
| November 28 – Dec 4 | TBA | TBA | ||||
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2011-12 Federated Sports + Gaming Season I Tournament Schedule |
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| Pro-Am | Charity Tournament | League Main Event | |||||||||
| Event #1 | August 5 – 8, 2011 | August 7, 2011 | August 9 – 12, 2011 | ||||||||
| Event #2 | September 2 – 5, 2011 | September 4, 2011 | September 6 – 9, 2011 | ||||||||
| Event #3 | December 9 – 12, 2011 | December 11, 2011 | December 14 – 18, 2011 | ||||||||
| Event #4 | January 27 – 30, 2012 | January 29, 2012 | February 9 – 12, 2012 | ||||||||
| Championship | —- | —- | February 13 – 14, 2012 | ||||||||
About Federated Sports + Gaming
Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G) was founded in 2010 to create proprietary world-class sports and gaming brands through the integration of traditional and digital media, including televised events, social media gaming and interactive digital programming. The company breaks new ground in the poker world through its launch of a revolutionary professional poker league in 2011. FS+G will celebrate the world’s top poker players by providing them with the spotlight they have long deserved. FS+G is dedicated to creating new traditions in poker entertainment by providing fans and players with an unmatched poker tournament, poker TV and interactive poker experience. FS+G offices are based out of Los Angeles and Washington D.C. For more information please visit www.federatedinc.com.
About Heartland Poker Tour
Founded by Todd Anderson and Greg Lang in 2005, Heartland Poker Tour is built on a grass-roots strategy, “Real People, Unreal Money”. HPT provides poker enthusiasts a televised “Texas No Limit Hold’em” poker tour with affordable buy-ins. HPT is currently filming Season VII and is available in over 100 million US homes each week, as well as widespread distribution throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean. For more information and a complete schedule of upcoming events, visit www.HPTpoker.com.