In early 2002, poker had yet to hit the big time and put its mark on American television. The Chris Moneymaker boom was still more than a year away, and while many fondly recall those World Series of Poker broadcasts as the formative moments of poker on TV, the World Poker Tour was filming with hole card cameras before Moneymaker even grinded his way through a $40 satellite to win his WSOP Main Event seat.
Season 1 of the WPT took place beginning in May 2002 and stretched to April 2003.