Twenty years ago, television producer Steve Lipscomb introduced to the American audience a poker tournament show called the World Poker Tour (WPT). Two decades later and the WPT is still thriving and remains a fixture in the poker community.
In 2002, Lipscomb hired poker pros Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, a tennis star and the son of actor Dick Van Patten, who hosted the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN from 1993-1995, to offer commentary. Together the dynamic duo helped put poker on the map at least a TV audiences were concerned.