“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 local 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.The HPT management team based in Fargo, North Dakota, including Anderson and Lang, 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.”
Some initial reactions in the poker media were a bit puzzled with the combination of such an exclusive tour with such an inclusive tour, but they serve different areas of the domestic U.S. poker market.Pollack concluded "We think this is a terrific fit. We all share a common goal of wanting to grow the poker marketplace, especially in the live tournament space. We think that marrying HPT with the league, in terms of having that cross promotion into our Pro-AM events, make a lot of sense. This acquisition certainly establishes FS+G as a leading poker entertainment company right out of the gate, and we’re really excited about that."
