WPTE announce new CFO, sale of stock shares

Scott Friedman was named this week as the new chief financial officer for World Poker Tour Enterprises, Inc. (WPTE). He's replacing W. Todd Steele who's leaving the company to accept a position with a private equity firm. Friedman was WPTE's vice president of finance and corporate controller.

"Scott has been a valuable member of our team since we took WPTE public and has been instrumental in helping grow the business over the last few years," said Steve Lipscomb, WPTE founder and CEO.

"Todd has been a strong member of our management team, and we wish him well in his new endeavor. WPTE has become a fundamentally strong organization, with bench strength across our financial operations. As a result, we were able to promote from within, allowing us to seamlessly transition as we continue to grow our businesses and build shareholder value."

Friedman began his career as a certified public accountant at Arthur Anderson. He later worked for The Walt Disney Company for five years in various finance positions before joining WPTE in 2004. To ensure his smooth transition into the CFO position, Steele will remain with the company through Oct. 20.

WPTE also announced this week that it had sold its remaining equity interest in PokerTek, Inc.

"We are pleased with the value that we have generated for our shareholders through our investment in PokerTek," Lipscomb said. "We believe this is a good example of leveraging our brand and position in the poker marketplace to create successful partnerships. We expect to utilize the proceeds from the stock sale to further build our core media and online gaming businesses."

WPTE expects to see a gain of approximately $4.5 million on the sale, which finalized Sept. 19, in the third quarter of 2006.

courtesy of Sarah Polson

News Added: 28 September, 2006

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