MUMBAI: Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc., distributor of music, variety and documentary catalogue programming produced for US broadcast networks, will be showcasing World Poker Tour, the international series, to international program buyers attending the BCWW 2004 conference, from 24-26 November in Seoul, Korea. The 15, two-hour episodes of the show's first season have already been licensed in Canada (CHUM TV), U K (Challenge TV), Australia (Foxtel), Denmark (TV2), Sweden (Kanal 5), India (DCI), Iceland (IBC), and South Korea (Badook TV).

Dealing the Travel Channel it's highest ever ratings jackpot, World Poker Tour, has been touted as Survivor meets Millionaire by critics, and has single-handedly turned poker into America's newest television trend and television spectator sport.

Set in exotic locations like Aruba, Paris and of course, Las Vegas, World Poker Tour involves a range of people, from seasoned poker pros to novice players, and all the drama that high stakes wagering delivers. The series is based on a 13-week run of Texas Hold 'Em, a distinct style of poker play, with the championship culminating in Las Vegas with a total purse valued at $3 million USD.

World Poker Tour also raises the stakes for viewers by showing them the players' 'hole card' by way of tiny cameras. This added feature enables viewers to know who's bluffing and who's not. The show's announcers, poker pro Mike Sexton, actor Vice Van Patten and model-turned-actress Shana Hiatt guide the viewers through the game with a play-by-play analysis and the looming question, "Who will call your bluff?"

"From its initial success and continuing hit series status on The Travel Channel, World Poker Tour isn't a gamble for programmers, it's a proven win," says Alfred Haber Distribution, EVP Robert Kennedy. "Some buyers see it as a sports show, others as a primetime reality program, and some as general entertainment...it's whatever shuffles their deck!"