• June 9, 2003

Travel Channel's World Poker series will air two new programs before the series ends its first season June 25. The channel said the two new specials will air from 8-11 p.m. Sunday, June 22, and include a one-hour The World Poker Tour: A Poker Primer, and a two-hour The World Poker Tour: Road to the Championship. A Poker Primer will be hosted by actor and poker player Lou Diamond Phillips. Phillips will guide viewers on Poker 101, from vocabulary to strategy, bluffing and betting-to-win. The Road to the Championships is a recap of the season and viewers will get a sneak preview of who to watch in the upcoming World Poker Tour Championship, which has more than $2.6 million in prizes. The 13-week World Poker Tour series has become the Travel Channel's highest-rated programming on the network.