Professional poker players and those in the poker industry are often involved in investment projects that exist outside of the realm of poker, but normally those investments don?t get a lot of attention. However, the original founders of World Poker Tour Enterprises have recently found themselves back in the limelight when it was discovered that the team had successfully managed to take the cash generated from the sale of their poker assets to Party Gaming and invest it into the energy industry.
The WPTE founders, comprised of Steven Lipscomb, Lyle Berman and Brad Berman, walked away from their poker company with $28 million in cash, and apparently have put a lot of that capital into Voyager Oil and Gas, a energy company based in Montana. The company was recently featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal, which talks about the role that Lipscomb and the Bermans now play in the business.
?I don?t think we have many unhappy shareholders,? Lyle Berman told the publication. ?We thought if we could find a company with a great business model that needed cash, the stock would trade significantly above $1.40 ? We have fulfilled that mission.?
As for their daily responsibilities within Voyager Oil and Gas, the trio admit to having none due to their lack of experience in the energy industry. They merely were just looking for a new project to fund that they felt could result in profitable gains, which is essentially why they formed the WPTE and launched the World Poker Tour in 2002.
?As I go into a different phase of my life, it?s time for me to thank everyone in the poker community,? Lipscomb told Card Player in December. ?I know we?ve made decisions that were contentious and hard, but through all of that, I think there has been a tremendous amount of grace shown by people in the poker community.?
Source: http://www.pokerblog.com/wpte-founders-find-success-outside-of-poker.html
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