The World Poker Congress (WPC) will occur on October 29th and 30th in Budapest, Hungary. The conference, which is being held at the Budapest Marriott Hotel, is being organized by Dawn Kirkwood, Events Director for Clarion Gaming. The WPC will generate discussion of issues affecting both the live and online poker worlds and is shaping up to be one of the largest ever held.

Poker News Daily: What is the World Poker Congress?

Kirkwood: The aim of the World Poker Congress is to bring together live and online poker businesses to forge an understanding of the differences and similarities between them. Our conferences are designed to facilitate dialogue and we feel strongly that in order for poker to flourish as a worldwide sport, both sectors will need to learn as much from each other as possible. In the long-run, that will enable growth.

PND: What can attendees of the event in Hungary expect?

Kirkwood: Delegates at World Poker Congress will walk away with innovative ideas and new contacts with upper-level executives from both land-based and online poker companies.

PND: How did you devise your schedule of events, which include sessions targeted at online and live poker?

Kirkwood: Lines between online and live poker are continually blurring and the program reflects that. Sessions will look at what has worked and what hasn’t worked in synergistic businesses. Plenary sessions will cover topics pertinent to both sectors and then the audience will divide into breakout sessions focusing on either live or online poker business considerations.

PND: How many attendees are you expecting?

Kirkwood: WPC is an intimate event with decision-makers representing poker companies from around the globe. We generally see between 130 and 150 attendees at the WPC, representing about 80 companies in total.

PND: What were some of the highlights of the past WPC events?

Kirkwood: Each year we’ve held the WPC, we always conclude with a panel of poker players and it’s been very well-received by the audience. The players basically are given a platform in which to tell people running poker tournaments and websites what turns them on and what turns them off. It never fails to be an eye-opening discussion!

PND: Steve Lipscomb, Founder and CEO of the World Poker Tour, is slated to give the 2008 keynote speech. Talk about selecting him.

Kirkwood: We’ve had Steve speak at each of the first two WPC conferences because he’s such a visionary when it comes to the business of poker and he’s a gifted orator. As founder of the World Poker Tour, he’s uniquely placed to speak about the future of the business of poker. This year, he’ll be teaming up with bwin’s Head of Poker, Hendrick Knopp, so the keynote address will have a great balance between live and online poker viewpoints.

PND: How did you become involved with the WPC?

Kirkwood: I started working on the WPC in 2006 as a Sales Manager for the exhibition and its sponsorships. I also took care of operations and logistics. This year is the first year that I’ve done the conference production. I think we’ve put together a really strong program for both sectors.

PND: What about the WPC do you look forward to the most every year?

Kirkwood: Since it’s a smaller conference, I feel that I can have in-depth conversations with just about everyone there. It is so clear that people in the business of poker are extraordinarily passionate about the game and the business that drives it. That enthusiasm is contagious and since I’ve been working on WPC, I’ve started playing poker quite a bit more!

PND: Talk about the selection of Budapest as the site. Why hold the conference in the Hungarian city?

Kirkwood: We’ve moved the WPC in each year so far, beginning with Stockholm in 2006, Malta in 2007, and now Budapest in 2008. Part of the impetus of choosing Budapest was its location in Central Europe, its growing poker affiliations, and that it was host city to a well-known poker tour during available dates in October.

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