John Duthie Bids Goodbye to PokerStars
An era of unprecedented growth in European and online poker came to an end with John Duthie’s confirmation that he was indeed parting ways with PokerStars and the phenomenally successful European Poker Tour that he helped establish.
The first indication of the split came when Duthie did not renew his contract with PokerStars when it expired at the end of 2011. There was no announcement from PokerStars and rumours and speculation started swirling on discussion boards and social media as to the plausible reasons for the severing of relationships between the legend and his sponsor.
Some of the speculation was fairly straightforward and cantered around Duthie’s alleged opposition to PokerStars newly introduced changes to the rake structure while some of the rumours were more fanciful, including suggestions that Duthie’s refusal to quit smoking was the bone of contention between the parties.
Finally, Duthie stepped in and posted on TwoPlusTwo to slay the chatter. He said that his decision had nothing to do with PokerStars’ rake structure or their VIP program. He stated that he had simply decided not to renew his contract with PokerStars. Expectedly, since the European Poker Tour is partly owned by PokerStars, later in the week it was also announced that Duthie was stepping down as the CEO of EPT.
This marks a milestone in the history of European poker because it was Duthie who helped set up the EPT back in 2004. Since then the tour has grown by leaps and bounds and has reached the status of one of the world’s premier poker tours. It has steadily increased in size and in popularity and has attracted ever stronger fields in its first eight seasons. It now ranks alongside the World Poker Tour and the World Series Poker as a component of the coveted “Triple Crown”. Duthie will be replaced at EPT by Edgar Stuchly who helped create the Casino Austria Poker Tour.
In addition to his tremendous success as an administrator and organizer, Duthie is a highly respected professional poker player with career winnings of more than $3.1 million in live tournament play. He won the inaugural Poker Million back in 2000.
In his statement, Duthie was gracious in thanking the team and the management for their contribution to his achievements with EPT and expressed confidence that the new management would take the tour to even greater heights. He also offered some clues as to his future plans. Without revealing details of what he planned to do next, Duthie made references to the opening up of the US market again to business and the “amazing opportunities” that are coming up in the next two years. He said that he wanted to be available to be able to take on new challenges and forge new partnerships. He however did not mention any specific organization with which he might be associated in the future. Wherever Duthie might take his talent to next, it is certain that he will add immense value to the business of poker.
-
Recent Tips for Real Money Poker Players:
