John Duthie Leaves PokerStars and Resigns as EPT CEO

Big news broke this week regarding both PokerStars Team Pro and the European Poker Tour.  On Sunday, John Duthie announced that he is no longer a Team PokerStars Pro.  Duthie’s contract ran out on December 31st, and he decided not to renew.

News originally came out on TwoPlusTwo forums on Sunday when Kevmath revealed that Duthie was leaving.  That was later confirmed by Duthie, who also confirmed that his leaving was not part of any protest.  He stated,

“Hey guys….I’m afraid this decision had nothing to do with the VPP situation or the ‘Sit-Out’; it was quite simply that I didn’t want to renew my contract which expired 31st December. There was also no Tweet to this effect. All very self-centered to be honest. Love the idea of being ‘Tribune of the people’ but sadly this is not the case.”

Duthie’s exit from PokerStars was followed up by his resignation as the CEO of the European Poker Tour on Wednesday.  Again, TwoPlusTwo broke the news.  Here is the entire post below:

John Duthie resigns as CEO of Euro Poker Tour Ltd

Having founded and helmed the European Poker Tour since 2004, John Duthie has made the decision to leave the company on the termination of his existing contract, which expired on 31st December 2011.

‘It is time to move on and to leave the EPT in the capable hands of the existing management team.’ Duthie said, ‘ It has been a fascinating and challenging seven years and I have watched the EPT grow phenomenally in that time, thanks to the support of the players and the professionalism of a great team on the ground.’

‘There are going to be some amazing opportunities coming up in 2012/13 as the US market prepares to open up for business once again and I want to be available to take on new challenges and to cement new relationships moving forward.’

‘PokerStars have been an interesting partner from the outset and have always proved challenging and dynamic. Currently they are the largest online poker site in the world and their dominance of the European Market is in many ways thanks to the success of the European Poker Tour and the resultant massive exposure on European TV channels.’

‘The secondary International Tours that spawned from the EPT also gave PokerStars a strong foothold in many other markets.’

‘I feel very proud to have been part of this growth and look forward to utilising the knowledge I have gained elsewhere. I wish the new President of the company, Mr Edgar Stuchly, the best of luck in his position and trust that he will oversee the continued growth of the largest poker tour in the world’

Duthie helped to found the EPT in 2004 and helped to grow it unto the most prestigious poker tour in Europe.  Duthie is more than just a businessman with more than $2.7 Million in career earnings.  His most recent finishes of not was a runner-up finish in the $10k WSOP Heads-Up Championship in 2009 and 18th in the 2011 WSOP Europe Main Event.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Related posts:

• Black Friday Indictment Updates – Full Tilt Lawyers Ask Out, Trial Date Set, and PokerStars Gets Money Back In the past week, there have been developments from both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker related to the April 15th “Black Friday” indictments.  First, Full Tilt Poker’s legal team decided to pull out of the civil suit involving Team Full...
• 2011 WSOP Bracelet Winner Profile – John Juanda John Juanda took down Event #16 of the 2011 WSOP on Saturday.  He took down the $10,000 NL 2-7 Lowball World Championship after coming back from a 3:1 chip deficit to 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Juanda came to the...
• 2011 WSOP Bracelet Winner Profile – John Monnette John Monnette took down WSOP Event #23: the $2,500 Eight-Game Mix.  This was Monnette’s first WSOP bracelet. Monnette took part in what was the largest Eight-Game Tournament ever played at the World Series of Poker. 489 players put up the...
• Black Friday Updates – DOJ Responds to Dismissal Motions and SunFirst Shut Down In the past week, more developments have unfolded in regards to both the Black Friday indictments and SunFirst Bank.  First, the DOJ have submitted their rebuttal to Chad Elie and John Campos’ dismissal motions.  Next, SunFirst Bank has been shut...