State of the Felt -- John DuthieThe Founder of the EPT Talks About San Remo, Monte Carlo, and European Poker Growth |
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In State of the Felt, Card Player will periodically bring you insights and opinions from some of the most influential players, tournament and poker organization directors, and other people that influence the poker industry. This is a place where the broad trends and forces that continue to shape the game will have space to live and breathe in open discussion.
This week, John Duthie, the founder of the PokerStars European Poker Tour, talks about the sustained growth of poker in Europe. Duthie also talks about the prospects for the upcoming San Remo and Monte Carlo events that will conclude season five of the EPT later this month.
Ryan Lucchesi: The EPT has grown since you started it four seasons ago, and the Barcelona, London, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure events have been huge for season five. What has taken the tour to the next level as far as growth?
John Duthie: I think it is difficult to say. I think the dollar has had an effect; I think a lot more Americans come to play in these events because of it. Poker is growing phenomenally throughout Europe, and the EPT is the biggest tournament in Europe. If you look at the growth of the EPT compared to the WPT, we’re consistently out-drawing all of their tournaments. I think a lot of the European players come out to them because it isn’t very far to travel for them. To be honest, PokerStars is right behind the European Poker Tour, and with them running satellites for these events, it means we have a strong foundation to build upon.
RL: Would you say that this is the period of Europe’s poker boom?
JD: I would say that happened a few years ago, but I think we’re still moving up. We’re still going strong, while there is a bit of a flatline happening in the states. In Europe, it’s constantly growing because we keep going into new markets and new territories. There are just more and more players. What happens in Russia is going to be fascinating. There is just a significant growth, and I think there is a good five years more growth before we begin to flatline.
RL: What kind of expectations does this growth create? Does it become harder and harder to stage larger events?
JD: I think the thing is, to me it is not so much about the number of players, it’s about the quality of the tournaments, and I think that it’s great if we do get 1,000 players to play in San Remo in Italy. It wouldn’t surprise me if we did. I think we will almost definitely get 1,000 in Monaco. That’s going to be a huge, huge prize pool. They are so close together, those two events, a lot of people can come over and play in both. I don’t see European tournaments getting much bigger than 1,000 players. I wouldn’t really want them to; I like the idea of 600 players in a tournament.
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