by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Jan 3, 2012 | Updated on Jan 3, 2012The founder of the European Poker Tour, and a man who has major influence on the poker industry, John Duthie announced on Monday that his stint as a PokerStars pro is over. The speculation began on Sunday and as much as people knew Duthie was leaving the world’s biggest poker operator, no one really knew why. The rumors that began to circulate showed that many of the players thought that the British pro was leaving because of the new layout of the VIP Player Points on PokerStars. Duthie quelled those rumors yesterday when he came on the Two Plus Two forums saying, “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 Tweets to this effect. All very self-centered to be honest.”Duthie became known around the world back in 2000 when he won the first Poker Million, a televised event with a cash payout of $1,426,330. He has cashed out handsomely in the WSOP on 13 occasions and has made it to the final table twice, a fairly impressive mark. Off the internet, in live games, Duthie has won almost $3 million in his lifetime. Then in 2004 Duthie made his indelible mark on the poker industry by being the founder of the European Poker Tour which, now in its 8th run around, has become one of the most popular televised poker events. The EPT has events that span over 10 different countries on a yearly basis. While he is leaving the PokerStars family, Duthie will retain his position of CEO of the EPT. It will be interesting to see if Duthie simply focuses his time on the EPT or if he has any interest in becoming a pro for another online poker room. We will keep you in tune with the latest happenings on Duthie’s career.
