Party Poker is delighted to confirm John Duthie, founder and former CEO of the EPT [European Poker Tour], has agreed a five-year deal to become President of Party Poker LIVE, the new live global poker tour that was announced in January. As a player, John has over $3.2 million in live tournament winnings and won the groundbreaking inaugural Poker Million in 2000. Originally a TV director, John founded the EPT in 2004 and spent eight years building the EPT into arguably the most prestigious tour in the world.

He commented, “I have been impressed with the progress of Party Poker and, in particular, the number of trusted, experienced and well-respected individuals and organisations that have chosen to put their support behind the Party Poker brand. I believe there is a gap in the market for an operator whose primary focus is poker and who will listen to and work with the poker community, as this was something that was absolutely key to the growth and success of the EPT. I still love the game just as much as the first time I saw my first flop, and I believe this passion will help Party Poker LIVE become the largest and most fun poker tour in the world. I plan to enjoy myself immensely working with and meeting old friends.”

Tom Waters, MD of Party Poker, commented, “We are thrilled that John has joined us at the beginning of this journey. Very few people in the world have made such a significant contribution to poker and his experience, relationships and understanding of players will be a huge asset to us. Our guarantees are ambitious, but our marketing strategy is to provide value to players instead of investing money outside of the poker community and we are confident that with John’s guidance we can optimize this strategy for the benefit of the live poker market. Party Poker LIVE will offer a minimum of 5M GTD for 5K buy-in, 1M GTD for 1K buy-in and 500K GTD for 200 buy-in, and we plan to visit as many continents and countries as possible. All events will feature at least one Online Day 1 for players who have limited time to spend away from home or simply wish to reduce their expenses. We love our holiday themed events such as the Caribbean Poker Party and are planning more of these.”