PartyPoker announced in January the launch of a new large-scale live tournament tour, PartyPoker Live. Now we know who is going to be in charge.
Feeders for the first stop, Grand Prix Austria with buy-ins as little as $2.20 are already going on as you’re reading this. The PartyPoker Live is happening, later this year it’s coming to the UK, Canada, Russia and the Caribbean.
The cancelation of the European Poker Tour last year prompted PP to get in the competition with PokerStars in the field of live tournaments.
John Duthie, former director and founder of the EPT has been hired to preside over the new endeavor. Duthie has signed a five-year deal.
In an interview with PartyPoker Blog, he talked about how he pays great attention to player feedback, and expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of worldwide poker events, something that he’s evidently eager to improve through his new position.
‘The challenge of the new role itself is exciting. What drew me to PartyPoker? Well, there’s a gap in the market, no doubt about it. Worldwide poker events have been lackluster and something needs to change or they’ll fade into oblivion. We all have a duty to the game to make it more enjoyable. I think that the team at PartyPoker have shown that they’re making inroads into making the game more enjoyable again; more so than anyone else.” – he said.
Duthie also confirmed he is planning on playing some cards himself on the tour.
