On April 15, 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York seized and shut down Pokerstars and several of its competitors' sites, alleging that the sites were violating federal bank fraud and money laundering laws.
The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour (WPT), created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas Hold 'em popularity.
Poker has a gambling element to it, which leads some players to question if poker is just down to luck. Although there is a serious amount of luck involved in poker, the fact the same big names regularly win in cash games and tournaments shows that there is skill involved.