The European Poker Tour has topped the $1 billion payout mark at Prague, and a Bermudan received an early Christmas present by becoming the 16th Spin & Go, millionaire.

The European Poker Tour (EPT) has come a long way since John Duthie took a punt on an idea that emerged when playing with his rubber ducky. The first Main Event accrued a €229,000 prize pool when Alex Stevic defeated David O’Callaghan to win the €80,000 first prize. 115 stops later, and the tour has paid out over €1 billion.

It’s a tour that divides opinion.

A quick glance at the numbers and you have to say it’s one of the most successful tours ever created. But dissenters believe as PokerStars has grown into the public monster that it is today, the need to make a profit has come before customer service.