Marcel Luske is a European poker legend. He has been posting tournament results since 1999, and he first made a splash at the World Series of Poker in 2002, where he made a final table in a $5,000 Omaha high-low event. He finished 10th in the 2004 WSOP main event to cement his star status in the poker world. He has since won poker tournaments in Austria, Spain, the U.S., and his home country of Holland.
Luske has become a champion of a consistent set of tournament rules to help poker become a sport worldwide. He plays consistently at WSOP, World Poker Tour, and European Poker Tour events throughout the year and he has been recognized as an international ambassador for the game. Luske recently joined Team PokerStars Pro, and Card Player caught up with him in Monte Carlo during the EPT Grand Final, where he just missed the money, busting out of the tournament as the bubble boy in 89th place out of a field of 935 players. Read on below to check out Luske’s thoughts on the EPT and poker in Europe.
Ryan Lucchesi: How does it feel for you as one of the pioneers of European poker to see the EPT Grand Final become what it is today?
Marcel Luske: It is certainly going the way we want to see it if you love the game of poker. The development in different countries and the television, it’s getting done very seriously by PokerStars; they’re doing a great job. Every year we try to make things better here, to maximize capacity, service, and accommodation, to make it accessible for every player in the world. I’m not surprised to see the development of the prestigious events.
RL: Do you like to see the inclusion of high-roller tournaments at EPT events?
ML: Of course; part of the accommodation should be a variety of possibilities for players who come out here. Now, when you get knocked out of a tournament, you want to play more. If you are a poker junkie, you need to get enough to eat.
RL: How much is the addition of preliminary and post-liminary events and high-roller tournaments a tactic to bring American professionals over to Europe for these events and make the travel worth the cost?
ML: These people come over because they know the Monte Carlo event is going to be on television, it’s good for their brand names, and they know they can then play the high-roller event on the side. You certainly attract the bigger players.
RL: What kind of growth do you still see over in Europe as poker catches on with the younger generation in each different country?
ML: In the Netherlands we’ve got more than a million people playing poker now, it’s like all of Europe has been affected. Germany has 4 million-5 million people playing because it’s so much larger than Holland. The U.K., Ireland, Spain, all of these countries, France, Italy, you can’t stop the boom. It will have to be accepted by governments and casinos to bring people in so they can join the facilities. It’s good entertainment, and people want to enjoy spending their money.
RL: What do you think is most important for the continued growth or poker in Europe?
ML: To help starting players learn that it is a game of skill. You want players to learn the value of their hands, and the possibility of their opponent’s hands when the flop, turn, and river are out on the table. It’s a game of skill and it helps to give the players an idea of that, and teach them, before they invest any money to play.
