PokerStars Launched on 9/11: The Unfortunate Anniversary

PokerStars, one of the most recognizable brands in poker, launched on September 11, 2001, the same day as the 9/11 attacks. The company has since grown to become one of the most recognizable brands in poker.

Terrence Chan announced the launch of PokerStars on September 11, 2001. Chan, who had become involved after PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg came across his posts on the rec.gambling.poker newsgroup, wrote the announcement on September 10, 2001, saved it and went to bed. The plan was straightforward: send the announcement the following morning and let players know that PokerStars was ready for them. Chan did exactly that when he woke up on September 11. It was only after sending the announcement that he checked the news and realized what had happened in New York.

Oskar “pokermaniac” Hornell became the first person to play a real-money hand on PokerStars. PokerStars launched the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) in 2002. The following year Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event after qualifying through the site, becoming one of the most important figures in the online poker boom.