In an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journalearlier this week, noted gaming journalist Howard Stutz commented on the failure of the Epic Poker League (EPL) and compared it to the demise of an ambitious foray into professional football.

Stutz pointed out that the demises of the EPL and the United Football League (UFL) due to financial difficulties have nothing to do with the popularity of either sport. “Football is America’s #1 sport,” Stutz noted. “But the UFL found football fans weren’t interested in a league that played almost alongside the NFL.” Stutz said that the UFL lost $100 million in its first two years.

In comparing the UFL to the EPL, Stutz said, “The collapse of the Epic Poker League doesn’t mean the game’s meteoric rise in popularity is waning. Quite the opposite; poker continues to reach new heights.” In making his case, Stutz pointed out that government regulation of online poker on both the national and state levels is likely and that the 2011 World Series of Poker set records for player numbers and prize money.

The reasons for the EPL’s failure, according to Stutz, are many. “It tried to grow too quickly and it couldn’t attract enough participants,” Stutz observed. “In an effort to spur attendance, the league added $400,000 in prize money to each of the three events [that were played]. That move only drained resources.” Those three events, worth $1.2 million combined, along with the potential additional costs of a fourth tournament ($400,000) and the $1 million Championship Event helped to hasten the EPL’s parent company’s bankruptcy filing.

Although some agree that the idea was a good one, the financing has always been the key question for the survival of the company. Daniel Negreanu (pictured) was one of those who doubted the EPL, stating soon after its first event that it wasn’t economically viable and that it would “never work.”

After further details of the Federated Sports and Gaming Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures became known (the company only had roughly $15,000 in liquid cash and owed almost $4 million to creditors), some have criticized it for its lack of foresight.

“Surely no one is surprised that this has happened,” TwoPlusTwo poster “madlondoner” stated. “If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. [Players] should consider themselves lucky that, although they had perceived equity to be stolen, they didn’t lose any actual equity, as all the money put into each tournament was paid to the players. The tournaments were rake-free, included free hotel accommodations, and had guaranteed prize pools [worth] more than the entrance.”

On the other side of the equation, Matt Glantz, who once speculated that Groupe Bernard Tapie would try to back out of acquiring Full Tilt Poker, lamented the loss of EPL tournaments. Glantz wrote on his blog, “I do not feel that I got slighted by the EPL even if they never have another event after today. I played in all three events with the $400K added. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would do it all over again next year even if there were no added freeroll promised in the end.”

World Poker Tour reporter B.J. Nemeth noted on his Twitter feed, “From everything I can tell, Epic Poker took nothing from poker and gave a lot back. The money flowed in, not out. Really hope they rebound.” Poker player Randy Dorfman echoed some of Nemeth’s sentiments, stating on Twitter, “Feel horrible for the people that worked for the Epic Poker League. They were some of the nicest people and treated us well.”