On September 11, Isai Scheinberg launched the Poker Stars beta site to a world distracted by an American tragedy. The beta version did not accept real money and was based on Poker programs Scheinberg developed while running Rational Enterprises in Costa Rica. By December, Poker Stars was accepting real money from real players across the world.
Scheinberg’s early was built around online tournaments with buy-ins that most players could afford. The first PokerStars tournament offered a $215 buy-in and a $50,000 top prize.