Poker Player - Chris Moneymaker
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Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP main event in 2003 earning himself $2.5million, which instantly turned him from a no-one to a poker superstar. He is said to be the main contributing factor to the rise of interest in poker which took place at the time.
Moneymaker paid $39 through a satellite tournament at the PokerStars online poker card room which saw him go on to win the Main Event. In his first live tournament, he defeated Sammy Farha despite offering him a 50:50 split for their combined winnings even when Moneymaker was the chip leader. His rags-to-riches story has made him one of the biggest poker celebrities in the world. Although there are still some who believe his success was due to the luck of the cards, others say Moneymaker had proven himself to have the skill required at this level of poker. At first, Moneymaker’s performance was poor when he was put in between Phil Ivey and Johnny Chan. However, that night he decided to play his game without fear of being beaten, which is exactly what he did and earned himself the £2.5 million. Afterward, he admitted that he found Johnny Chan his most difficult competitor ever. “I don’t mind confessing that I can’t read or play him,” he confessed. He also looks up to Chris Ferguson saying, “I wish I were able to calculate the mathematical side of poker a lot quicker like him.” Although he puts his own skill at poker down to his memory, “I have a good memory for poker. I can remember hands I played two years ago.”
At the time of the WSOP tournament, Moneymaker worked as an accountant. Despite going back to work after his big win, Moneymaker soon left when he realised that his victory would undoubtedly change his life forever. But his success was not repeated in 2004, but he did come second in the WPT Shooting Stars event, winning $200,000. So far, his total winnings to date are $2.8 m.
Although hard to believe, Moneymaker is his real surname. However he wasn’t always as rich as he is now. To get him the flight to the WSOP tournament and somewhere to stay while he was there, Moneymaker had to borrow off a friend and his father in exchange for a proportion of his winnings.
Outside of poker, the Atlanta native gained a master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Tennessee and has a daughter who was born only three months before his WSOP big win in 2003. He also enjoys playing sports, particularly, golf, basketball and football and in 2005 he published his biography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 to $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker. He was encouraged by his family of competitive gamblers to play poker but really became interested in it after watching the 1998 film Rounders.
Moneymaker’s new found status has not changed him. He still uses his old username of ‘Money800’ and logs onto PokerStars.com, politely answering any questions other players may have for him. He’s also donated $25,000 from his winnings to cancer research. Moneymaker now works as a spokesman for his own business, Moneymaker Gaming, which sells poker chips and other poker accessories and he still plays about six tournaments a year. After winning, he philosophised, “If I can win it, anybody can.”
Danielle Almond.
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