Name: Chris Moneymaker
Nickname: Money
PokerStars Id: Money800
Birth Date: November 21st 1975
Birth Place: Atlanta, Georgia
Current Residence: Nashville, Tennessee
Total WSOP Bracelets: 1
Total WPT Wins: 0
Best Game: No Limit Hold’em
First Big Win: WSOP $10,000 World Championship Event May 29th 2003 for $2.5 million
First WSOP Bracelet: WSOP $10,000 World Championship Event May 29th 2003 for $2.5 million
Biggest WSOP Cash: WSOP $10,000 World Championship Event May 29th 2003 for $2.5 million
Biggest Cash: WSOP $10,000 World Championship Event May 29th 2003 for $2.5 million
All time money list: 111th
Hobbies: sports including golf, football and basketball; spending time with family
Chris Moneymaker is a professional poker player who is credited for creating the poker boom back in 2003. Chris turned a $39 satellite buy-in into a $2.5 million World Series of Poker Main Event win. But Chris did not always play poker. As a little boy, Chris learned the game of bridge from his grandma and always played blackjack with his dad.
It was not until Chris watched the movie Rounders starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton that he took up the game of Texas Hold’em. Before his win at the WSOP, Chris was working as an accountant in Tennessee. Chris had graduated from the University of Tennessee with a master’s degree in accounting when he won the satellite tournament on the PokerStars website that got him a seat at the Main Event.
Chris Moneymaker was an unknown player playing in the WSOP but soon was recognized as a formidable player. Chris was up against poker pro Sammy Farha in heads-up play during the Main Event and even offered Farha a chop of the pot. Farha declined and Moneymaker went on to win the entire $2.5 million pot.
The story of Chris Moneymaker created phenomena called the “Moneymaker Effect”, which essentially means an unknown player or amateur beats many poker pros and earns a large cash prize. Since his win, millions of people have been signing up online at various poker rooms and many more new faces can be seen at the WSOP Main Event.
In 2004 Chris played in the World Poker Tour Shooting Stars Event and finished second, earning a $200,000 pay day. After winning the WSOP, Chris was signed to PokerStars as a celebrity spokesman as well as for Harrah’s Entertainment. Since then, Chris is able to travel to larger buy-in tournaments.
Chris also competes in PokerStars European Poker Tour events as well as the World Championship of Online poker events. Chris has also published a book titled: Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker. The book was published in March of 2005.
These days, Chris Moneymaker can be found spending time with his family, playing on the PokerStars website or working with his company, Moneymaker Gaming.
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