Chris Moneymaker
Christopher Moneymaker was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1975. At the age of 28, he won a seat to World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and went on to win the entire tournament. He was the first person ever to win WSOP Main Event after qualifying online and is considered a major force in the poker boom of the 2000s.
Background and personal life
Moneymaker has a master's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee and used to work as a comptroller. After winning WSOP Main Event, Moneymaker stopped working as a comptroller and accepted positions as a celebrity spokesperson for both PokerStars and Harrah's Entertainment. He also founded his own company Moneymaker Gaming.
Moneymaker married Christina Wren in Las Vegas in 2005 and the family currently resides in Nashville. Their daughter Ashley was born three months before the WSOP Main Event that would change Moneymaker's life.
The last name Moneymaker is certainly apt for someone who used a $39 satellite tournament to capture a first prize of $2,5 million, but it is actually his real last name – not a poker alias. Moneymaker's ancestors lived in Germany where they made coins and thus had the surname “Nurmacher”. When the family arrived to English speaking United States, they translated their name to Moneymaker.
Moneymaker was working as an accountant when he decided to participate in a $39 satellite tournament at PokerStars. The tournament went very well for him and he was awarded with a seat at the 2003 WSOP Main Event.
Moneymaker was basically an unknown poker player when he arrived to Las Vegas and had never participated in a live tournament before, but during his first day of playing he caught the attention of professional sports handicapper Lou Diamond who labeled him “a dark horse” to win the tournament.
Diamond turned out to be correct in his prediction; Moneymaker did indeed go all the way to claim a first prize of $2,5 million.
One of the most famous hands from the 2003 WSOP Main Event took place during the heads-up battle between Moneymaker and Sam Farha. On the river, Moneymaker dared an all-in bluff with nothing but king high, which caused Farha to fold a pair of nines.
Other poker tournaments
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Moneymaker got to 2nd place in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Shooting Stars event in 2004, earning $200,000 in the process.
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Moneymaker finished in 6th place at the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Event #5, a $10 000 + $300 No Limit Hold'em tournament, and was awarded with nearly $140 000 in prize money.
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Moneymaker finished 5th at the 2008 WCOOP Event #16 as well (a $215 PLO with rebuys), and this time he received over $28 000.
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In 2009, Moneymaker won the World Poker Open Deep Stack Pot Limit Omaha tournament, a victory worth $15 889.
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In 2011, Moneymaker got to 11th place in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, receiving $130 000 for his efforts.
Books
Moneymaker's autobiography “Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker” was published in 2005.
