Poker Hall of Famer Chris Moneymaker added to his legend by taking down a $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event on the poker tour named in his honor.
He defeated a field of 424 entries that turned out to the latest Moneymaker Tour main event at Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach, Florida to hoist the championship trophy.
The 2003 World Series of Poker main event champion earned $83,042 as the last player standing. He now has more than $8.1 million in career earnings.
Moneymaker’s largest cash remains the $2.5 million he earned for taking down the big dance at the series more than two decades ago. That victory was a spark of inspiration that fueled the fire of the mid-2000s poker boom. Since that big triumph, the ACR Poker ambassador has remained a steady presence on the scene, most recently making some runs in big high roller events including a $2 million score in a Triton London $250,000 invitational.
The ‘everyman appeal’ of Moneymaker’s run back in 2003 stemmed, at least in part, from the fact that the former accountant managed to earn his way into that WSOP main event via a $86 satellite.
Founded in 2023 with its first stop at Palm Beach Kennel Club, the Moneymaker Tour recently saw its namesake capture his second title on the circuit. Just weeks before this main event victory, Moneymaker won a $300 mixed Omaha event for $5,195 at the same venue.
His recent win saw him secure the lion’s share of the $411,280 prize pool, which easily surpassed the $250,00 guarantee thanks to a healthy turnout. Moneymaker had plenty of tough competition to deal with down the stretch, including two-time bracelet winner Loni Hui (4th – $25,253). She ran A-J into the A-K of Chad Summers to hit the rail. Summers soon followed, with his A-J unable to hold against the K-6 of Moneymaker in a battle of the blinds. Summers earned $37,463 for his podium showing.
That left Moneymaker heads-up with Jason Wandley, with the former holding roughly a 5:2 chip lead to start. The two clashed for a while, but a preflop cooler brought the showdown to an end. Moneymaker opened from the button with K
K
and Wandley shoved holding JJ. Moneymaker quickly called and held through the a Q6
356 runout to bring the event to an end. Wandley cashed for $58,245 as the runner-up.
A full replay of all the action from the final table can be found below:
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Chris Moneymaker | $83,042 | 720 |
| 2 | Jason Wandley | $58,245 | 600 |
| 3 | Chad Summers | $37,463 | 480 |
| 4 | Loni Hui | $25,253 | 360 |
| 5 | Luis Capella | $19,412 | 300 |
| 6 | Manny Minaya | $16,122 | 240 |
Photo credit: MoneyMaker Tour X account.
