Chris Moneymaker
Chris Moneymaker first generated headlines in 2003, when he came from out of nowhere to win the World Series of Poker main event. Making it an even better story, he could have never afforded the $10,000 buy-in and famously snagged his seat via an $85 online satellite tournament. The 27-year-old won $2.5 million that year and poker has never again been the same.
Moneymaker inspired a generation of young players. They figured that if he could do it, they could as well. Guys like Andrew Robl and Tom Dwan stopped playing computer games and turned to online poker. Of course, there was an element of cards falling in Moneymaker’s favor, but he was clearly the right man at the right time with, hell, the right name.
But that did not bring him respect from more seasoned players in the poker world; and even the people he inspired would quickly lap him at the felt-topped tables.
Soon after he won, there was talk of Moneymaker writing an instructional book. I mentioned that to a former WSOP champ and he cracked, “I hope Chris gets himself a co-author who knows how to play poker.”
Though the guy failed to match the splashiness of his big-money debut – unlike, say, Erik Seidel, who finished second to Johnny Chan in 1988 and has been on a crushing tournament-spree ever since – Moneymaker never let shooting-star-syndrome get him too far down. He’s made the most of his poker fame – even when it had nothing to do with peak outcomes in the game.
Moneymaker Wins Moneymaker Event
But now Moneymaker seems to be on a rush. He won the Triton Super High Roller in Montenegro, pocketing $903,000 in 2024 and finishing the year with close to $2 million in live winnings. There were also a pair of big online scores and the Enjoy Poker Tour main event. This year, he won not one, but two tournaments on his eponymous Moneymaker Poker Tour. The competition was not high roller caliber, but who cares? Moneymaker is in there, swinging for the fences and inspiring every-day poker enthusiasts.
When people took exception to Moneymaker playing on a tournament circuit that bore his name, he posted the obvious to Twitter/X.
“People expect me to play in the tournaments. Me and my staff have zero control over the tournaments. They are run by the host properties.”
For Moneymaker to not play would be absurd. I’m sure that people buy in for the possible opportunity to square off against the WSOP champ next door. I’m glad that he’s back in the spotlight. I first interviewed him, at his former accounting office in Tennessee, just a few months after he won the main event. I’ve always viewed Moneymaker as a good guy who is good for poker.
Back then, I found him to be modest and honest. Recalling a time when Johnny Chan pushed him off a hand, Moneymaker candidly told me, “He and the other pros played into me like I was afraid.”
And though there have been challenges over the last 22 years – asked if the poker boom and the time that followed were enjoyable, Moneymaker replied, “Enjoyable is not a word I would use.” I’ve always thought him to be a guy who is comfortable in his own skin, regardless of what the poker world at large has to say about him.
That he’s on a bit of a heater now is a good thing for everyone (except, maybe, the people he plays against). As Daniel Negreanu put it to the Las Vegas Review Journal, “Even 20 years later, he represents the everyman in so many ways at the poker table. He’s still the fun-loving guy that people can relate to.”
And for a game that can be limned in controversy and questionable behavior, that is something to embrace.
“With the new gig, I am very happy right now,” Moneymaker told me when we last spoke. “I am enjoying the ride of a lifetime, and I am not getting off.
Michael Kaplan is a journalist based in New York City. He is the author of six books including The Advantage Players, and has worked for publications that include Wired, GQ and the New York Post. He has written extensively on technology, gambling, and business — with a particular interest in spots where all three intersect. His article on Kelly “Baccarat Machine” Sun and Phil Ivey is currently in development as a feature film.
