Moneymaker Effect
Encyclopedia
The Moneymaker Effect is the name of the sudden growth in interest in poker
after the 2003 World Series of Poker
Main Event.
, a twenty-seven-year-old accountant, and amateur poker player, from Tennessee
, United States, outlasted 838 other players to win the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event thereby winning the US$2.5 million prize and the title of World Champion. Moneymaker became the new poster boy
for poker, inspiring potential players to believe that "staying at home in front of a computer screen could be more profitable than going to work." His improbable win also started a new era in poker in which "a nobody could topple the feared pros."
According to an article in the Las Vegas Sun, Moneymaker's victory has been credited with launching the "poker craze", along with assistance from televised tournaments with hole-card cameras and the increased popularity of online poker.
Moneymaker gained entrance to the 2003 World Series of Poker by winning a $39 poker satellite tournament at the online poker
card room, PokerStars
. This win gave him a seat at a table in a larger satellite tournament whose grand prize was a seat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada which normally costs $10,000. Moneymaker won the tournament and went on to compete in the 2003 WSOP event.
Now a member of Team PokerStars, Moneymaker's biography on the PokerStars website reads: "His story sparked a tidal wave of interest in poker, a phenomenon that’s been nicknamed the 'Moneymaker Effect' [...] he’ll always be remembered for that epic victory in 2003. It’s a legacy he is clearly proud of and one that’s given him the kind of life all poker players dream of." Moneymaker's story of how an amateur beat some of the best poker players in the world and win a multi-million dollar cash prize is believed to have inspired millions of people to begin playing poker, both online and in card rooms around the world.
At the 2004 World Series of Poker
the following year, a semi-professional player, Greg Raymer
, also qualified online and went on to win that year's Main Event, along with its $5 million grand prize, in a larger field of 2,576 players.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
after the 2003 World Series of Poker
2003 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 839 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a brick and mortar casino at the time...
Main Event.
History
The term was created after Chris MoneymakerChris Moneymaker
Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker . His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site...
, a twenty-seven-year-old accountant, and amateur poker player, from Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States, outlasted 838 other players to win the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event thereby winning the US$2.5 million prize and the title of World Champion. Moneymaker became the new poster boy
Poster Boy
Poster Boy is a 2004 gay-themed drama film. It toured the gay and lesbian film festival circuit beginning in 2004 before a limited theatrical release in 2006.- Production :Some scenes were shot on campus at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York....
for poker, inspiring potential players to believe that "staying at home in front of a computer screen could be more profitable than going to work." His improbable win also started a new era in poker in which "a nobody could topple the feared pros."
According to an article in the Las Vegas Sun, Moneymaker's victory has been credited with launching the "poker craze", along with assistance from televised tournaments with hole-card cameras and the increased popularity of online poker.
Moneymaker gained entrance to the 2003 World Series of Poker by winning a $39 poker satellite tournament at the online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
card room, PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
. This win gave him a seat at a table in a larger satellite tournament whose grand prize was a seat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada which normally costs $10,000. Moneymaker won the tournament and went on to compete in the 2003 WSOP event.
Now a member of Team PokerStars, Moneymaker's biography on the PokerStars website reads: "His story sparked a tidal wave of interest in poker, a phenomenon that’s been nicknamed the 'Moneymaker Effect' [...] he’ll always be remembered for that epic victory in 2003. It’s a legacy he is clearly proud of and one that’s given him the kind of life all poker players dream of." Moneymaker's story of how an amateur beat some of the best poker players in the world and win a multi-million dollar cash prize is believed to have inspired millions of people to begin playing poker, both online and in card rooms around the world.
At the 2004 World Series of Poker
2004 World Series of Poker
The 2004 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January...
the following year, a semi-professional player, Greg Raymer
Greg Raymer
Gregory Raymer nicknamed "Fossilman," is a professional poker player. He is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event.-Early life:...
, also qualified online and went on to win that year's Main Event, along with its $5 million grand prize, in a larger field of 2,576 players.