There is barely a poker fan or a person involved in any way in poker who has not heard the name Chris Moneymaker. Shortly put, Chris Moneymaker is the 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion. The player, who was 27-year-old at that time, topped a field of 838 entries to capture a gold bracelet, known to be the most prestigious non-monetary poker award, and the amount of $2.5 million.
What made Moneymaker’s achievement particularly special was the fact that he was the first-ever poker player to win the Main Event by qualifying for it at an online poker room. In 2003, he won a $39 buy-in satellite tournament on PokerStars, the world’s biggest online card room. His victory secured him with a seat into a bit larger but similar in structure tournament. The latter’s grand prize included a seat into that year’s edition of the WSOP Main Event.
As one could suggest, Moneymaker won that second event, too, and was soon traveling to Las Vegas to take part in what has generally been accepted to be the most prestigious event in the world of poker. And after several days of play, the player bested the tournament’s field. At that time, Moneymaker was not aware that his victory would change the course of poker history.
Prior to winning the Main Event, the player had not taken part in any live tournaments. He had worked as an accountant in Tennessee, where he had spent most of his life, and had played online poker at PokerStars from time to time. Almost immediately after his big triumph, Moneymaker became poker’s new poster boy. Everyone wanted to know the great Chris Moneymaker who took down the WSOP Main Event title through winning a mere $39 online satellite tournament.
His achievement started what has become known as the Moneymaker effect. In other words, interest in poker increased greatly and the Tennessee-based accountant turned into an inspiration for people around the world to start playing the exciting game both online and live, hoping to make it to the WSOP Main Event and eventually win it.
Quite expectedly, Moneymaker left his job and became poker ambassador, promoting the game of poker around the world. He also joined PokerStars’ team of sponsored players, started a company – Moneymaker Gaming LLC, which manufactured poker accessories, commemorative chips, poker sets, etc., and co-authored his autobiography Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker. In other words, since 2003, the player’s life has been centered around poker in one way or another.
In November 2015, Moneymaker was “inducted” in the Internet Poker Wall of Fame, joining online poker personalities like Isai Scheinberg, Prahlad Friedman, Chris Moorman, Dominik Kofert, etc. Although his enshrinement was not celebrated with a glitzy ceremony during the WSOP Main Event Final Table festivities, it still can be considered a great honor and a celebration of his achievements in poker.
The idea for the Internet Poker Wall of Fame originated from Terrence Chan and Adam Schwarz, both of them best known for being Two Plus Two Pokercasters. Chan and Schwarz started adding prominent poker personalities to the list of inductees in August, thus honoring their deeds and contributions to the popularization of the online variants of poker.
Soon after Moneymaker was inducted in the Internet Poker Wall of Fame, debates on whether he should join the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame started. Generally speaking, being a member of the Poker Hall of Fame is one of the most significant recognitions an accomplished player or poker personality could ever receive.
It was established back in 1979 and was acquired by casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. in 2004, together with the rights to the WSOP. Currently, it has a total of 50 members, of whom 25 are still living.
In order to join the Poker Hall of Fame, a player or a poker personality needs to be nominated by fans and to receive the majority of votes by current members as well as by a specially appointed media panel. And to be nominated, a player needs to be at least 40 years old, to have played high stakes tournaments, to have demonstrated excellent performance, and to have stood the test of time. As for non-players, they need to have contributed to “the overall growth and success” of poker.
Truth is that despite winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event, Moneymaker may not make it to a Poker Hall of Fame nomination as a player. He turned 40 this November and this is to a great extent the only requirement that he fully meets. He has taken part in several high stakes events over the past twelve years and he has even finished 2nd in one such tournament, winning a payout of $300,000.
Yet, despite several final table appearances and in-the-money finishes, the player has not won a major event since 2003. In other words, it could be said that his performance over the past decade has not been that exceptional. This, however, does not mean that Moneymaker is not a skillful and accomplished player. It is only that he has focused his attention on promoting poker and encouraging poker enthusiasts to be brave but reasonable in their pursuit of recognition.
Being a poker ambassador for the past twelve years and contributing significantly to the popularization of the game of poker and its further growth, combined with his achievements on the felt, Moneymaker is the perfect nomination for the Poker Hall of Fame. And it will be a good idea for the poker community to give a serious thought to his nomination and eventual election.
And if poker fans and those who have already been induced into the Poker Hall of Fame consider the player’s poker achievements unworthy of such recognition, they will have to at least look back at what he has done for the game of poker. This way they will see that Moneymaker, the man whose Main Event victory put the beginning to the Moneymaker effect, is the perfect candidate for the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2016.
