Chris Moneymaker Profile

Christopher Bryan Moneymaker was born in 1976 in Tennessee.Chris grew up in a family of competitive gamblers, so the fact that he is good at poker is really no surprise. When other teens were out doing the things do he and his family were playing cards, or on cruises or other exotic vacations his father managed to swing through a part time travel agency business.

Chris' passion for gambling has been a lifetime experience. He began playing bridge with his grandmother and later morphed into a love for blackjack. He did not pursue with making his passion a full time job, and instead went to school. Moneymaker attended the University of Tennessee and earned a masters degree in accounting, and settled into surburban life as an accountant.

Moneymaker won his seat into to main event of the 2003 WSOP by spending $39 to enter a satellite tournament at Pokerstars online card room. He went on the win the first prize of $2.5 million, instantly garnering poker superstar status, and boosting the popularity of Pokerstars.net. It was his first live poker tournament. His most memorable hand came heads-up against Sammy Farha, when on the river he bluffed all-in with King high. Farha folded a pair of nines, quickly changing the momentum of the match. Farha did however win a rematch on Pokerstars a month later. Moneymaker played on the World Poker Tour also. After winning the WSOP, he quit his job to serve as a celebrity spokesman for Series owner Harrah’s Entertainment as well as PokerStars. He also began traveling to play in more large buy-in tournaments.

His autobiography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker was published in March 2005.

Player stats

2005: 3rd place Poker Superstars International Tournament Season 2 Heat 23
2004: 3rd place 4th Annual Jack Binion Mid-America Poker Classic
2004: 10th place WSOP $500 Pot Limit Omaha
2004: 2nd place WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars $5000 No Limit Hold’em Championship
2003: Winner WSOP Main Event

Today, Chris works as a spokesperson at Poker Stars. This is also where you will find him play, as he still enjoys playing tournaments as much as before becoming a Dollar millionaire.

He still plays online with the same name that won him his legendary satellite seat, Money 800, and is very approachable to those who catch him online. If you do catch him, be prepared for honest, upfront and polite answers to your questions. He is always referred to as a gentleman at the table and away, a salt of the earth kind of guy, and seems to be comfortably rooted in a hometown life and family that give him shelter as he weathers the changing winds of celebrity.