The Moneymaker Effect: Meet the man who helped change the fortunes of poker overnight
CNN
When the cards were dealt, Chris Moneymaker could hardly have been happy.
Sure, he was the chip leader at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) having miraculously, and literally, battled against the odds all the way to make it to the final table out of 839 entrants. And now, from his initial $86 satellite entry fee granting him a seat at the WSOP -- the price of admission to enter the tournament at Binion's Hotel in Las Vegas could have been $10,000 -- a million-dollar payout was guaranteed.
Over the course of one week in May, 837 contenders had been eliminated, leaving this amateur online player going up against seasoned professional Sam Farha. And as they played heads-up Texas Hold 'Em, Moneymaker must have wanted the glory of winning the most prestigious prize in poker, to say nothing of the $2.5 million on offer to the winner.