Moneymaker Effect

The Moneymaker Effect is the name of the sudden growth in interest in poker after the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event.^{[1] [2]}

History

The term was created after Chris Moneymaker, 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.^[1] 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."^[1] His improbable win also started a new era in poker in which "a nobody could topple the feared pros."^[3]

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.^[4]

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."^[5] 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.^[5]

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.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Swains, Howard (2006-03-18). "Moneymaker method can show the way to a fortune—Poker". The Times. [1]
2. ^ Poker News, The Moneymaker Effect: Five Years Later, May 23 2008, [2]
3. ^ ^{a b} Goldman, Adam (2004-05-31). "Internet Levels Playing Field for Poker Glory". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 
4. ^ Las Vegas Sun, The Biggest Stories in the World Series of Poker. December, 18 2009 [3].
5. ^ ^{a b} "Chris Moneymaker". PokerStars. http://www.pokerstars.com/team-pokerstars/chris-moneymaker/. Retrieved 2009-07-01.