Web Player
Wins $2.5M Poker Championship
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May 25, 10:59 AM (ET)
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
LAS VEGAS
(AP) - It was only fitting that an accountant named Moneymaker would put down
$40 and ultimately walk away with $2.5 million and the title of champion
Saturday in the 34th annual World Series of Poker.
Known to his
friends as "Money," Chris Moneymaker, 27, also became the first
person to win the prestigious tournament by qualifying on the Internet.
"I got
lucky along the way," Moneymaker said. "I bluffed a lot during this
tournament, but somehow I got away with it."
Players and
experts said Moneymaker's win will revolutionize poker, solidifying the merger
of the Internet and big-name casinos and boosting the game's popularity.
"This is
the sonic boom of poker," said Nolan Dalla, media director for the World
Series of Poker. "This means anyone in their home can become a poker player."
Amid cheers
of "Go Money," the Spring Hill, Tenn., resident faced off against
Ihsan "Sam" Farha in a final round that began Friday afternoon and
ended early Saturday, at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino.
After seven
other players had been eliminated, $2.5 million in cash was placed on the
green-felt table and the final hands were dealt. Moneymaker, with his metallic
wraparound shades, clutched a small crystal in his hand for good luck. Farha of
Houston, Texas, had an unlit cigarette in one hand and a tiger figurine by his
side.
The game was
No-Limit Texas Hold'em, in which the players are dealt two cards each and share
up to five additional cards that lie face up on the table.
Moneymaker
drew a five and a four to Farha's jack and ten.
After the dealer
laid out a jack, a four and a five on the table, Moneymaker stood holding two
pairs to Farha's pair of jacks.
Without
knowing Moneymaker's cards, Farha wagered it all - more than $1 million in
chips.
Moneymaker
matched the bet and watched the dealer draw the final shared cards, an eight
and a five.
The cards
gave him a full house (three fives and two fours) and the victory. He threw up
his fist and hugged his father, Mike Moneymaker of Knoxville, Tenn.
"I saw
the four-five come up and I think my heart did a double-take," said the
younger Moneymaker, who said he only began playing poker three years ago.
In his first
"live" poker tournament, Moneymaker beat a handful of former World
Series of Poker champs, including Dan Harrington, who was at the final table
and finished third with $650,000.
The
tournament began Monday with a record-breaking 839 players. A surge in online
gambling and a rise in the game's popularity drew dozens of unknowns and a 33
percent increase in attendance over 2002.
For more than
five weeks, Binion's had been a hub of excitement as players who couldn't
afford the $10,000 buy-in vied for spots in the final by winning side
tournaments with entry fees as low as $50. Of the 839 players, only 63 paid the
buy-in price.
Others, like
Moneymaker, qualified on such sites as ParadisePoker.com, ultimatebet.com and
PartyPoker.com.
Moneymaker, a
father of a 3-month-old girl, was among 37 players sent to the tournament after
paying $40 and qualifying at PokerStars.com.
Dan Goldman,
vice president of marketing for PokerStars.com, credited Moneymaker's win to
his natural card sense and the experience he gained while playing online.
"We've
proven that people who play on the Internet are just as good as those who play
in casinos," Goldman said.
The other
players at the final table were: Amir Vahedi, a professional poker player from
Southern California; Tomer Benvenitsi, a Las Vegas resident and expedition tour
guide; David E. Singer, a professional player from Mamaroneck, N.Y.; Jason
Lester, Wall Street investor from New York City; Young Pak of Bainbridge,
Wash.; and professional gambler David Grey.
Moneymaker,
who donated $25,000 of his winnings to cancer research, said being an unknown
worked to his advantage.
"I was a
little underestimated because no one knew who I was," he said. "If I
can win it, anybody can."
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