Great Moments from the World Series of Poker pt IV

Moneymaker's Effect on the Main Event

Aaron Angerman

In 1970, the World Series of Poker Championship was decided by a vote. Legend has it that the eight competitors each voted for themselves as the top player, but when votes were tallied for the second best participant, Johnny Moss was crowned the first WSOP Champion. As winner, Moss was awarded a silver cup. A year later, Moss would repeat, besting a field of six in the winner-take-all $5,000 buy-in event. A third and final WSOP Championship would go to Moss in 1974, when the rounder from Marshall, Texas, outlasted 15 others to grab the $160,000 first-place prize in the now $10,000 buy-in event.

Soon it was Doyle's turn. Doyle Brunson captured back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977, besting fields of 22 and 34 players, respectively. By the time Johnny Chan grabbed the second of his consecutive Main Event wins in 1988, the 167 participants were a record high.

Fast-forward to the 2004 WSOP. Greg Raymer has just gotten a then unknown David Williams to commit the rest of his chips with the smaller of two full houses. After the cards are turned, Raymer threw his arms in the air, letting out a battle cry before dropping his reptilian sunglasses to the felt. The player we've come to know as "Fossilman" has emerged victorious from the largest tournament field in poker history, some 2,576 players strong, a feat worthy of the $5 million grand prize.

On paper, the numbers are staggering. In just 34-years, the Main Event had evolved from a single-day, single-table event into a weeklong anomaly, in which a prize pool of more than $24 million was split between the 226 players who made the money. In comparison, the 1994 Main Event only attracted 228 total players, and that's just a decade prior to the Raymer win.

For years, the game of poker was anything but mainstream. When Benny Binion hosted the first WSOP in 1970, poker truly was an untamed beast. The smokey card rooms of the gambling hall adhering much closer to the game's historic, wild-west roots than the ESPN bred extravaganza that is the Main Event of the 21st century. There's a reason the Main Event field size increased from 839 in 2003, to the more than 2,500 just one year later. There's a reason the WSOP outgrew the once roomy walls at Binion's. There's a reason the Main Event winner no longer walks away with just a hefty sum of money, but a small fortune. That reason is a simple accountant with a fitting surname.

May 23, 2003

The final nine players in the 2003 WSOP Main Event gather at Binion's Horseshoe, each with their eyes on the $2.5 million first-place prize and the right to wear the gold championship bracelet across their wrist. The final table setup was as follows.

Seat 1 -- Amir Vahedi -- 1,407,000

Seat 2 -- Tomer Benvenisti -- 922,000

Seat 3 -- Sami Farha -- 999,000

Seat 4 -- Yung Pak -- 360,000

Seat5 -- Jason Lester -- 695,000

Seat 6 -- Dan Harrington -- 574,000

Seat 7 -- David Grey -- 338,000

Seat 8 -- Chris Moneymaker -- 2,344,000

Seat 9 -- David Singer -- 750,000

Hidden amongst the millionaires, bracelet winners and former WSOP Main Event Champions was Chris Moneymaker, a University of Tennessee grad turned accountant. Moneymaker turned a $39 online satellite entry into a seat at the main event and now found himself behind the big stack entering the final table. Moneymaker would find 1995 Champion Dan Harrington among those seated on his right. David Grey, another bracelet winner, separated the two. Across the table, high stakes pro and bracelet owner Sammy Farha shoots a stare, unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. In Seat 1 sat respected tournament veteran Amir Vahedi, less than three weeks removed from capturing his first WSOP title.

Moneymaker had turned a $39 tourney win on PokerStars to a seat in a Main Event qualifier. After besting a field of 60 players in that event, Moneymaker was off to the big show at Binion's. On his way to the final table, Moneymaker would sidestep some impressive names.

Just a few of those who missed out on the final table, but made the money:

10th -- Phil Ivey -- $82,700

11th -- Minh Nguyen -- $80,000

12th -- Dutch Boyd -- $80,000

13th -- Freddy Deeb -- $65,000

18th -- Scotty Nguyen -- $55,000

19th -- Howard Lederer -- $45,000

25th -- Men "the Master" Nguyen -- $45,000

27th -- Phil Hellmuth -- $45,000

First to the rail was then rising star David Singer. Short stacks Grey and Yung Pak were next to fall, bowing out in 8th and 7th-place, respectively. Vahedi, in search of his 2nd bracelet of the series, would be forced to settle for 6th-place money. Amateur Tomer Benvenisti saw his run end with in 5th, while tournament fixture Jason Lester wasn't going to find his first bracelet in the 2003 Main Event. Harrington, the former champion, wouldn't join the exclusive two-time-winners club this year, after being bounced in 3rd.

Heads-up play pitted Farha against Moneymaker. Gambler vs. accountant. Poker pro vs. online qualifier. Champion vs. dreamer. In the beginning, Farha looked poised to crush the WSOP rookie. A big bluff by Moneymaker would change that. Missed straight and flush draws were enough for Moneymaker to push the rest of his stack, hiding the fact that he held just K-7 high on the 9-2-6-8s-3 board. Farha would tank, before letting his Q-9 go. This proved to be Moneymakers turning point. On the final hand, Moneymaker's 4-5 would find bottom two pair on the J-4-5 flop. Farha was all in and at risk, tabling J-10. The 8 on the turn helped no one and the 4 on the river only improved Moneymaker, who would not only capture the bracelet and $2.5 million, but change the course of poker forever.

What would follow has become known in the poker world as the "Moneymaker Effect". People took notice that this player, playing in his first live tournament, found a way to outlast the greatest players in the game. They noticed that they too could enter an online satellite or two and have a seat in the big one. Maybe they'd get lucky a few times on the way to the final table. Maybe they leave Las Vegas with a small fortune.

In 2004, the size of the Main Event field increased three-fold. By 2006, the Main Event attracted more than ten times the entries the 2003 championship did, a jaw-dropping 8,773 players. In 2007, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) began to show its effects, showing a decrease in the amount of online qualifiers. The event still managed to attract 6,358 entrants, good for the second largest poker tournament field of all time. To think, just three and a half decades prior, you could fit the Main Event field at one table.

This year, those who make the final table will have nearly four months off, before returning to Las Vegas in November to play for the top prize. With the WSOP throwing the final table curveball and the UIGEA and online poker in an uneasy state, many questions are left to be answered. How many players will cough up the $10K buy-in for this year's Main Event, arriving at the Rio with dreams of riches and immortality? Will this be the year a pro wins the main event, or will we see another Moneymaker, Raymer or Jerry Yang rise to the occasion? Find the answer to that, and any other WSOP question, in Poker Pages' live coverage of the WSOP. Beginning May 30th, reporters will be on the WSOP tournament floor, bringing you the best in live coverage from the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.