Gaming Guru
The World Series of Poker held annually at Binion's Horseshoe had a record field
of 839 participants. The best poker players from around the world were ready to
do battle on the green felt tables. This was the week that they had been looking
forward to since last year's finale. Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Doyle Brunson,
Amarillo Slim Preston, and a guy with the real name of Chris Moneymaker, accompanied
by his friend, David Gamble, were all there to win the top prize of $2.5 million
and claim immortality in the poker universe. Second place wasn't too shabby either
coming in at $1.3 million. The play began at 1 p.m. on Monday and lasted until
1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. The game broke up for sleep and meals but other
than that it was poker-Texas Hold'Em style.
Moneymaker, at the beginning of the tournament, was just another poker player
with $10,000 in chips and a dream that seemingly was way out of his reach.
Here's why… It was the first time that he had played tournament poker in
a live setting in a casino. Moneymaker won his way in by playing on his computer
in cyberspace at www.pokerstars.com.
The 27-year-old accountant from Tennessee kept a cool head throughout the tournament.
On the last day he lost a sizable pot of more than $1 million but didn't make
the rookie mistake of chasing his money. He just continued his slow, steady
assault of attacking the other players' chips in a methodical way. After the
tournament Moneymaker said that he bluffed a lot and it worked.
On the final hand against Sam Farha, Moneymaker held a 4, 5 and Farha had jack,
10. The flop came jack, 5, 4. The turn produced an 8. The river gave Moneymaker
a full house with another 5. The place erupted in cheers as Moneymaker hugged
his friends and his father, who couldn't have looked happier or prouder.
It was the most improbable of endings in the biggest and most important poker
tournament of the year. This year Cinderella tried on the shoe and it fit perfectly.
He will forever dance as a champion.
As always… good luck!
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