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A PokerNews Debate: Should The Hall of Fame Induct Chris Moneymaker?
- Updated: September 16, 2016
With the recent announcement of the Poker Hall of Fame nominees, poker professionals, amateurs and railbirds alike joined in to add their two cents about who they thought deserved the prestigious honor, as well as who was a long shot.
Of the nominees – Chris Bjorin, Humberto Brenes, Todd Brunson, Eli Elezra, Bruno Fitoussi, Chris Moneymaker, Carlos Mortensen, Max Pescatori, Matt Savage and David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott – PokerNews decided to debate whether Chris Moneymaker, whose story has been told time and time again and who has been credited for creating a poker boom, thanks in part to his unique name, deserves to be an inductee.
This is long overdue
The 25 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, and the 20-person media panel entrusted with voting in new members have a chance to do something special this year. They can step a little out of the box, go beyond the traditional induction criteria and usher in a new era of credibility and relevance for the Hall. All they have to do is recognize Chris Moneymaker’s great contribution to the game and vote him in because of it.
In 2003, Moneymaker was a 27-year-old accountant and amateur poker player from Tennessee who defied the odds and beat the pros at their own game, getting into the World Series of Poker Main Event through a $39 online satellite and winning it all. Now 40, Moneymaker has spent the decade-plus since playing the game professionally amassing an additional $1.1 million in tournament earnings to the $2.5 million he won with his World Championship. But the numbers themselves don’t tell the real story here.
ESPN coverage of the 2013 WSOP Main Event helped turn Moneymaker’s fairytale story into a legend and he wore it well. Poker suddenly boomed and Moneymaker was its poster child, helping draw thousands into the game who thought they had the chance to beat him and be him. The modern game, and the entire industry — online and off — was built around him. With the exception of a small handful of old school pros, media personalities, dealers and industry executives who are still around from before the boom, none us would even be here today without Moneymaker and the effect he had on the growth of poker.
Winning the WSOP Main Event alone means Moneymaker has played poker against top competition. Although he’s never been one for the nosebleeds, he’s certainly played …
