Chris Moneymaker is having one of his best years in poker and scored his second tournament win and fourth final table appearance this week at an Enjoy Poke Tour event in Punta del Este, Uruguay. He came out on top in a $1,650 buy-in event for a $179,770 score.
The victory extends a huge year for the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champ, who helped spark the poker boom of the 2000s. The streak of success began almost a year ago at the Triton Poker Super High Roller London Series, where he finished fifth in a $250,000 NLHE event for $2 million.
Then in May, Moneymaker scored a win in a $26,500 event at the Triton Montenegro series for $903,000. The big run has been some good news for the 48-year-old poker pro.
“Obviously, it feels really good to win anything but winning at that level is really incredible,” he told Card Player magazine recently after the Triton success. “Everybody knows every one of those players and how good they are, so having success in that realm is really good. I went above expectations, but it still feels nice. The London trip and the Montenegro trip, I had a magical run there, so obviously it feels amazing.”
Branching Out
Moneymaker now has $7.5 million in live poker tournament winnings and beyond the big recent wins, he also scored a final table appearance in Florida this year on the Moneymaker Tour, the venture he started last year.
The Moneymaker Tour has several casino partners now across the U.S. and is also now looking at branching out internationally. The poker pro likes to stay busy and also opened a poker room this year in Kentucky as well.
More than two decades after winning the Main Event, Moneymaker continues making an impact on the game – and finding success at the tables.
