- published: 18 May 2013
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Christopher Bryan Moneymaker (born November 21, 1975, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP). His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site. This has been referred to in the press as the "Moneymaker Effect."
Moneymaker's ancestors made silver and gold coins and chose the name "Moneymaker" as a modification of their German last name: "Nurmacher."
Moneymaker attended Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, and later earned a master's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee.
Moneymaker married his wife, Christina Wren, in Las Vegas in April, 2005. He has a daughter, Ashley, born three months before he won the WSOP main event. They currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee.
After receiving his master's degree, Moneymaker worked as a comptroller. He was also a part-time employee at a local restaurant. After his WSOP win Moneymaker became a spokesman for PokerStars. He has also started his own company, Moneymaker Gaming.
Ihsan (Sammy) Farha (born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1959) is a professional poker player. He is best known for finishing as runner up in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event in 2003 and has won three bracelets at the WSOP.
Farha moved to the United States after the Lebanese Civil War broke out when he was in his teens. After settling in Wichita, Kansas in 1977, he attended the University of Kansas. He graduated with a degree in business administration and moved to Houston, Texas to work with his brother. Farha first played a game of poker a year after moving to Houston, and won several thousand dollars. He quit his job in 1990 to play poker full time.
Farha's biggest tournament finish was in the 2003 World Series of Poker main event, where he finished second to Chris Moneymaker for $1,300,000. On the second day of play Farha lost a major pot to Barry Greenstein leaving him with only 10% of the average stack. He was considering leaving at this point and was talked into staying by Greenstein. He lost the final hand to Moneymaker after going all in with a pair of jacks on the flop, only to be called by Moneymaker who had flopped bottom two pair.
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1976) is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world today.
Ivey first began to develop his poker skills by playing against co-workers at a New Brunswick, New Jersey telemarketing firm in the late 1990s. One of his nicknames, "No Home Jerome", stems from the ID card he secured to practice in Atlantic City, New Jersey in his teenage years. His other nickname is 'the Tiger Woods of Poker'.
As of 2012[update], his total live tournament winnings exceed $16,000,000. $5,294,840 of his total winnings have come from cashes at the WSOP. He is currently ranked 2nd on the all time money list behind Erik Seidel.
Ivey's tournament accomplishments include winning three bracelets at the 2002 World Series of Poker, tying Phil Hellmuth Jr, Ted Forrest, and Puggy Pearson for most tournament wins in a single year (Jeff Lisandro has also since tied the record). Ivey also has bracelets in Pot Limit Omaha from 2000 and 2005. In 2000, he was the first person to defeat Amarillo Slim heads-up at a WSOP final table. In addition to his eight World Series bracelets, Ivey has had great success in the WSOP Main Event. He placed in the top 25 four times between the 2002 World Series of Poker and the 2009 World Series of Poker. Ivey finished 23rd in 2002, 10th in 2003, 20th in 2005 and 7th in 2009.