Most people have heard the expression Thank God it's Friday they may even remember the old disco song going back to the 70's but 'Thank God it's Chris Moneymaker or to be more accurate "Thank God For Chris Moneymaker," where did that come from and how did that come about, and was it's someone's real name?
Chris Moneymaker was the name on everyone's lips back in 2003. An accountant from Tennessee, he entered into the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) for the cost of a $40 buy in. At that time being completely unknown, he would have been considered easy prey for the tournament pro's just like any inexperienced player, ready to be taken to the cleaners in unceremonious fashion.
How wrong the pro's were! During the early days of this event Chris was up against some seriously talented poker players doing combat with the likes of Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and heavyweight Sam Farha. In fact Farha whom that year was placed second, really had the wool pulled over his eyes when it came to them playing a heads up, with Moneymaker's massive bluff resulting in an out of character loss for Farha.
This huge confidence booster, was just the tonic Moneymaker needed to propel him forward to the Main Event and take the big tournament prize on offer, millions of dollars.
As a result of the intense publicity created and the wonderful feel good factor it generated amongst budding amateur Poker players, it offered a great source of inspiration and was one of the biggest underlying factors in what was to become a timely Poker boom. The expression, "Thank God For Chris Moneymaker was conceived by Poker Professional Mike Matusow as the tournament would now attract hoards more amateurs to the tables.
Quitting his daytime job, Chris' life was never to be quite the same as he now had the opportunity and time on his hands to travel the world playing in any tournament he wished, and in the following year 2004, he came second in the Shooting Star Event, picking up a somewhat modest $200,000 from his resulting efforts. Whether his name was his real name given him at birth, one can only assume that it was, until someone wants to prove otherwise. regardless, no one can say that he hasn't lived up to it!
