Chris Moneymaker to Launch Social Poker Room in Kentucky

Chris Moneymaker is set to join the ranks of famous pros who have their own cardroom with plans to launch a social poker room in Kentucky, banking on his famous name by calling it Moneymaker’s!

The 2003 WSOP Main Event champ has chosen the small town of Paducah, some 200km northwest of Nashville in neighbouring Tennessee, to set up his eponymous poker-room.

Moneymaker is set to join fellow Main Event winner Johnny Chan in having a social cardroom named after him, although he will hope things go rather better than they did for the 1987 and 1988 champ.

Chan’s Texas cardroom, Johnny Chan’s 88 Social, closed late last year amid concerns that player funds had mysteriously disappeared, re-opening under new ownership as the 101 Poker Club.

Moneymaker’s Kentucky venture is set to follow the general Texas approach to live poker, which exploits a grey area in the law that allows clubs to offer poker for a membership or daily fee, as long as rake isn’t taken.

The likes of Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme, Brad Owen, and Mike Matusow have all taken “the Texas route” to investing in poker rooms. Moneymaker, however, has opted for Kentucky due to “less competition”.

With only one other social cardroom in the Bluegrass State, the man credited with sparking the poker boom with his 2003 Vegas victory is hoping to cash in on the increasing popularity of poker, witnessed by the huge numbers at this year’s WSOP.

Although no ddate has been set yet for opening his cardroom, Moneymaker expects it to happen within the next few weeks, with the room offering 8-10 poker tables, with more to be added for bigger tournaments.

Moneymaker, who bagged $2.5million for his historic online satellite-to-Main Event-victory run made day 4 of this year’s event, eventually falling in 1198th place for a $15k min cash.