Chris Moneymaker Makes Late Decision to Play WSOP Main Event
At long last, one of poker's most storied players has arrived at the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on Tuesday — Chris Moneymaker. The 2003 world champ entered Day 1f of the Main Event and it was a bit of a surprise to many that he even showed up.
Three months ago, Moneymaker announced on Twitter that he would skip the series altogether due to COVID-19 concerns. He worried that he could potentially bring the virus back to his family in Mississippi even though he's vaccinated. The former Main Event winner told PokerNews at the time that he expected that he'd be exposed to the virus in the crowded Rio, which forced him to make a tough decision.
Moneymaker Back in Action
Over the past few weeks, Moneymaker began to tease the idea of competing in the Main Event due to the vaccination requirement at the WSOP. But he hadn't announced his official decision to play publicly until Monday.
Moneymaker arrived about 30 minutes prior to the first break of the day, just after 2 p.m. PT. His session began mostly uneventful and PokerNews chronicled a full early orbit of nine hands on the live reporting blog.
Moneymaker cashed in the Main Event in 2019, a 687th place finish for $20,200, his first cash in the world championship event since he won the whole thing 18 years ago.
At the time of publishing, on the second break at 5 p.m. PT, Moneymaker was sitting on 50,000 chips, a bit down from his 60,000-chip starting stack. There are three levels of play remaining before the final Day 1 starting flight concludes.
Moneymaker Reps WSOP's Main Sponsor, Shares Poker Tips
Moneymaker is now a sponsor for Velo, the World Series of Poker's main sponsor in 2021. As part of his new sponsorship deal, the Poker Hall of Famer shared some tips and tricks for applying poker skills to real-life situations in a light-hearted Velo video.
Whether you're on a bad date, at the in-laws for the holidays, or at an office Christmas party, Moneymaker has some solid advice on how to avoid sticky situations, which you can learn about it in the above video.
Check out all of the WSOP Main Event updates
In this Series
- 1 WSOP 2021 Schedule: 88 WSOP Bracelet Events, Sept. 30 - Nov. 23
- 2 WSOP 2021: Best Events to Play on a Budget
- 3 WSOP 2021 Main Event Satellites From $80 Hit GGPoker
- 4 WSOP 2021: Former Champ Chris Moneymaker Set to Miss This Year's WSOP
- 5 WSOP 2021: COVID-19 Vaccination Required for Players, Update on Staff
- 6 WSOP 2021: Best Hotels in Las Vegas
- 7 WSOP 2021: Try These 5 Hidden Gem Las Vegas Restaurants
- 8 World Series of Poker 2024: Read Phil Ivey's Top WSOP Tips
- 9 WSOP 2021: 8 Things Poker Players Should Definitely Bring to the WSOP - and 2 You Shouldn't!
- 10 How to Enter the WSOP 2021 Freezeout Events
- 11 Is It Worth Playing Cash Games During the WSOP?
- 12 What Game Should You Pick in Dealer’s Choice?
- 13 What We've Learned from the First Week of the 2021 WSOP
- 14 Hands That Helped GGPoker Ambassador Jason Koon Win 1st WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 15 GGPoker Successfully Brings Online Flip & Go Concept to Live 2021 WSOP
- 16 Jason Koon, Connor Drinan Lead 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Race
- 17 Anthony Zinno in Exclusive One-Player Club Following Fourth WSOP Title
- 18 Looking Back At The Illustrious History of the Poker Players Championship
- 19 Phil Hellmuth Blows Up AGAIN; Rails Against WSOP POY Rules
- 20 Poker Fan Loses Job, Twitch Streamer Gifts Him WSOP Main Event Package
- 21 WSOP 2021: Are the Fields Tougher or Softer than Recent Years?
- 22 Doyle Brunson Treats Crowd to Surprise WSOP Return on Halloween
- 23 Spooktastic: Best & Worst Halloween Costumes from the 2021 WSOP
- 24 Phil Ivey NFT Launch Party a True 'What Happens in Vegas' Night
- 25 Poker Community Buys Man Facing Terminal Cancer into WSOP Main Event
- 26 Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 27 WSOP Temporarily Goes on Lockdown Over Suspect's "Suspicious Item"
- 28 Did Phil Hellmuth's Sex Ban Lead to 1989 WSOP Main Event Glory?
- 29 Doyle Brunson Arrives; Defending Champ Salas Busts Before 1st Break of 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 30 Aces Cracked Leaves Kevin Campbell as the 2021 WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 31 Quads Vs. Quads Sends Chang Liu Home Near WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 32 The Muck: Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Wants to End Max Late Reg
- 33 Doyle Brunson Proves He Still Has it Despite WSOP Main Event Exit
- 34 Phil "Gandalf" Hellmuth Makes Grand Entrance in 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 35 Chris Moneymaker Makes Late Decision to Play WSOP Main Event
- 36 Who is GGPoker Ambassador and YouTube Vlogger 'Greg Goes All In?'
- 37 The Muck: Poker Twitter Debates Potential Angle-Shooting in WSOP Main Event
- 38 Nick Rigby Plays the 2-3 "Dirty Diaper" in 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 39 Is Josh Arieh Running Away with WSOP Player of the Year?
- 40 'Wedding Crashers' & 'Old School' Star Vince Vaughn to Join WSOP's Move to Strip in 2022
- 41 Eli Elezra Selected as 2021 Poker Hall of Fame Inductee
- 42 Master of Ceremonies Vince Vaughn Suffers Bad Beat in His First WSOP Tournament
- 43 Players Implement Covid Contract During WSOP $250K Super High Roller
- 44 How Much Money Did Players at the WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Make?
- 45 Phil Hellmuth Breaks WSOP Single Series Final Table Record
- 46 Daniel Negreanu's Most Mind-Boggling WSOP Stat at the Rio
- 47 Josh Arieh a Surprising 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Winner
