Moneymaker wins the WSOP
An amateur qualifier wins the WSOP Main Event, igniting the global poker boom.
In May 2003 Chris Moneymaker, an amateur who had qualified through a low-cost PokerStars online satellite, won the World Series of Poker Main Event, defeating 838 other entrants and beating Sam Farha heads-up for 2.5 million dollars. His win, televised on ESPN, triggered a surge of interest known as the poker boom.
Moneymaker turned an 86 dollar online satellite entry into poker's biggest title, becoming the first world champion to have qualified online. Televised coverage with hole-card cameras framed his run as a story of an ordinary player beating seasoned professionals. The result convinced huge numbers of viewers that they too could qualify cheaply online and compete for life-changing sums. Online sign-ups and traffic surged, and the episode became known as the Moneymaker Effect, reshaping poker for the rest of the decade.
It sparked the poker boom, driving millions of new players to online poker sites worldwide.
A teaching summary, not legal advice. Dates and figures are simplified for learning; confirm against the primary sources before relying on them.