The Moneymaker Poker Tour is one of the most anticipated mid-stakes poker endeavors to launch in years. The mid-stakes market had been covered by the MSPT (Mid-States Poker Tour) and WSOP Circuit for years, but those tour stops have been growing in popularity fast enough to warrant a new company in the market.
Chris Moneymaker, perhaps the best-known poker player in the world, changed poker forever when he won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event for $2.5M. Moneymaker didn’t just capture everyone’s attention as an accountant who took a recreational poker interest to the biggest winner’s circle in the game. It was just as notable that he did it for just $86. He played an online poker satellite at PokerStars, won the WSOP Main Event prize package, and turned the experience into a life-changing one.
Having been in poker ever since, Moneymaker has consistently looked for ways to keep positively impacting the poker world and introducing people to the game.
In the last few years, Moneymaker exited a long-term relationship with PokerStars and signed a deal to represent Americas Cardroom on the Winning Poker Network. He opened a membership-based card room in Kentucky, though he since shut its doors temporarily due to legal questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D95dDVTFssk
His most recent move? Launching the Moneymaker Poker Tour.
What is Moneymaker PT?
Chris Moneymaker has never forgotten how his poker journey climbed to new heights. And he has always been keen on giving other players the opportunity to do the same.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Moneymaker winning the WSOP Main Event. In celebration and to welcome a new generation of players to the poker tables, he planned to launch the Moneymaker Poker Tour, a live tournament series with buy-ins starting at just $86 and peaking at $2,500. He brought Tony Burns on as the tour’s executive manager.
The first stop of the tour gave a notable indication of what the series will be like. They set it up to take place at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Florida May 10-24. The 20 primary tournaments would offer trophies and guarantees adding up to more than $1M.
https://twitter.com/PBKCPokerRoom/status/1649398017408086017?s=20
The schedule set the tour to begin with the first of many flights into the Kickoff event. That $500 buy-in came with a $250K guarantee, and there were satellites to win entries into those flights on the night of May 10, costing just $86 to buy in.
The organizers will add more stops to the tour after the Palm Beach Kennel Club series ends.
ACR Participation
Considering Moneymaker’s sponsorship deal with Americas Cardroom, it is no surprise that the US-facing online poker site had been running online satellites for the live tour.
https://twitter.com/MoneymakerTour/status/1652026144558837760?s=20
For two Sundays prior to the start of the Palm Beach Kennel Club tour stop, ACR ran mega satellites for just $95 to win entries into the $2,500 buy-in Main Event with its $500K guarantee. And the winners received more than just the buy-in, as the $4K prize packages offered enough for travel expenses and accommodations.
In all, ACR awarded approximately 50 prize packages.
Next Moneymaker 2.0 Continues
Another way to follow in Moneymaker’s footsteps is through an ACR promotion that continues through June 5. The Next Moneymaker 2.0 promotion started in March and offers weekly $86 buy-in tournaments through May 28. Each event awards 50% of its prize pool to the top players, with the other 50% reserved for the finale on June 4-5.
The finale is not a buy-in tournament. Players must win their seats through the weekly qualifiers. Players who earn points for finishing in the top 24 of any of the events will be able to enter the finale with one chip for each point they earned over the course of the promotion.
There are still several weeks to qualify. In addition, players without the bankroll for the $86 buy-in weekly tournament can play qualifiers for as little as $4.40 throughout the week.
https://twitter.com/ACR_POKER/status/1656343849961136133?s=20
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