{"id":260476,"date":"2023-02-17T19:57:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-18T01:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=260476"},"modified":"2023-02-20T13:30:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T19:30:46","slug":"chris-moneymaker-folds-poker-room-to-avoid-criminal-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chris-moneymaker-folds-poker-room-to-avoid-criminal-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Moneymaker Folds Poker Room to Avoid Criminal Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Moneymaker has been forced to close the Kentucky poker room he opened just five months ago<\/a>, according to PokerNews.com. <\/em>His decision follows threats of criminal action from local authorities.<\/p>\n

\"Chris
Poker champ Chris Moneymaker counts lifetime tournament winnings exceeding $3.95M. (Image: cardplayer.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Card rooms are illegal in Kentucky. However, Moneymaker\u2019s circumvented that state law the same way card rooms do in Texas \u2013 by collecting membership and seat fees instead of rakes from tournament pots. (They charge for the space, according to the charade. What the members choose to do with the space is up to them.)<\/p>\n

No More Moneymaking<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Moneymaker Social Club, located in the small town of Paducah, was approved last year by McCracken County Attorney Sam Clymer. But Clymer has since been replaced by Cade Foster, who doesn\u2019t take as kindly to circumventing state laws.<\/p>\n

Moneymaker got a whiff of the changing tide when he applied for a Kentucky liquor license and got declined. He said he thinks Foster \u2013 who was voted in after Clymer declined to run for reelection \u2013 began \u201clooking into what we are doing\u201d after an objection was raised by the state alcohol bureau \u2013 though he said that Clymer had previously been informed of the business model and seemed OK with it.<\/p>\n

Deal Him In<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While Moneymaker was in England last week at an iGaming conference, his attorney reached out to Foster’s office to cut a deal, according to Poker News.<\/em> In exchange for avoiding misdemeanor and felony illegal gambling charges, Moneymaker would shut down the poker aspect of his business. He also asked for permission to finish up a $50K tournament his club was running first.<\/p>\n

Both requests were granted.<\/p>\n

Until Moneymaker figures out his next move, his business will operate as an actual <\/em>social club and not just one in name\u00a0 only \u2013 offering food and billiards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m going to pay the employees, give them a place to work,\u201d he told Poker News. <\/em>\u201cIt’s not their fault that the county attorney had a change of heart.”<\/p>\n

Moneymaker said he still hopes to one day be able to legally bring poker back to Moneymaker Social Club. (And it sounds like \u201cone day\u201d could happen whenever the next county attorney gets voted in.)<\/p>\n

Shake Your Moneymaker\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Moneymaker became a poker star in 2003 while he was still a 27-year-old accountant. Defying the odds, he became the first player to turn an online satellite win into a WSOP Main Event win, converting his $86 entry fee into $2.5 million.<\/p>\n

His win \u2014 which coined the phrase, the Moneymaker Effect \u2014 is widely credited with revolutionizing poker by opening it up to the masses at a time when interest in the sport was in decline.<\/p>\n

It was also \u201ca complete mistake,\u201d Moneymaker told CNN in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was playing for cash. I don\u2019t want the seat to go play in the World Series of Poker to go play against the best players in the world, because I\u2019m just an amateur player playing with friends. I\u2019ve never played against a pro in my life. And $8,000 would go a long way to paying off my bills and helping with things around the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2019 Poker Hall of Fame inductee counts lifetime tournament winnings exceeding $3.95 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Moneymaker has been forced to close the Kentucky poker room he opened just five months ago, according to PokerNews.com. His decision follows threats of criminal action from local authorities. Card rooms are illegal in Kentucky. However, Moneymaker\u2019s circumvented that state law the same way card rooms do in Texas \u2013 by collecting membership and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":260477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83771,14],"tags":[85086,82033,85087,81907],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChris Moneymaker Folds Poker Room to Avoid Criminal Charges - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Moneymaker has been forced to close the Kentucky poker room he opened just five months ago, according to PokerNews.com. 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