Airing on select Sundays on FOX is the PokerStars-sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge.” The show, which pits online qualifiers against celebrity defenders and PokerStars pros for a chance at $1 million, is in its second season. Among the poker game show’s cast is 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion and PokerStars pro Chris Moneymaker, who recently appeared on the September 26th installment. From his home in Memphis, Tennessee, “The Man Who Started it All” sat down with Poker News Daily.
For Moneymaker, who has played with amateurs from all walks of life around the world, the PokerStars “Million Dollar Challenge” provides a unique opportunity to interact with PokerStars players. He told Poker News Daily, “The people you play against are the toughest part. They make it really tough because you want them to win in some respects. When you’re talking to someone and he has three kids or is a mother of five, it’s tough to want them to lose.” The show’s very first contestant was a pastor seeking funds to refurbish his church.
Despite the Turbo format of the show, Moneymaker explained that he’s still playing to win. In the second round of “Million Dollar Challenge,” which pits challengers against PokerStars pros, show front man Daniel Negreanu sits in an isolation booth, where he can see a qualifier’s hole cards and communicate with them via an earpiece. In turn, each PokerStars pro can shut off all communication by invoking the “Dome of Silence” twice during the match.
Moneymaker admitted that the prospects of silencing the talkative Negreanu are quite appealing: “I love the ‘Dome of Silence.’ If you can shut Daniel up for a while, it’s a special treat.” Moneymaker also shared that he enjoys spending time in the green room with his fellow pros: “Behind the scenes while hanging out, we play Chinese Poker or play online, and that’s part of the fun. When you shoot a show like that, you spend 90% of your time in the green room. However, you get to hang out with Tito Ortiz and John Elway, which is the best part.”
Now, Moneymaker will head to Los Angeles for the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) stop next month. Also on his radar is the annual Aussie Millions, which pans out in January from the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Also in January, his home site will host the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. Moneymaker previewed the event: “The PCA is fun and it’s a great atmosphere, but there is so much poker going on. There are around 50 events, which is nuts. Last year, I played in 15 events in five days. This year, I vowed to go sit in the sun a bit.”
Among those events playing out in the Bahamas is a $100,000 buy-in High Roller tournament. When asked if he’d play in the six-figure contest, Moneymaker responded, “I’m thinking about it, but I’m going to see what the field is like. I spent £20,000 in London to play in the High Roller there.” Moneymaker did not cash in the latter tournament.
NAPT Los Angeles will emanate from the Bicycle Casino from November 12th to 17th, just days after the newest WSOP Main Event winner is crowned across the desert in Las Vegas. “It’s going to be a great stop,” forecasted Moneymaker. “As soon as the NAPT gets traction and more casinos start allowing us to come in, it’s going to be a big tournament series and rival the EPT. It will eventually be bigger than the EPT.”
The Los Angeles NAPT stop boasts a $5,000 price tag for its Main Event. The tour has seen hundreds of entrants so far, with 872 playing in the Venetian Main Event and 716 entering the feature tournament at Mohegan Sun. Moneymaker explained the rationale for having a $5,000 buy-in: “The $10Ks are great, but with the economy the way it is, it’s tough for a lot of people to afford $10,000. You’re talking $1,000 sit and gos for one seat and $215 rebuys for two or three seats. If you have a $5,000 buy-in, it’s more affordable. NAPT L.A. is going to sell out.”
Catch Season 2 of the PokerStars “Million Dollar Challenge” on October 24th, November 7th, November 21st, and December 12th flanking NFL coverage on FOX. Season 1 episodes can be seen on GSN.
