“The PokerStars Festival Tournament helps Romania’s tourism and image”
“Romanian legislation increases the quality of poker in your country”
Chris Moneymaker, Team PokerStars Pro Player was present in Bucharest. He attended the PokerStars Festival Main Event, a poker tournament run under PokerStars and PokerFest Romania between 31 July and 6 August, at the JW Marriott Grand Hotel. On this occasion, Chris Moneymaker gave an exclusive interview to our magazine.
Hello. Chris, I represent Casino Life & Business Magazine, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to have this exclusive interview with you.
Hello, nice to meet you. The magazine looks very good.
Thank you. Your life as a poker player was a subject people wrote a lot about. You gave countless interviews as a member of PokerStars Team Pro. You also wrote a book about your life as a player…
Yes, indeed. “How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $ 40 into $ 2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker.” I was a young amateur poker player who managed to turn $ 40 into $ 2.5 million at a poker event. I had to publish the experience, right?
Yes, of course. You revolutionized poker. When you are not playing poker, how does a day of your life look like?
I live in two worlds. The world dedicated to poker and the world / life I live like any normal person. I have the poker periods and the times I spend at home. When I’m home, like everyone else, I wake up at 6-7 in the morning. I have three kids. I make my home program, according to their schedule.
We go like everyone on vacation… At this time, the children are starting a new school year soon. So I wake up, take them to school, go home, have breakfast with my wife. After that, we jog, exercise together. We have lunch, take the children from school, help them do their homework, take them to football practice, gymnastics and other activities appropriate to their age. We return home, prepare them for bath, we go to sleep.. like any ordinary person, that is how my life looks like.
Not one minute dedicated to poker?
That is correct.
During the times when you participate in poker events, how does one day in your other world look like?
For example, for this tournament I am now attending, the PokerStars Festival in Bucharest, I wake up in the afternoon, go to bed at 7am … I wake up at 1pm. And in the rest of the time I play poker.I play either at the live tournament I am currently playing, or I play online. So I play poker, these days, from 1 pm until 7 in the morning.
Do you have time to visit Bucharest?
Yes, we arrived a few days before the start of the Main Event.
of PokerStars Festival Bucharest. And I have time to do what I want. Walk around, visit the city, see new places. I travel all over the world, I try to visit all the cities I arrive in. I usually come to the country where the poker tournament is held a few days earlier to accommodate my time zone. I have to be prepared from this point of view before the Main Event starts. However, this is not very difficult for me. I’m going to bed at about the same time as home. Home is 10 p.m. And here in Romania is 6 a.m when I am going to bed. I actually live after the hour in America.
You are for the second time in Romania. You participated in the 2009 PokerStars event. Has something changed in our country from your point of view during this period?
It’s great what happened in Romania about poker. It’s extraordinary! I have not entered the PokerStars Festival yet (editor’s note: the interview was given before PokerStars Festival Main Event). I played poker at the Marriott Grand Hotel’s casino instead. It’s amazing how much poker has evolved in Romania during the last 7 years. Now you have poker clubs, tournaments, festivals. You can play at live casino tables. It’s great for poker. I am aware you have a good law for poker and gambling for a few years now. This is why the level of poker has increased. Poker in casinos, poker clubs, organized tournaments are greatly completing online poker. Romanian legislation increases the quality of poker in your country. That’s why I’m sure PokerStars Festival Bucharest will host a big number of participants. 500,000 euros are guaranteed. Which is a good thing. This guaranteed amount attracts many good players from both Romania and other countries. This tournament also benefits Romania’s tourism and image.
Thanks for your time, it was a pleasure. I wish you great success in tournaments.
Thank you. I wish you best of luck with magazine.
