The Well-Known Online Casino Personalities

CHRIS MONEYMAKER

Chris Money maker was born in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America on the 11th November 1975. He was graduated from the University in Tennessee gaining a master degree in accounting, and he began his working life in the accountancy industry. In his spare time, he played online poker. In 2003, he entered a $39 satellite tour on Pokerstars.com (the online poker card room), which he won. This gave him an entry into the WSOP.

Virtually unknown to the tournament circuit, he was a rank outsider. He progressed through the rounds and won the tournament. He won the gold bracelet and his main reward was US$ 2.5 million. This instantly catapulted him to international superstar status in the online poker world. He has single handedly changed the face of online poker, and to date, his earnings from poker exceed US$3.5 million.

VANESSA RUSSO

Vanessa Ashley Russo was born in France on the 5th February 1983. She lived in France with her parents until the family immigrated to New York, United States of America in 1993. She was graduated from the Dale University gaining a major in Economics and a minor in Political Science. Vanessa began playing poker at the age of 5. While at university, she began playing online poker because she was too young to visit casinos. Finally, she joined the pro tour in April 2006.

On the 12th February 2006, she set the record as the youngest female professional poker player to reach the final table in a WSOP circuit tour. At that time, she was 23 years and 7 days old. In October 2006, she was one among the top 80 earners on the pro tour for that year. Vanessa is sponsored by Pokerstars.com and she plays under the screen name of Lady Maverick. To date, her earnings are estimated to exceed US$5 million. In 2009, Vanessa was married to Chad Brown. The couple was the first married couple to be featured on the same major online poker team.

RAPHAEL NADAL

Raphael Nadal, the world famous tennis star, is reputedly a keen online poker player. Nadal does list online gambling as one of his hobbies. He can be seen appearing in adverts, for poker.com, seated at poker table. Presumably he is sponsored by poker.com.