December 2005 Name of the Game Chris Moneymaker goes all in to parlay poker renown into a lasting brand By Drew Ruble
Photo Courtesy of Moneymaker Gaming
Chris Moneymaker emerged from online poker obscurity to become world poker champion in 2003. His unlikely story boosted the game’s popularity, sparked a televised poker phenomenon and merged Internet poker culture with that played in casinos.
A Brentwood resident and former accountant, the man with the perfect name for branding recently formed California-based Moneymaker Gaming, a high-end, casino-quality poker accessories company. He’s also joined forces with poker legend Johnny Chan on a novel new franchise concept, a chain of poker schools.
Since Moneymaker’s big win, consumer data shows that poker tables have replaced billiards tables as the most sought-after home gaming device on the market. Capitalizing on the very poker craze he helped create, Moneymaker recently forged licensing agreements with NASCAR, the undisputed king of sports retail merchandise licensing, as well as men’s lifestyle giant Playboy, which surprisingly had never made entrée into the world of poker accessories. In addition, the man nicknamed “Money” has partnered with music label Death Row Records. His licensed poker accessories, dominated by images of stock car drivers, rappers and Playboy bunnies, began reaching retail shelves this holiday shopping season. An extensive promotional blitz around Father’s Day 2006 is also in the cards.
Moneymaker’s product will be identifiable by his company’s “King with Sunglasses” brand logo on all merchandise. It’s an allusion to Moneymaker’s penchant for wearing sunglasses during poker competitions on the professional circuit. The logo, diminutive in size compared to the dominant branding, will be used in a fashion similar to what Michael Jordan did with the smallish image of an athlete jumping spread eagle on his own line of branded products.
On the franchise front, Chan|Moneymaker Academies, to be run by selected owner/operators, will offer classes and gaming clinics across the United States for amateur players wishing to improve their bluffing ability. When Moneymaker isn’t busy traveling North America on the professional poker circuit, he and Chan are working on a curriculum for the academies, set to open late next year.
Moneymaker compares the current exploitation of his celebrity to that of skateboard pioneer Tony Hawk a decade ago.
“Hawk wasn’t the best skateboarder, but he was the best known,” Moneymaker explains. “I sort of got lucky with my name. I see an opportunity to do something with it, and that’s what I’m doing.”
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