Chance in Neon

Chris Moneymaker

Christopher Bryan Moneymaker was born on November 21, 1975. He revolutionized Poker because he was the first person to become a world champion after qualifying at an online poker site where he won $86.

Originally from Atlanta, he spent his formative years in Tennessee where he graduated from the State University with a Master’s Degree in Accounting. During this stage of his life, Poker was more than a past time which would pay off and make him one of the most influential figures in the world of online Poker having a net worth of $16 million.

The Moneymakers Career

His success in Las Vegas where he won the gold bracelet sparked a tidal wave of interest in Poker, and it was named the Moneymaker Effect. Inspired by the tale of an amateur beating world-class players led to millions of people playing online Poker across the globe.

Less than a year after the main Poker event, Chris finished in second place at the WPR Bay 101 Shooting Stars Tournament. That same year he came close to making his second World Series final table where he finished in tenth position. Chris Moneymaker has competed in a variety of Tournaments over the years, and in 2011 he finished as a runner up at the National Heads Up Poker Championship where he earned $300 000 in winnings.

Summing it Up

When Chris is not travelling the world on the Poker Circuit, he spends his free time with his family. In 2005 he published his autobiography amidst his busy schedule, as he has numerous business interests. Regardless of what Chris’s future achievements may be, his epic victory in 2003 will be what his name is synonymous with. A poker legacy he is proud of and has lived up to ever since.

Spades

Croupier

 Croupier is a dark British movie which is sinister and shadowy with a definite cinematographic style. Set in the 1970s, Croupier focuses on a struggling writer called Jack ( played by Clive Owen ) who works at a Casino, as a croupier. This places him between the bosses and the bettors, and it’s the movie that launched Clive Owen’s career.

Owen depicts a cold, controlled man who does not gamble. Moreover, He does not gamble at casino games of chance, but in his personal life, he places high-risk bets. By the end of the movie, he is juggling relationships with three women and scheming to defraud the casino.

About Croupier

Jack portrays a man damaged by his father a gambler and a womanizer who drank profusely and ran roughshod over his son’s early years. His father, who is in South Africa lines him up the job at a London casino where he becomes a skilled card manipulator. Clearly, he was taught by his father the key figure in his life.

Croupier knows its way around casinos, and the audience observes how the dealers with their odd hours and surreal lives tend to prefer dating one another than what they call outsiders. Jack watches as gamblers line up trying their luck and what’s interesting is how the movie captures the dealer’s complete indifference to the clients. It’s the attitude of win or lose; it’s only as long as their shift.

Wrapping it Up

Croupier is a movie with a twist and its more than one bargains for. It never hints at the details which lead to an unexpected ending. The plot, however, is not the real message. It’s more about an individual who can control and figure the odds of his life out and turn it into a novel, like any gambler trying to beat the odds.