Though personally I don\’t expect Darvin Moon to look anything like Sammy Farha en route to 2nd place … you gotta love the debate going on over who will, and who should win … let alone whose victory would be \”better for poker\”.
Super-young but true online pro vs. the \”Ultimate Everyman\” … you know, if everyman happened to cut trees for a living.
As you know by now, I\’m probably as much a Cada fan as I am an Aston Villan (I\’ve got Fake$100 invested in his winning) … but the hubbub going on right now reminds me a bit of funny-in-retrospect conversation as WSOP things got down to heads-up in 2003 …
From my first poker magazine piece in the first issue of (the recently resurrected) ALL IN:
On the last day of the 2003 WSOP main event, a handful of eliminated pros gathered around the final table to watch the action. Moneymaker — the Tennessee accountant who had never before played a live tournament — had amassed a sizable chip lead when Mike Matusow turned to fellow professional Eric Siedel and said, \”I can\’t believe another donkey is going to win the World Series of Poker.\”Â
\”You better hope he wins,\” Seidel responded. \”If Moneymaker can pull this off, it\’s going to be worth at least $5 million to you and me over the next two years.\”
\”Are you crazy?\” Matusow said, dismissively.
The only difference this go-round, of course, is that the world has already been introduced to online poker, and the Sammy Farha pro character is being played by a 21-year-old who stands to be the youngest WSOP main event champ in history (for the second year in a row).