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ESPN World Series Of Poker Finds Best Online Poker Websites Are The Training Ground For 2003 Poker World Champion Chris Moneymaker And Other Top WPT And WSOP Gambling Stars.

The best online poker websites have become the best training grounds for the world's top poker players and future poker stars. 2003 World Series Of Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker shocked the Las Vegas establishment and world with his domination of the 2003 ESPN WSOP Championships at Binion's Horseshoe Casino. Yet his Cinderella story was anything but a rags to riches tale. Chris Moneymaker honed his skills and paid his dues like so many other modern day players that participate daily in the best online poker tournaments, satellite competitions and world wide poker websites.

Poker websites provide a great training ground for future world class players and more honed competitors, while smaller more intimate online poker rooms are great for those that want a more relaxed environment.

The development of new realistic gambling technologies, such as Viper gambling software have also helped the popularity of online poker and other computerized casino games.

Chris Moneymaker, the improbable 2003 World Champion of the World Series Of Poker is a Tennessee restaurant controller that won his entry stake to the 2003 World Series of Poker by winning a $40 online poker tournament.

Moneymaker then sold two 20 percent stakes in his WSOP championship bid to his father, Mike Moneymaker, and to his friend, David Gamble, for $2,000 each. Chris Moneymaker used the $4,000 to finance his Las Vegas trip for the 2003 World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Downtown Las Vegas.

With a story line and name that seem more like a movie script than reality, Moneymaker has inspired the imagination of online poker players around the globe. One tournament official commented that "when a completely unknown player dominates the world's best at the sport's premiere event, everyone's bound to take notice." One observer of the large crowds at Binion's for the 2004 World Series of Poker event remarked, "Golf wasn't cool until Tiger Woods came along and poker wasn't hip until Chris Moneymaker."

Mike Moneymaker and Gamble each had interest in a half-million dollar share for their $2,000 investments. Many of the up-and-coming poker players are cutting their competitive teeth with online poker tournaments and website gambling. The internet has fostered a huge growth in the popularity of this sport and ESPN's regular televised coverage of the World Series of Poker hasn't hurt either.

The record-shattering 2004 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas drew more than 34,000 players via qualifying online satellite tournaments, internet events and website poker championships. The rising popularity of poker reflects the meteoric rise of online poker and poker as a household televised sport.

Participation at the 2004 World Series Of Poker event jumped to 2,576 paid entries from 839 entries in 2003, and 631 paid entries in 2002. Tournament organizers expect the 2005 World Series of Poker to attract three times as many paid entrants as this year. That would mean over 7,500 paid entrants in 2005, which would be a ten-fold increase in just three years.

The success of Chris Moneymaker and other phenomenal online poker players in the World Series of Poker and other WPT events has inspired even more internet poker players to fully embrace this sport. Many of the gambling and poker websites have great incentive bonuses for initial signups such as a $30 bonus with $30 deposited into your new account, or even amounts of $400 or $777 dollars for larger deposit amounts.

Many of the poker websites listed at the bottom of MonteCarloGrandResort.com have astonishing bonuses for initial account activation. One website even deposits $10 on your behalf for just downloading their gambling software. They will then add another $40, once you have opened an account and deposited $100.