WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker's growing poker industry presence will soon include a new American poker tournament series.
Coming soon: The MoneyMaker Tour.
Details on the tour's rollout won't be released for a few more weeks, but Moneymaker, one of modern poker's most legendary players, has announced his first major hire: Tony Burns, the former tournament director and Director of Poker Marketing for Seminole Hard Rock in Florida.
Burns made the jump to Moneymaker's new enterprise a few weeks ago and announced his business deal with Moneymaker in a social media post earlier today.
Burns said he signed what he believes is "a lifetime deal with a good friend and one of poker’s greatest ambassadors."
In a conversation with PokerOrg Wednesday evening, Burns deferred to Moneymaker on the details of what's to come but acknowledged his new role in helping launch what could grow into the United States' next important mid-major tour.
Burns announced on social media, "Chris has tasked me with starting the MoneyMaker Tour as his Executive Manager and assisting with growing his brand not only domestically, but internationally."
Burns also thanked the hundreds of friends, industry co-workers, and friends who congratulated him on his jump after a nearly-eight-year career with Seminole Hard Rock.
Burns' new duties with the upcoming MoneyMaker Tour begin immediately.
Becoming Tony Burns
"It's been an interesting stretch," Burns told PokerOrg on Wednesday. "To join Chris is full circle," he added about Moneymaker, with whom he's become close friends in recent years.
Burns began his career in poker as a dealer working bar-poker events in 2003 as a side gig. He joined Sun Cruises in a similar role around 2006. That led to an eight-year run at Pompano, Florida's Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park where he first worked for Mike Smith, now of Maryland LIVE!
In 2015, Burns saw the opportunity to become the head tournament director at Seminole Hard Rock. He applied for and won the position, eventually becoming a fixture in Florida poker for another eight years.
During his time at the Hard Rock, Burns became friends with Moneymaker. That happened in 2018 when Moneymaker appeared in a slightly different Moneymaker Tour, an $86 buy-in event offered at Seminole Hard Rock, co-branded by Moneymaker's then-sponsor, PokerStars.
According to Burns, Moneymaker ran well in several poker series at Hard Rock, and the friendship between the two continued to grow.
"He's the reason I got into poker," Burns told PokerOrg. "He's arguably the greatest poker ambassador ever."
The new iteration of the MoneyMaker Tour is sure to draw interest in the coming months. What remains to be seen is how much recent legal news will affect the effort.
The upcoming Moneymaker Tour could offer events in several locations, but that almost certainly won't include the short-lived Moneymaker Social Club in Paducah, Kentucky which Moneymaker was forced to shutter under duress from local and county officials just a few weeks ago.
However, given Moneymaker's huge popularity and reputation within the poker world, the new MoneyMaker Tour will likely have little problem securing replacement venues.
Featured image source: Facebook / tonyjburns
