Chris Moneymaker plays against Jonathan Duhamel in the semifinal round of the 2011 Heads-up Poker Championship inside the poker room at Caesars Palace on Sunday, March 6, 2011.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 | 7 p.m.
The World Series of Poker plans to revisit some of its most memorable moments this summer with three famous heads-up rematches.
Chris Moneymaker will take on Sammy Farha in the headliner of the series, which will take place on June 2 at the Rio. It’s the first time the two have faced off since the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event, when the amateur Moneymaker beat out the seasoned pro to win $2.5 million and help start the worldwide poker boom.
“Winning the WSOP Main Event was a life-altering moment,” Moneymaker said in a statement. “Even though I’m agreeing to run it again against Sammy, I have been assured they can’t take away my title if my bluffs don’t work as well this time.”
Johnny Chan will also challenge Phil Hellmuth, who beat him as a 22-year old at the 1989 World Series of Poker. The World Series of Poker is asking fans to vote for the third matchup by becoming a fan of the event on facebook. Fans can choose between four matches — Chan vs. Erik Seidel from the 1988 WSOP, Greg Raymer vs. David Williams from 2004, Jamie Gold vs. Paul Wasicka from 2007 or Jonathan Duhamel vs. John Racener from last year.
It’s a made-for-TV event with ESPN signed on to air all three rematches on July 26 as part of its annual WSOP coverage.
Moneymaker and Farha will battle in a best-of-three series, while the other two will only face off once.
Moneymaker has stayed in the poker spotlight since his win eight years ago and recently finished second in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in Las Vegas. Farha isn’t as much of a fixture on the poker tournament circuit as before, but he did win his third World Series of Poker bracelet last summer.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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